1. Foundational Assumptions

Jacques Ellul

• Rooted in Christian theology, existential sociology, and a deep fatalism about modernity.

• Views technique (not just technology) as an autonomous force that evolves according to its own logic, independent of ethics or human control.

• Believes technological development cannot be meaningfully directed by human will—once a technique is discovered, it will be used.

Key Work: The Technological Society
Ellul sees technique as a kind of spiritual or metaphysical condition—inescapable and all-pervasive.

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Neil Postman

• Rooted in media ecology, education theory, and Enlightenment liberalism.

• Concerned not with technology as such, but with how media forms shape consciousness, culture, and civic life.

• Believes that technological impacts can be understood and resisted through education, historical awareness, and cultural critique.

Key Work: Technopoly
Postman argues that societies can move from using tools wisely (tool-using cultures), to surrendering judgment to them (technopoly).

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2. Tone and Possibility of Resistance

Aspect	Ellul	Postman
Tone	Fatalistic, prophetic, theological	Critical, didactic, reform-minded
Hope for Resistance	Very little; only inner spiritual freedom is possible	Moderate; possible through education and awareness
Agent of Change	The autonomous logic of technique	Culture, education, institutions, discourse

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3. Focus of Critique

Ellul:

• Technique is broader than “technology”—it includes any method that seeks maximum efficiency.

• Modern society is not shaped by values, but by what is technically possible.

• Even ethical systems are co-opted by technique.

• Spiritual or inner resistance is the only meaningful form of rebellion—but it cannot stop the system.

"What is new is not that people have tools, but that tools have people."

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Postman:

• Media shapes how we think, not just what we think.

• Television (and later, computers) flatten discourse, replacing rational argument with image, entertainment, and distraction.

• Technology is not neutral—it creates a new epistemology.

• Advocates for a return to semantic clarity, deep reading, and civic dialogue.

"Technological change is not additive; it is ecological. A new technology does not merely add something; it changes everything."