1. 1. Isabella Fassi Professor Garcelon Social Theory 6 November 2012 Responses to the Classical Tradition: Herbert Marcuse and Daniel Bell Following World War II, both Herbert Marcuse and Daniel Bell developed intricate analyses of society that responded to classical social theory. In his work One-Dimensional Man, published in 1964, Marcuse elaborates on his concept of a one dimensional advanced industrial society. Bell, on the other hand, expands upon the notion of a post-industrial economy in his 1973 work The Coming of Post-Industrial Society. In a sense, both thinkers grapple with the analysis of capitalism originally put forth by Karl Marx in their works, often using his concepts as a basis from which they form their arguments. Although the theories of Marcuse and Bell emphasize similar components of the emerging post-war society, the two intellectuals diverge in their opinions regarding the ramifications of those components; Marcuse views post-war changes as creating a society of total manageability characterized by social cohesion, while Bell envisions a post-war society marked by total unmanageability and social disintegration. Marcuse recognizes the changing composition of the work force to include the professional class, or white-collar workers. Highlighting the expansion of service industries and the displacement of workers by automation, Marcuse emphasizes the change in the economy brought about by the increasing reliance on science. In the quest for efficiency and an improved standard of living, Marcuse states that technology comes to dominate nature (Marcuse xlii). In the process of reification, nature, as well as people, are treated as things to manipulate. The notion of reification, bound up with Marcuses concept of operationalization, suggests that concepts are defined within the limits of a social reality so that people are not able to imagine an existence outside of those limits (Marcuse xliv). In this way, operationalization creates a ideological totalitarianism in which people can no longer think outside of the realm of 1
2. 2. Isabella Fassi Professor Garcelon Social Theory 6 November 2012 mainstream thought to create social change (Marcuse xlvii). This totalitarian character of society is exemplified in Marcuses idea of an administered society, in which large bureaucratic organizations become more and more fused and people passively inherit the social world they live in. Marcuse sums up his key argument on the first page of One-Dimensional Man, stating, A comfortable, smooth, reasonable, democratic unfreedom prevails in advanced industrial civilization, a token of technical progress. Constrained by the limits of operationalization in an administered society, the new professional and technical class remains conformist and one- dimensional. The unfreedom Marcuse refers to on the first page of his book is reinforced through the integration of the proletariat and the role of mass media in modern culture. In Marcuses analysis, Marxs proletariat becomes integrated, meaning that the identity of the worker is transformed into that of a consumer. In this way, the proletariats focus shifts from his or her condition to the items he or she can purchase with wages. The resulting growth of consumer culture essentially neutralizes the class struggle as people serve as passive receptacles for the products of the culture industry, which is maintained by developments in technology and the ubiquitous nature of advertising. In consuming the latest products and services, which Marcuse refers to as false needs, workers engage in an emotional roller-coaster of immediate euphoria followed by unhappiness and disappointment; consumption creates initial pleasure but fails to fulfill the consumers anticipated desire (Marcuse 5). Marcuse refers to this ironically as the happy consciousness (Marcuse 5). In addition, the consumer culture in a one-dimensional society reflects Marcuses notion of repressive desublimation, in which drives are deflected in ways that do not challenge the status quo, namely, through consumption. In a one-dimensional society, social change and dissent are contained primarily through the distraction of 2
3. 3. Isabella Fassi Professor Garcelon Social Theory 6 November 2012 consumption. Political life becomes a charade, as no real possibility for change exists. Ultimately, the one-dimensional society is one of social conformity resulting from the totalitarianism put into place by the regime of consumerism. Similarly to Marcuse, Bell notes the growth of the service sector in The Coming of Post- Industrial Society. Particularly with regard to the fields of health, education, research, and government, Bell stresses the preeminence of the professional class as being closely tied to the centrality of theoretical knowledge in post-industrial society (Bell 14). The post-industrial society is one of information, shaped by intellectual technology that seeks to spur innovation and