Free election of masters does not abolish the masters or the slaves.
Herbert MarcuseRead
However, if "free choice" means more than a small selection between pre-established necessities, and if the inclinations and impulses used in work are other than those preshaped by a repressive reality principle, then satisfaction in daily work is only a rare privilege.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True satisfaction in work comes from genuine freedom of choice, not just from limited options imposed by society.
Herbert Marcuse's quote highlights the importance of true freedom in making choices, especially in the context of work. He argues that when individuals are constrained by societal norms and expectations, what may appear to be choices are merely illusions of freedom, ultimately limiting one's satisfaction and fulfillment in their daily work. Satisfaction comes from genuine autonomy, rather than merely selecting from a predetermined set of options dictated by external forces.
Themes
FreedomChoiceWorkSatisfactionSocietyAutonomy
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about workplace culture during a conference, one might include this quote to emphasize the need for establishing an environment where employees feel they have genuine power over their choices.
More from Herbert Marcuse
All quotes →Contemporary industrial society is now characterised more than ever by "the need for stupefying work where it is no longer a real necessity."
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The existing liberties and the existing gratifications are tied to the requirements of repression: they themselves become instruments of repression.
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Art cannot change the world, but it can contribute to changing the consciousness and drives of the men and women who could change the world.
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By virtue of the way it has organized its technological base, contemporary industrial society tends to be totalitarian. For "totalitarian" is not only a terroristic political coordination of society, but also a non-terroristic economic-technical coordination which operates through the manipulation of needs by vested interests.
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The sickness of the individual is ultimately caused by and sustained by the sickness of his civilization
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