Reading Neil Postman's Technopoly in 20xx
Neil Postman was an astute critic of education, culture, and technology. Published in 1990, Technopoly builds off his analysis of the evolution of media technologies in Amusing Ourselves to Death and critiques contemporary society's submission to what he calls technopoly.
Postman defines technopoly as “the submission of all forms of cultural life to the sovereignty of technique and technology,” and we're still discovering the fruits of this arrangement 30 years after he named the roots. Postman is a major figure in what Alan Jacobs calls "the Standard Critique of Technology," whose other proponents include Jacques Ellul and Ursula M. Franklin. I value Postman for his insight but also for his accesibility. He's highly readable and if you'd like a better sense of how we got here – the social media circuses and a political process that barely hides its contempt for the public or naked self-interest – Postman will clearly mark the path.
Towards Technolopy is an ongoing series at Common Pursuits



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