Notes on ‘The Technological Society’ by Jacques Ellul…by me.
Jacques Ellul wrote The Technological Society to sound an alarm about the unchecked rise of technique in modern life.
Key Points
- Technique over Tools: Ellul distinguishes “technique” from tools—techniques are self-augmenting processes designed for efficiency, not just physical implements.
- Autonomy of Technique: Once a technique is introduced, it tends to evolve independently of ethical, social, or political considerations.
- Efficiency as the Supreme Value: Modern society increasingly elevates efficiency above all other values, including human and ecological ones.
- Technological Automatism: If something can be done technically, it will be done—regardless of whether it should be.
- Loss of Freedom: As individuals and societies adapt to technological imperatives, freedom is redefined or lost entirely.
- False Neutrality: Technology is often presented as neutral, but Ellul argues it inherently shapes society in specific ways.
- Technological Society as a System: We now live in a fully integrated system where technique drives not just machines, but governance, education, warfare, and thought.
“What is new is not this or that technique, but the fact that everything is technique.”
Summary
Ellul warns that technological progress is not benign or merely material—it transforms values, undermines freedom, and becomes the environment in which we must think and act. The task he leaves us with is not to reject all technique, but to become conscious of its power and question its direction.