Kant, Marx, and Media Theory | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Kant and Marx laid the groundwork for media theory by emphasizing the importance of the media as a platform for enlightenment, revolution, and collective action.

Key Insights

• ⏯️ Kant viewed the Enlightenment as a crucial transition to rationality and autonomy, with the media playing a vital role in promoting reason through the public use of reason.
• 🙈 Marx and Engels saw the media as a tool to spread communist ideals and unite the oppressed workers globally, emphasizing the importance of new means of communication for revolutionary success.
• 🥶 Both Kant and Marx believed in the media as a public sphere, the voice of reason, a space for free speech, the commons, and a catalyst for social change.
• 🔉 The ideas of Kant and Marx laid the foundation for modern media theory, with differing perspectives on the media's role in the individual's intellectual growth and the collective action of the working class.

Transcript

This video in our media theory series goes back to the roots:  It's going to be the first video in the seires Immanuel Kant and Karl Marx are not commonly known as “media theorists”— especially not since they lived long before radio and  TV, the Internet and social media.  And yet, they set the stage for most media theory after them.  Kant’s perhap... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: How did Immanuel Kant view the Enlightenment and its connection to media?

Kant saw the Enlightenment as a transition from irrational thinking and religious control to rationality and individual autonomy. He believed that the mass media played a crucial role in promoting enlightenment by providing a platform for the public use of reason.

Q: What role did the media play in Marx and Engels' Communist Manifesto?

The media, particularly print media in the 19th century, were seen as essential for spreading communist ideals and uniting the oppressed workers globally. The media served as the virtual space where different local struggles could be centralized into a national class struggle.

Q: How did Kant's and Marx's views on media differ?

While both Kant and Marx emphasized the importance of the media as a public sphere and a voice for change, Kant focused on the Enlightenment and the individual's intellectual growth, while Marx emphasized the role of the media in organizing and mobilizing the working class for revolution.

Q: What are some key ideas that the Communist Manifesto added to earlier Enlightenment media theory?

The Communist Manifesto introduced the concepts of the media as a means to connect and unite the oppressed, and as a revolutionary space that is collectively owned and operated by the people. It also highlighted the need for new means of communication, such as print media, for the success of the revolution.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Kant believed that the Enlightenment was a crucial turning point in human history, where reason and rationality replaced irrational religious beliefs and led to individual autonomy and the development of moral laws. He saw the mass media as essential in promoting enlightenment through the public use of reason.

• Marx and Engels viewed the media as a means to spread communist ideals and unite the oppressed. They saw the media as the virtual space where the workers' revolution could be organized and fostered a sense of global interconnectedness among workers.

• Both Kant and Marx emphasized the importance of the media as a public sphere, the voice of reason, a platform for free speech, the commons, and a catalyst for social change.