Free election of masters does not abolish the masters or the slaves.
Herbert MarcuseRead
The existing liberties and the existing gratifications are tied to the requirements of repression: they themselves become instruments of repression.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that the freedoms and joys we possess are often linked to forms of suppression, thus becoming tools of that suppression.
Herbert Marcuse's quote delves into the paradox of how the liberties and pleasures we enjoy in society can be intertwined with repressive structures. While we may perceive these liberties as positive, they can also serve to maintain and reinforce systems of control, limiting true freedom and enlightenment. This reflects a critical perspective on societal norms and the implications of our gratifications, urging us to reflect on how what we enjoy can sustain the status quo.
Themes
LibertyRepressionControlFreedomSociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the balance between freedom and societal norms during a philosophy class.
More from Herbert Marcuse
All quotes βContemporary 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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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.
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.
Herbert MarcuseRead
The sickness of the individual is ultimately caused by and sustained by the sickness of his civilization
Herbert MarcuseRead
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