Propoganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes

[HondurasKeiser]

Incidentally, Paul Kingsnorth, when he writes about "The Machine" seems to be driving at the same thing. (though with more elucidation)

[joey_the_ox]

I think the more apt comparison though, drawn from scripture is that of Genesis 11:1-9 (Tower of Babel). In my untrained opinion: At root that story is not about why we speak myriad languages - rather it's a cautionary tale about man's impulse to build Utopia on Earth and to subsume everything else into that endeavor (including the individual, human difference, etc.) Inasmuch as technology molds us and filters the way we interact with the world - makes into consumers and wholly dependent on that technology for survival, makes us into a resource for use in the system which is ever-bent towards commodification and efficiency; flattens out human difference and culture and makes all things, everywhere, the same. it "feels like" (much as I hate that phrase) that WE are being built into a Babel Tower of sorts. I'm not sure if that makes sense - I can barely put into words my own thoughts about it and so I may be way off. If ever I write a novel though, the underlying motif will be just that.

You might find it interesting to explore some of the Jewish tradition on Babel. There is a midrash that ties in with your "ever-bent towards commodification and efficiency" description:

The builders brought bricks up on one side and came down on the other. If a man fell down and died, no heed was given to him. But when a brick fell down, they stopped work and wept, saying, "Woe unto us! When will another be brought up in its stead?" (Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer 24)

There is also a strand of thought that identifies the fundamental sin of Babel that led to this commodification of humans as disobedience to God's original command to "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth."