Speed and Politics, new editionWith this book Paul Virilio inaugurated the new science whose object of study is the "dromocratic" revolution. Speed and Politics (first published in France in 1977) is the matrix of Virilio's entire work. Building on the works of Morand, Marinetti, and McLuhan, Virilio presents a vision more radically political than that of any of his French contemporaries: speed as the engine of destruction. Speed and Politics presents a topological account of the entire history of humanity, honing in on the technological advances made possible through the militarization of society. Paralleling Heidegger's account of technology, Virilio's vision sees speed—not class or wealth—as the primary force shaping civilization. In this "technical vitalism," multiple projectiles—inert fortresses and bunkers, the "metabolic bodies" of soldiers, transport vessels, and now information and computer technology—are launched in a permanent assault on the world and on human nature. Written at a lightning-fast pace, Virilio's landmark book is a split-second, overwhelming look at how humanity's motivity has shaped the way we function today, and what might come of it. |
From inside the book
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... than economic , but it relates most directly to the occult permanence of the state of siege , to the appearance of fortified towns , those ' great immobile machines ' made in Introduction : Logistics of Habitable Circulation / 19.
... appearance of for- tified towns , those “ great immobile machines made in different ways . In the same way , the decadence of the enclaved bourgeoisie , the loss of its own will , will be linked to the decline of its military technique ...
... appearance of new perfor- mances for the means of communicating destruction . Stated plainly , this is the perpetual sophistication of combat means and the replacement of the geostrategic breakthrough by the technological breakthrough ...
Contents
THE DROMOCRATIC REVOLUTION | 27 |
From Highway Right to State Right | 49 |
Practical War | 73 |
Copyright | |
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