Page 7 - Jacques Ellul News Today

The Convivial Society: Vol. 3, No. 21

Education + Propaganda = Tyranny, Socialist Program for Education, Karl Marx, Marxist, Jacques Ellul, Children are the primary victims

A new system of ethics that is winning over many of our cultural elite and is especially popular among tech entrepreneurs, such as Elon Musk and Sam Bankman-Fried, is called "longtermism." It teaches that good works and philanthropy should be directed to the future. preventing human extinction and promoting values that will create a "eutopia."

Technology has undoubted benefits.  But modern technology can bring with it a certain mindset and worldview--utilitarianism, materialism, and reductionism--which, in turn, can lead to unintended consequences. A Swedish theologian applies the insights of Jacques Ellul, writing in the 1950s, to our current technological climate.

We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with straw. Alas! — T.S. Eliot, “The Hollow Men”, 1925 When many people share thoughts, speech, or conduct that is frequently repeated and becomes automatic, it is fair to call it a social habit. Such habits tend to become invisible and

Without the stifling influence of the government bureaucracy whichgoes with its congressional appropriation, a liberated CPB will befree to bring far more of the finest in arts, education, andculture to viewers like you, at no cost to the taxpayer.

Democratic theory points to two problems: unjust concentrations of power and a flawed theory of knowledge.

In the last days, it will become very hard to discern truth from lies. And those who stand for truth will have to suffer

Why are they all so upset? Because they respect – and fear – the power of the visual image. Because now the average American who has no time to read abstruse court filings can measure the depth of Trump’s crimes with merely a glance.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This one is worth a stint in jail.