This review examines C. S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man as a fiercely antimodernist critique of moral relativism, technocracy and the modern ambition to remake humanity. Starting from Lewis’s reflections on education and aesthetic judgment, it reconstructs his idea of the “Tao” as a universal moral order shared across religious and philosophical traditions. The article highlights the paradoxical political position of Lewis’s argument: rooted in conservative anti-progressivism, yet directed against Nazism, technocratic domination and the reduction of human beings to manipulable artefacts. It also shows how themes once developed within right-wing antimodernism later entered parts of left-wing critiques of mass society, science and technology.
Il preteso pericolo di trasformare i soggetti in artefatti
Fabio Dei
2026-01-01
Abstract
This review examines C. S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man as a fiercely antimodernist critique of moral relativism, technocracy and the modern ambition to remake humanity. Starting from Lewis’s reflections on education and aesthetic judgment, it reconstructs his idea of the “Tao” as a universal moral order shared across religious and philosophical traditions. The article highlights the paradoxical political position of Lewis’s argument: rooted in conservative anti-progressivism, yet directed against Nazism, technocratic domination and the reduction of human beings to manipulable artefacts. It also shows how themes once developed within right-wing antimodernism later entered parts of left-wing critiques of mass society, science and technology.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
