Meanwhile, ideologues elevated a “maniacal intensity of work” to the level of moral principle; both capitalist and proletarian were enslaved to the rhythms of mechanization. Even the ideal of democracy degenerated into a “psychological rationalization for machine industry,” as workers exchanged control over the means of production for a plethora of commodities.35 Life under the spell of paleotechnic enchantment was as brutish as it was productive.
