ABSTRACT
In an enthusiastic tone, artists at the beginning of the twentieth century celebrated the development of modern technology. At the same time as Filippo Tommaso Marinetti and the Italian Futurist movement praised the progress towards the new world shaped by machines, they encouraged the destruction of libraries, museums and academies. The movement fought moralism, feminism and utilitarian cowardice, it glorified war and hymned the beauty of speed, best represented in the roaring racing car. It is still impressive to consider the clarity of the Futurist's analysis of their culture and their consciousness about the enormous potential of social change that would result from their perception of the progress of technology. The idea that technology is a tool for humanity's salvation falls in line with Western history, in which culture has for the past thousand years tried to achieve salvation through technological innovations. Late-modern capitalism instead still proclaims the dogma of technology's so-called value neutrality, also described as technological somnambulism.
