ABSTRACT
The uncritical approach to technical progress has been the dominant trend in Marxism since the end of the nineteenth century. Marx's own views were less one-sided: one can find in his writing an attempt towards a dialectical understanding of the antinomies of progress. Walter Benjamin never dealt systematically with the problems of modern technology, but one can find in his writings remarkable insight which sets him apart as one of the first Marxist thinkers to approach these questions with a critical mind. The roots of Benjamin's attitude towards technology can be found in the romantic tradition. Walter Benjamin becomes increasingly aware that his critical views on technology are radically opposed to the blissfully optimistic approach so characteristic of the dominant ideology in the labor movement. In his first Marxist work Benjamin sounded the fire alarm: if proletarian revolution does not come in time, economic and technical progress under capitalism may lead to catastrophe.
