HEGEMONY, AGENCY, AND DIALECTICAL TENSION IN ELLULS TECHNOLOGICAL-SOCIETY

Recent writers have questioned hegemony theory as a way of understandi ng the relationship among the citizen, the media, and the state. In th is essay I propose the work of Jacques Ellul for reconceptualizing thi s relationship. Ellul's focus on a technological state and a mass-medi cated society presents a powerful alternative to Gramsci's focus. Ellu l argued that the modern state is the product of the invasion of techn ique throughout society. Such an environment demands a for of communic ation Ellul describes as propaganda. This view does not offer great ho pe for political groups to bring about fundamental social change. Inst ead, it suggests that the primary role of the social critic is to stan d in dialectical tension to the technological state.