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Quote by Herbert Marcuse

“The criterion for free choice can never be an absolute one, but neither is it entirely relative.”

Quote by Herbert Marcuse

Book:Towards a Critical Theory of Society: Collected Papers of Herbert Marcuse

Work

Towards a Critical Theory of Society: Collected Papers of Herbert Marcuse

Herbert Marcuse's collected papers delve into the complexities of modern society, offering critical insights into social structures, cultural dynamics, and political ideologies. The volume encompasses his seminal contributions to critical theory, reflecting on the role of culture, technology, and power in shaping human experience. Marcuse's work is characterized by its sharp analysis of societal issues and its call for a more equitable and free society. more

Author

Herbert Marcuse

Herbert Marcuse was a German-American philosopher born on July 19, 1898, and died on June 29, 1979. He was one of the leading figures of the Frankfurt School and is known for his work on cultural criticism and social theory. more

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“Contemporary industrial society is now characterised more than ever by "the need for stupefying work where it is no longer a real necessity."”

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Author:Herbert Marcuse

“Free election of masters does not abolish the masters or the slaves. Free choice among a wide variety of goods and services does not signify freedom if these goods and services sustain social controls over a life of toil and fear – that is, if they sustain alienation. And the spontaneous reproduction of superimposed needs by the individual does not establish autonomy; it only testifies to the efficacy of the controls.”

Source: One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society

“While it [tolerance] is more or less quietly and constitutionally withdrawn from the opposition, it is made compulsory behavior with respect to established policies.”

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Book:Marxism, Revolution and Utopia: Collected Papers of Herbert Marcuse, Volume Six

Source: Marxism, Revolution and Utopia: Collected Papers of Herbert Marcuse, Volume Six

“One can delineate the domain of philosophy however one likes, but in its search for truth, philosophy is always concerned with human existence. Authentic philosophizing refuses to remain at the stage of knowledge […]. Care for human existence and its truth makes philosophy a 'practical science' in the deepest sense, and it also leads philosophy—and this is the crucial point—into the concrete distress of human existence.”

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“If mass communications blend together harmoniously, and often unnoticeably, art, politics, religion, and philosophy with commercials, they bring these realms of culture to their common denominator -- the commodity form. The music of the soul is also the music of salesmanship. Exchange value, not truth value, counts.”

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Book:One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society

Source: One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society

“Disappointment over nationalistic authoritarian regimes may have contributed to the fact that today religion offers a new and subjectively more convincing language for old political orientations.”

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“Since our complex societies are highly susceptible to interferences and accidents, they certainly offer ideal opportunities for a prompt disruption of normal activities.”

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“If the September 11 terror attack is supposed to constitute a caesura in world history, it must be able to stand comparison to other events of world historical impact.”

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