Marcuse distinguished surplus repression from basic repression, tying it to domination

Evidence

Marcuse’s analysis of the dialectic of civilization' was as follows. The whole course of previous culture was marked by the fact that acquiring the necessities of life was organized not according to the goal of satisfying the needs of individuals in the best possible manner, but in such a way that the gradual conquest of scarcity was inextricably bound up with and shaped by the interest of domination’. In addition to basic repression, the "modifications" of the instincts necessary for the perpetuation of the human race in civilization', there was also surplus repression’. The progress of culture, marked by surplus repression and indeed, in view of the growth in the extent of domination over nature, by a relative increase in this surplus repression, weakened the erotic components of instinctual energy and strengthened the destructive ones. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2133

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the crucial surplus repression vs. basic repression distinction, the conceptual core of Eros and Civilization.
• XREF: connects to: Surplus repression grows with domination over nature and strengthens destructive instincts.; Marcuse termed co-opted liberation ‘repressive desublimation’ — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 597; For Marcuse, Vietnam symbolized whether fundamental rebellion could defeat modern technical repression — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2604 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Marcuse termed co-opted liberation ‘repressive desublimation’ #expands (0.80) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 597