ABSTRACT
Hans Magnus Enzensberger first became widely known with the publication of the volume of poetry verteidigung der wolfe in 1957. Enzensberger’s early reputation as a social critic was established by essays and articles that appeared in such publications as Konkret. Enzensberger’s early prose writing announces his interest in a field which, regardless of changes in political outlook, has remained a constant concern for him, the mass media. The term consciousness industry is not restricted by Enzensberger to the mass media. He extends it, in two particularly critical essays, to include tourism and mail-order catalogues. Enzensberger’s stance reflects the general abhorrence of ideology prevalent among intellectuals in the first fifteen years or so of the Federal Republic’s existence. The term consciousness industry is not restricted by Enzensberger to the mass media.
