Philosophical Reflections on the Microelectronic Revolution

Microelectronic technology maintains a modern split between revolutionary machinery and conventional commodity. This is mirrored in the division between labor devoted to the construction and maintenance of technological artifacts and leisure devoted to the consumption of commodies. On the labor side, microelectronics by way of automation will eliminate much degrading work and increase affluence. On the leisure side, the distraction and passivity of typical technological pastimes will be aggravated. In the longer historical perspective, the microelectronic revolution is not revolutionary at all, but only intensifies tendencies which have been at work for two centuries.