Liberation from technological domination requires preserving the technological base

Evidence

If the completion of the technological project involves a break with the prevailing technological rationality, the break in turn depends on the continued existence of the technical base itself. For it is this base which has rendered possible the satisfaction of needs and the reduction of toil—it remains the very base of all forms of human freedom. The qualitative change rather lies in the reconstruction of this base—that is, in its development with a view of different ends. — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 812

Categorization

• XREF: Contrasts with anti-technological positions in contemporary left thought; Marcuse insists freedom is only possible through technology, not against it. — connects to: Socializing production without breaking technological domination yields authoritarianism — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 493; Technology is never neutral but already carries domination in its construction. — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the…, 98; Technical progress produces a comfortable, democratic unfreedom — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the…, 105 (+11 more)

Broader Connections

• Liberated society still needs centralized technical control over vital goods #expands (0.82) — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 872
• Domination is perpetuated by thought’s own ossification, not by technology #complicates (0.78)
• Technology depends on ends that lie beyond technology itself #expands (0.75) — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 823
• Liberation requires retaining critical judgment and cultural heritage #expands (0.75)
• Tech detox movements reinforce rather than challenge late capitalism. #complicates (0.72) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 330