measure, anticipate, and plan change (Bell 22, 345). Although Bell would agree with Marcuses idea that a reliance on technology emerges in post-war society, he would not agree with the notion that a totalitarian rule emerges as a consequence (Bell xc). For Bell, it is a grave mistake view society through one paradigm, such as capitalism or totalitarianism, as societies are not fixed entities (Bell lxxxviii). Bell emphasizes the importance of axial principles as central factors, but not causal factors, in characterizing societies. The axial principles of economizing, participation, and fulfillment of self characterize the post-industrial society. But above all, the axial principle of theoretical knowledge serves as the most crucial principle in post-industrial society for Bell. In Bells conception of society, techne, or technical skills, serve as the catalysts for production. Critiquing Marxs theory of historical materialism, Bell distinguishes between social relations and techne in his decoupling of Marxs concept of the mode of production. In doing so, he suggests that Marx assumes a causal relationship that does not necessarily exist, and instead posits that the evolution of a society is much more open-ended than Marx purports it to be; Bell believes that a societys course depends largely upon an array of historical factors. According to 3
4. 4. Isabella Fassi Professor Garcelon Social Theory 6 November 2012 Bell, changes in social structures, or techno-economic systems, can be broken down into changes in social relations and changes in techne. Lastly, Bell insists that changes in the social structure are primary, and that changes in the polity and culture are secondary (Bell xcix). With regard to politics, Bell states that although the scientists of post-industrial society may seem to hold the most power, ultimately it is still the politician, who controls science and technology, who has the utmost power. One of the most important changes in culture in the post-industrial society for Bell is the development of antinomionism, which refers to the tendency to see culture from a hyper- individualistic and consumerist perspective. In a sense, antinomion culture is a culture of retreatism; it undermines the ability of people to relate to one another and, as a result, creates cultural fragmentation. Antinomion culture clashes with the axial principle of theoretical knowledge, and a tension results between science and antinomionism. Another important component of Bells post-industrial society is the notion of situses. In place of Marcuses concept of the integration of the proletariat, Bell puts forth the proposition that workers no longer identify with each other, but rather with the particular places in which they work. Situses, or corporate governmental complexes, thus become the centerpieces of the workers identities. In the same way that antinomionism creates social alienation, situses create social alienation; workers in the same field may not identity with each other because they work in different situses. Instead of Marcuses notion of conformity that arises from consumer culture, Belldiscord among individuals emerges as a result of their conflicting ideas of identity in relation to antinomion culture and situses. Despite the similarities between Marcuses and Bells theories of post-war society, the conclusions of the two thinkers remain notably different. Marcuses message is essentially more 4
5. 5. Isabella Fassi Professor Garcelon Social Theory 6 November 2012 pessimistic than Bells; Bell remains more open to possibilities for the future of post-war societies than Marcuse, who views the totalitarian nature of one-dimensional society as restricting all possibility for change. Both theorists focus on the importance of information and technology in the growth of the service sector, and the influence of the mass media in politics and culture, but in their respective analyses, they arrive at quite dissimilar conclusions. For Marcuse, a one-dimensional society leads to uniformity and total administration. In contrast, for Bell, the coming of post-industrial society entails social disorientation and unmanageability that leaves the future entirely unknown. 5
6. 6. Isabella Fassi Professor Garcelon Social Theory 6 November 2012 pessimistic than Bells; Bell remains more open to possibilities for the future of post-war societies than Marcuse, who views the totalitarian nature of one-dimensional society as restricting all possibility for change. Both theorists focus on the importance of information and technology in the growth of the service sector, and the influence of the mass media in politics and culture, but in their respective analyses, they arrive at quite dissimilar conclusions. For Marcuse, a one-dimensional society leads to uniformity and total administration. In contrast, for Bell, the coming of post-industrial society entails social disorientation and unmanageability that leaves the future entirely unknown. 5