On Mar 3, 2009, at 5:14 PM, Somebody Somebody wrote:
> When precisely did Marxism become so fanatically opposed to
> technological progress? We're a long way from Lenin's conception of
> soviet power plus electrification.
>
> My sense is that this shift towards technophobia is basically a
> rationalization of failure, the result of making a vice into a
> virtue. Really existing socialism proved to be less productive and
> inventive than leading capitalist economies on the whole - so there
> comes a point when instead of trying to compete Khrushchev style
> with the West, you just throw up your hands and claim that it was
> never your intention to continue the development of the productive
> forces after all.
Well, socialism shouldn't aspire to be directly competitive with capitalism, should it? Technical innovation is hardly class neutral. But I'm with you on this opposition to technological progress of any kind. Its appeal is limited to a very small section of the population.
Doug