Criticism And Salvation Of Modernity

After the west began to enter the modern society,rationalism became the mainstream ideology of modernity.With the advancement of modernity and rationalism,the western modern society and liberal democracies produce all kinds of abuses,totalitarian politics began to overflow,in the face of modernity caused many evils gradually appeared many objections of rationalism,generally are around to different constraints on rational method.Marcuse’s political philosophy is to transform and rebuild reason on the basis of its criticism.In Marcuse’s political philosophy,his thinking on modernity mainly includes two aspects: technical politics and aesthetic politics.Among them,the technical politics mainly revolves around the criticism of the technical rationality of the disadvantages in modern society.Marcuse believed that through the combination and penetration of technology in modern society,various elements of modern society have been incorporated into the ruling system,and the rationality of technology has been transformed into the rationality of governance.Technical rationality will break through the category of simple way of thinking and exist as a new ideology.With the development of technology,there is a direct conformity between the individual and society as a whole.In the process of the unification of man and society,the critical power of negative thinking in the "inner dimension" is weakened and destroyed,rationality is subject to the reality of the disappearance of critical thinking because of social progress,and the political dimension of citizens is dissolved,and they can only be reduced to one-dimensional people.Marcuse’s redemption of the evils of modernity revolves around his aesthetic politics.Marcuse elucidates individualism and interprets a modified freedom through "new sensibility".He believed that through the establishment of new sensibility,human’s instinct would sublimate from "sexual desire" to "erotic desire",thus making rationality move to the post-technical rationality combining with art and aesthetics,establishing an aesthetic dimension within the scope of society,and making the capitalist oppressive mode of production change.Marcuse believed that the society under the non-repressive regulation created by the combination of rationality and artistic aesthetics was in line with human nature.He advocated an overall revolution in every aspect and corner of the society and created a brand new culture,thus creating a road to the non-repressive society.Marcuse believes that the establishment of a non-repressive society and the pursuit of political freedom are the possible ways to realize the freedom and liberation of the contemporary West.