In the Absence of the Sacred

This is simply the most important and eye-opening non-fiction book I've ever read. The author, Jerry Mander, puts forth two major postulates: first, that technology is not necessarily always good for humanity, and in fact, is often quite the opposite; and second, that Western Civilization is on a crash course with self-destruction, and the folks who can save our sinking ship are the indigenous peoples of the world, who already know the formula for long-term survival, even though we've never bothered to listen. Both theories resonate with me. Both are, in the final analysis, true. Both should be heeded. This is a great book.

No one could accuse author and scholar Jerry Mander of sitting on the fence regarding his position concerning the so-called "Third Wave' of technological changes cascading through our society and culture. Indeed, this book has been described as a powerfully written broadside against the headlong rush into what Mander terms to be "Megatechnology", which is the combination of a number of particularly dangerous aspects of technological innovation, creating synergistic effect he believes will ultimately will be dangerous to us as individuals, consumers, and citizens. Many of the ideas he uses so effectively here were first broached in an earlier book, "Four Arguments For The Elimination Of Television".The author uses a variety of examples to show how the public has been deliberately manipulated and misled by a variety of boosters and cheerleaders for technological innovation, ranging from corporations, the media, academics, and even the government. This, he contends, has led to the emergence of several particularly dangerous predominant technologies such as television, genetic and molecular engineering, and computers. What is surprising is the amount of evidence Mander produces showing clearly adverse aspects of each technology, evidence which heretofore has been deliberately omitted from public scrutiny by the aggregated sponsors and cheerleaders of the technology, who obviously have a vested interest in stacking the deck in favor of their particular interest. While he sometimes strains the reader's patience with arguments that use of a technology such as computers benefits the rise of corporate globalism more than it does individuals, Mander still manages to prove why we must be more aware of the meaning of these technologies in terms of our own self-interest, and in the interest of the community at large. At base, what the author is really arguing for is a return to greater personal responsibility through the restoration of more traditional attitudes and values about our connection to the wider community and to an ethic of social responsibility. To the degree we allow ourselves to continue to be isolated and segregated from the community and its human-oriented interests, the more we play into the hands of forces that wish to fragment this orientation in order to better control resources, social patterns, and participation in the global economy by more forcefully orienting us toward lives as material consumers. Indeed, Mander argues, every aspect of the so-called "New World Order" is designed to acquaint and socialize us into adopting a new orientation that defines citizenship ever more exclusively as enthusiastic consumerism. If Mander sometimes seems a bit shrill and even romantic in his approach, urging us to return to more traditional orientations in small human communities, moving toward more sustainable lifestyles, he counters by reminding us that having the degree of faith evident in contemporary society regarding the outcome of the hell

This book should be required reading for every American. This book will take years of corporate and government brain-washing out of your newly enlightened skull. The next time our president calls another nation "evil", you may want to take a good look at our nation's past, present, and possible future. Mander describes Indian cultures that base current decisions on how they will effect childred 7 generations from now. Imagine our short sighted, consumption driven society, even attempting this. The book confirms what I already feel, that unless society changes the way we live and view the natural world, our future is grim. The Indians see the errors in our ways. They know our fate. The question is if we will listen to them in time to save our greedy little selves.

...The picture Mander paints has a vast, web-like look andfeel toit, extending from the vastness of the Canadian Northwest Territories,into the boardrooms of the major oil conglomerates, the programmingchambers of the television studios, the daily lives ofonce-free-roaming, nomadic Indian cultures, governmental "ThinkChambers", the back rooms where the exploitation of the moon andthe possible resources of Mars is being planned, and of course, theburgeoning internet about which many have scarecly a clue as to itsworst and greatest potentials. And, surprisingly, yourbedroom. Highlighting several points won't get the point of the bookacross because on any one of them, the reader of this review couldsay, "Well, that one doesn't much bother me." or "Well,I can't do much about that." or "Gee, that's too bad forthose poor indians, but what could I possibly do to change that? Ihave so much going on already.", and the important message of thebook would be completely overlooked. ("Well, what's thepoint?" you might be asking. Please forgive me. I swore not tospoonfeed the answers.)I strongly suggest that you -do not- readthis book if you are living a comfortable lifestyle, or at least hopeto live one. There's no point in upsetting yourself if you're notwilling to be different in order to make a difference in the future ofthe world. We might want to be different, or imagine we would bedifferent if we were certain it would help things, but what this bookspeaks of isn't on the level of 'conspiracy theory', it's about whatis actually happening right now...Again, it doesn't pin down anyone thing. It pulls in everything starting with the most basicelements: lack of truth in advertising; exploitation of humans asconsumer addicts; corporations as -real entities-, composed of people,that share a single-pointed focus on accomplishing a -central aim-(and not necessarily their stated one) at all costs; and many otherelements that add up to a "web" that we humans haveunwittingly become tangled in. The web tangles those who know aboutit, and those who don't know about it equally, but the one's who thinkthey know about it sometimes imagine that they are better off thanthose who don't know about it. So, what does one do? The bookaddresses this question.This reviewer believes that any attempt todiminish the ideas in the book by associating them with some existingphilosopy such as Neo-Ludditism (broadly : a philosophy of beingopposed to technological change) would be a misdirection. Theunderlying motivation behind this book is not to increase paranoia andresistance for resistance's sake, but to introduce the = reader, to asfull of an extent as possible, to the conditions and circumstancesunder which she currently lives and must become aware of if anylasting change is to be possible.

I read this book several years ago. It is still with me. I find it creeping into my views at the least likely moments. As a marketing professional myself, I am keenly aware of Mander's tales of how media is routinely manipulated to produce a "world view", compatible with the needs of industry under the pretense of "best case scenarios." Though it is obvious, few people understand that thier views are almost entirely the product of political and media forces that have been working on them since childhood. Invariably, those forces are predisposed to the cause of industry. What, if anything do we actually 'think', that hasn't been funded to be thought about, by one industry or another? What passes for 'good taste' or an 'intelligent viewpoint' didn't get to become that by accident. Given the enormous budget it takes to produce any kind of "share of mind" in this culture, does anyone one really think opposing points of view to those of industry, have any chance whatsoever, of being heard in this society? If you do, I pity your ridiculous, pathetic, humourous delusion. But to catch a glimpse, just look at the garbage you throw out every week if you want to see who you really are. Do you really know where it all goes? Do you really understand why so much waste has to be produced just to get you to buy things? Do you even care?If perchance, you have even the slightest sense that there is something deeper within you. An indigenous soul lurking somewhere beneath the years of corporate-paid info-strata you've been layering, this book will help fortify the feeling. You still will have miles to go. But this book, for some, could play an essential role in helping to awake from the deep slumber corporations pay so heavily to keep us in.