BEYOND LEFT AND RIGHT

by Richard--Ed. Kostelanetz ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 12, 1968

Old guard intellectuals, whether of the left or right, bemoan ""the two cultures,"" the gap between science and humanism; they speak of alienation, standardization, the depersonalization inherent in machine society. The so-called prophetic new guard intellectuals, like Marshall McLuhan, embrace the technologies; they speak not of ideologies (a worn out remnant of 19th century thinking) but of strategies, experimentation, continual change, and the creation of new values suitable to tho electronic age. Undoubtedly the future belongs to the latter group, though not, however, on the evidence of the rather lackluster and all too partisan essays now assembled. With the exception of the contributions by Buckminster Fuller, who operates in a universe all his own, it would be hardly wide of the mark to say that purely on an argumentative basis any good Marxist or good Jesuit could dance dialectical rings about many of the prognostications, speculations, and post-civilization diagrams presented here. Defense, industry, city planning, education, politics are among the topics discussed, and Fuller, McLuhan, Herman Kahn, Kenneth Boulding, and Daniel Bell are among those who discuss them.

Pub Date: Aug. 12, 1968

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1968

Categories: NONFICTION