Mar 7, 2023
Benjamin is even more explicit on this point: “Marx says that revolutions are the locomotive of world history. But perhaps it is quite otherwise. Perhaps revolutions are an attempt by the passengers on the train—namely, the human race—to activate the emergency break.” Here an openly decelerationist Benjamin emerges. Technology does not lead to a revolutionary break, nor does a revolution necessarily spur on new technological developments. Rather, Benjamin reconceives revolution as a cessation of catastrophe. It halts “progress” in its tracks.
gavin mueller, breaking things at work: the luddites were right about why you hate your job
