Innis, McLuhan, and Marx

Abstract

To help sort the useful theoretical similarities and distinctions between Innis, McLuhan, and Marx, this brief comment considers some unresolved problems in how Innis conceptualizes the logic of historical process and the impact of media on social organization. The comment argues that certain fundamental notions in Innis’ work, including his categories of spatial and temporal bias, inaccurately analyze key features of the historical interaction of media with social organization, and in particular shortchange the flexibility and persistence of oral-gestural modes of communication.