Technology and Work in Vonnegut’s Dystopia Player Piano

Abstract

Concern for human existence in a world shaped by technology is a subject of reflection in art, philosophy, and science. Unlike techno-optimism expressed in most utopias, dystopia is most often based on the idea that technological development can endanger freedom, values , and the current way of human life. The themes of dystopia are different - from the use of technology to control the population to the rule of the machine over its creator. In the novel Player Piano, Kurt Vonnegut develops a dystopian image of a society organized around automated production. The paper addresses the potential consequences of production automation on society and individuals presented in the novel - unemployment and fear of losing a job, social inequality, social position, and identity of the individual in the conditions of widespread use of machines. In the second part of the paper, these problems will be analyzed in the context of ideas developed by Marx, Anders, and other theorists who deal with the problems of labor and the social consequences of technology.

Keywords

• technology
• work
• leisure
• identity
• vonnegut