From Technological Rationality to Algorithmic Rationality:Contemporary Extension of Marcuses Critique of One-Dimensional

Abstract

In his seminal work “The One-Dimensional Man”, Herbert Marcuse profoundly exposed how advanced industrial societies constructed a new social control mechanism through technological rationality. This system renders individuals incapable of critical and negationist thinking beneath the veneer of material abundance, reducing them to "one-dimensional" beings devoid of transcendental dimensions. This paper argues that algorithmic technologies in the digital capitalism era represent an intelligent extension and reinforcement of Marcuses critical technological rationality. By systematically examining Marcuses core propositions of technological domination-such as the suppression of social contradictions through technological rationality, the dialectic between authentic and artificial needs, and cultural field integration-and contextualizing them within platform capitalism and gig economy frameworks, the study reveals how algorithms collude with capital logic to create more covert, efficient, and comprehensive forms of labor control. Research demonstrates that algorithmic systems in gig economies not only perpetuate the material control dimension of traditional technological domination but also employ mechanisms like data-driven surveillance, gamified incentives, and cultural shaping to implement "hyper-linear discipline" on workers physical and mental states, fostering deeply internalized "false freedom" and "false needs." This results in workers experiencing deeper self-alienation and one-dimensionality beneath the facade of flexible employment. Finally, the paper builds upon Marcuses criticalThe study explores potential pathways to revive critical thinking in the digital age, arguing that overcoming algorithmic one-dimensionality requires cultivating technological-political awareness, advancing algorithmic democratization, and reestablishing workers critical consciousness. This research not only expands the explanatory power of Marcuses theory in contemporary contexts but also provides a new theoretical perspective for understanding labor alienation under digital capitalism.