Jacques Ellul - The Technological Society

The Tyranny of Technique: How Technology Became the Master

In The Technological Society, Jacques Ellul presents one of the most unsettling truths of the modern age: technology is no longer a tool we control—it has become the master we serve. Unlike the traditional view that technology is a neutral force guided by human will, Ellul argues that technology evolves according to its own autonomous logic, indifferent to human values, desires, or ethics. This is not a conspiracy theory. There is no shadowy cabal pulling the strings. The terrifying beauty of Ellul’s argument is its simplicity: technology doesn’t need a master because it is self-propelling. Once a new technique is discovered, it spreads, not because it’s good, but because it works. The system feeds itself.

“Technique evolves with an autonomy that no human society can control. Once a technique is possible, it becomes inevitable.”

This is the tyranny of technique—a silent, relentless force shaping every aspect of our lives without our consent, and often without our awareness.

What Is Technique? (It’s Not Just Gadgets)

When Ellul talks about “technique,” he’s not just referring to machines or high-tech gadgets. Technique is any method or process that seeks the most efficient way to achieve a goal. It’s about optimisation, improvement, and—above all—efficiency.

• A farming method that increases crop yields? That’s a technique.

• An algorithm that predicts your shopping habits? Technique.

• A bureaucratic system that processes applications faster? Still technique.

• Even propaganda strategies designed to manipulate public opinion are forms of technique.

The key feature of technique is that it is self-justifying. It doesn’t ask, “Should we do this?” It only asks, “Can we do this more efficiently?”

“Technique does not evolve because it is useful to humanity. It evolves because it is possible.”

This simple principle has radical implications: once a new technique is invented, its adoption becomes inevitable. There’s no going back.

The Autonomy of Technology: Why Progress Can’t Be Stopped

Ellul’s most provocative—and disturbing—claim is that technology develops autonomously, independent of human control. This means:

1. If something can be done, it will be done.
   Once a technique exists, someone, somewhere, will adopt it—whether or not society is ready for the consequences.

2. No one is in charge.
   Politicians don’t control technology; they react to it. Corporations don’t guide its development; they chase it. Even inventors can’t predict or restrain the uses of their creations.

3. Technological progress is self-reinforcing.
   Each new innovation creates the conditions for further innovations. It’s a feedback loop with no brakes.

Consider the development of nuclear weapons. They weren’t created because humanity collectively decided that atomic bombs were a good idea. They were developed because the scientific knowledge existed, and once it was possible, it was inevitable.

The same logic applies to artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and surveillance technologies. The question is never, “Should we?” but, “How soon can we?”

“When a society allows technique to flourish without restraint, it creates a dynamic that no institution—political, religious, or ethical—can resist.”

Why Democracy Can’t Control Technology

In democratic societies, we like to believe that we’re in charge, that if a technology is harmful, we can regulate or even ban it. Ellul exposes this as a comforting illusion.

• Regulation is always reactive. By the time a technology’s risks are understood, it’s already embedded in the system.

• Governments are powerless. Politicians don’t have the expertise to control complex technologies. They rely on experts—the very people invested in developing those technologies.

• Globalisation ensures adoption. Even if one country bans a technology, others will embrace it, forcing everyone else to keep up to remain competitive.

Take the example of mass surveillance:

• After 9/11, governments worldwide expanded their surveillance capabilities.

• When whistleblowers like Edward Snowden exposed the extent of these programs, there was public outrage—but nothing changed.

• Why? Because the surveillance techniques were already integrated into national security infrastructures. Their efficiency made them indispensable.

This is the tyranny Ellul describes: technological systems reach a point where they are too embedded to dismantle.

The Paradox of Freedom: How Technology Creates New Chains

Here’s the cruel paradox of modern technology: it promises freedom but often delivers the opposite.

• The automobile promised freedom of movement. Now, entire cities are designed around car dependency, making it impossible to live without one.

• Smartphones promised connection and convenience. Now, they’re surveillance devices we carry voluntarily, tracking our every move.

• Social media promised to democratise information. Instead, it’s become a tool for manipulation, addiction, and polarisation.

“Modern man believes he is free because he can choose between hundreds of products, yet he is enslaved by the very system that offers those choices.”

Technology doesn’t enslave through force. It enslaves through dependency. We adopt new tools for convenience, only to find that we can’t live without them. And once we’re dependent, the system controls us—not through coercion, but through necessity.

The Illusion of Progress: Are We Actually Advancing?

Ellul challenges one of the most sacred beliefs of modernity: the idea that technological progress equals human progress.

• Are we wiser because we have the internet?

• Are we happier because of smartphones?

• Are we freer because of automation?

For Ellul, the answer is clear: no. In fact, technological progress often amplifies existing problems while creating new ones.

Consider the environmental impact:

• Industrialisation brought economic growth—but also pollution, and ecological collapse.

• Now, we’re told that new technologies—like electric cars and renewable energy—will save us.

• But Ellul would argue: these are not solutions. They are new techniques that create new dependencies and new risks.

This is the technological paradox:

1. New technology solves one problem.

2. It creates unforeseen problems.

3. We develop more technology to address those problems.

4. Repeat.

Is Resistance Possible?

Ellul’s analysis is bleak, but it’s not nihilistic. While we can’t stop the technological juggernaut, we can choose how to live within it. His message is one of awareness and personal autonomy—not in the political sense, but in the deeper sense of mental and spiritual freedom.

1. Awareness is the First Act of Defiance.
   Simply seeing the system for what it is breaks the illusion. Most people live under the comforting belief that technology serves them. Recognising that we serve it is the first step toward freedom.

2. Refuse to Worship the Machine.
   Modern society treats technology as sacred, with each new gadget or app celebrated as a form of salvation. Ellul’s response: stop believing in the gospel of progress.

   • This doesn’t mean rejecting all technology. It means rejecting the belief that technology inherently improves life.

3. Cultivate Autonomy Where You Can.
   While complete independence from technology is impossible, small acts of autonomy are powerful:

   • Grow your own food.

   • Limit digital consumption.

   • Develop skills that don’t rely on complex systems.

   • Build face-to-face communities.

4. Live as if You Are Free.
   Ellul’s final, paradoxical lesson: even in a system you cannot control, you can choose how you respond.

   • You may not be able to change the world, but you can refuse to conform to it.

   • You may not be able to escape the system, but you can live within it as if you were free.

“The ultimate act of resistance in a technological society is to live as though you are free, even when the system insists that you are not.”

Conclusion

The Technological Society is not a manifesto against machines. It’s a mirror held up to a civilisation drunk on the illusion of control. Ellul’s message is both sobering and liberating: we are not in charge. We never were.

But that doesn’t mean we are powerless. The true battlefield is not out there—it’s in the mind.

• To question what everyone accepts as inevitable.

• To resist what everyone calls progress.

• To live deliberately in a world that demands automation.

In the end, freedom is not the absence of constraints. It’s the courage to choose your constraints, to define your values, and to refuse to surrender your soul to the machine.

That is the heart of Ellul’s rebellion. Not against technology itself, but against the belief that we must bow to it.

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