I can't take credit for the subject line, or for the assertion that Burke's vision of Helhaven is dystopian--my roommate is planning a dissertation chapter by that name, because Dave suggested it to her. I just think it's way cool and deserves to be communicated

One of the questions brought up by Burke's scarily accurate dystopian predictions is whether it can rightly be termed dystopic. As my roommate has said, just because Kurt Vonnegut was wrong in Player Piano doesn't mean it's not dystopic, since dystopias are all about looking to the future and imagining the scariest future possible (I'm paraphrasing badly, but that's the basic premise).

So, since precognition is not a condition for a dystopia, what can we make of Helhaven on its own terms? What is this dystopic vision? Is there anything left to fear?

Overall, Burke seems to perceive technologism as an evil of humanity done to humanity itself as well as to the Earth. Although he admits that computers will help us to gather vast amounts of information (THTS 57), he also argues that the more sophisticated the software, the more hours of work to be put into them in order to maintain them functional (THTS 57). Moreover, Burke mentions that although we may be able to find out the answer to quite a number of questions with the help of the computer (THTS 57-58), he intimates that the information we will find will not be crucial or useful for us; additionally, the amount of information we will be able to find out will be directly proportionate with our effort to maintain them running (THTS 58). Another important claim Burke makes is that the computer (and I would argue technology in general) may cause unemployment (THTS 58).

So how about we explore the idea of "technologism," in a somewhere serious fashion. In the essay “Towards Helhaven” Burke seems to suggest the idea that in searching for affirmation toward technology “[w]e must not turn back the clock. We must continue in the ways that made us great – 6 percent of the world’s population, using up 40 percent of the world’s production. Forward, outward, and up – as per my vision of Helhaven, to which let us now repair” (57). Following Burke’s line of satire then, let me make the claim that there is “no turning back” now and that our time on earth has become a predictable failure. So here we go:

Burke's attitude towards technology seems to be a mix of negative and positive. On the negative side of things, Burke describes the human drive to perfection, or the drive to achieve an ideal end. Within this pursuit of perfection, Burke, though not explicitly, acknowledges the non-reflective action of humans in this pursuit. He writes, "We must not turn back the clock. We must continue in the ways that made us great." What made us great, or at least what we thought made us great, were the technological developments that humans created, that helped us produce more and at a faster rate. Unfortunately, as Burke points out, this leads to negative consequences such as waste and its attendant pollution. So, technology, used/applied unreflectively (not tracking down its implications?), is negative. However, after reading Burke throughout the semester, I have a hard time believing that he does not see some positive in technology.

I'm reading up on Americanism and checked _America Now_ out of the library. As I was reading through the introduction, a sentence caught my attention and made me think: "Now there's a definition for technologism."

By the time he was writing in the 60s, America seemingly had developed a little more pessimism, but in his introduction, John Kirk writes that America had long had certain "assumptions" that were "expressed in terms of a characteristic 'national style.'" Among these was "faith in progress, optimism, pragmatism, a nearly limitless sense of the possible, respect for achievement, a belief that rising wealth and expanding technology would ultimately dissipate most individual and social problems..." (x). Based on Burke's essay on Helhaven and what I've found otherwise to supplement my understanding a bit, I think that this last clause could apply to technologism.

The concept holds technology in high esteem, placing great faith in its ability to solve problems.

In trying to get a grasp on the term "technologism," I did a search of it online and came across this site: http://www.technologism.org/.

Burke's "Helhaven," however, reminds me of the Earth Day Pogo cartoon that came out in 1971, the same year Burke's essay was published. In it, two of the characters (Pogo and Porkypine) are picking through the swamp, which is filled with debris. An image can be found at http://www.yourmoneyoryourlife.org/fom-paper-04.asp.