Poetry and the Progress of Man

Is technological progress truly beneficial for the strength and sanity of the human race? Many poets, writers, and philosophers have grappled with the same question. The recent surge in mobile communication devices has changed how people observe and interact with the world. The Internet has revolutionized everything from the global economy, to our personal social life. Have we lost something? Can we continue to exist on such an artificial level? Throughout this article I will put these questions in perspective with poetic writing from two outstanding poets of the 20th century.


After reading an insightful essay by C.S. Lewis called “The Abolition of Man,” I understood the full depth of Amiri Baraka’s poem “In Memory of Radio.”

C.S. Lewis argues that that technological advances negatively influence the human race in terms of its “Power” and spirituality. To read the entire essay one must forgive his use of the word “Man” or “he” because he means humankind with these sexist terms. He uses three technological advances to illustrate his point, “the aeroplane, the wireless, and the contraceptive.” By wireless he means radio and not a cell phone. He writes that,

“Any or all of the three things I have mentioned can be withheld from some men by other men—by those who sell, or those who allow the sale, or those who own the sources of production, or those who make the goods. What we call Man's power is, in reality, a power possessed by some men which they may, or may not, allow other men to profit by. Again, as regards the powers manifested in the aeroplane or the wireless, Man is as much the patient or subject as the possessor, since he is the target both for bombs and for propaganda.”

Later he defends himself against the criticism that he is anti-science.

Nothing I can say will prevent some people from describing this lecture as an attack on science. I deny the charge, of course: and real Natural Philosophers (there are some now alive) will perceive that in defending value I defend the value of knowledge… I even suggest that from Science herself the cure might come.

To interpret the full meaning of what C.S. Lewis means one must think outside the box. He defends the value of knowledge, for example, understanding how a radio works has true value. To use the radio and take its function for granted without knowing how it works, the listener gives up their power to the few people who do understand how the radio works.

As Amiri Baraka mourns the fading appeal of radio, C.S. Lewis mourns the use of Science and technology to rob us from our natural Power to understand the world around us.