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 โ 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.
Herbert MarcuseFreedom of enterprise was from the beginning not altogether a blessing. As the liberty to work or to starve, it spelled toil, insecurity, and fear for the vast majority of the population. If the individual were no longer compelled to prove himself on the market, as a free economic subject, the disappearance of this freedom would be one of the greatest achievements of civilization.
Herbert MarcuseArt cannot change the world, but it can contribute to changing the consciousness and drives of the men and women who could change the world.
Herbert MarcuseThose who devote their lives to earning a living are incapable of living a human existence.
Herbert MarcuseIf 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.
Herbert MarcuseAt the highest stage of capitalism, the most necessary revolution appears as the most unlikely one.
Herbert MarcuseOne 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 [โฆ]. Care for human existence and its truth makes philosophy a 'practical science' in the deepest sense, and it also leads philosophyโand this is the crucial pointโinto the concrete distress of human existence.
Herbert Marcuse