GROUP 12

Group 12 – Alex, Jonathan, Greg

Both articles are essentially discussing situations,
or possible situations which are very idealistic in
nature. What we mean is that, Marx’s communism, as
perfect as it may sound on paper.. the total removal
of personal property (personality – we’re not making a
direct link, property = personality) in order to
create a totally shared, communal environment, as well
as Oosterling’s description of machine- and
corporation-based mediocrity, are very good
propositions and thoughts, but they inevitably fail to
some degree because of the sheer nature of human
beings. As social and environmentally conscious
beings, each of us still have our own individuality –
which will eventually lead to different goals,
aspirations and inevitably different ways of leading
our lives. While we can agree that our society is
losing track of some basic human necessities,
interactions and experiences.

Machines cannot replace human interaction and human
relationships. They merely exist to make out lives
easier, and for some reason, in the process or making
things simple, they’ve created an entirely new
problematic and way of life. Information is readily
available, stores are always open, machines turn on at
the snap of a finger. We’ve become a society living
for instant gratification, materials belongings and
wire-connected interpersonal relationships. Without
going to the other extreme and sharing everything with
everybody; we need to find a balance between our
connected and physical-human-distant world and Marx’s
utopian scenario. We can’t share everything, we can’t
all work in the same way for the same purpose, but we
definitely can be a little more sensitive to each
other’s needs and desires.