Building a Bridge to the 18th Century

In Building a Bridge to the 18th Century: How the Past Can Improve Our Future (1999), Neil Postman explores how to reclaim balance in modern society by looking at the achievements of the Enlightenment era. For example, Postman touches on Jefferson’s notion of representative democracy, Locke’s method of deductive reasoning, and Rousseau’s demand for education of the young. In surveying such accomplishments, the author boldly asserts that truth cannot waiver with passing fashions or the passing of time.

Postman begins by informing the reader of his search for good ideas of the past. Ancient Greece marks the start of the Western world, much like the eighteenth century marks the start of the modern world. The Enlightenment was, in fact, partially the result of a rediscovery of ancient Greek writing. All of the Founding Fathers studied these works and used the ideas to form America’s government. However, Postman rejects the ideas of ancient Greece because they are too old, foreign, insular, and unfamiliar with the power of technology. He also dismisses the God-centered perspective of the Middle Ages because he does not want fundamentalism to be a central issue and because society has moved so far from religion. He then decides on the Enlightenment as a powerhouse of ideas that can be drawn on for an approach to the future.

Our world, in comparison with the eighteenth century, comes up short, says Postman, due to the inundation of meaningless information and data. On the other hand, in the Enlightenment era, individuals reveled in knowledge—information with context and purpose. Whereas we are afflicted by deconstructionists who focus on the challenging relationship between language and reality, that century was filled with philosophers who believed in the power of language to map reality. Our society treats children as consumers by barraging them with advertisements and sexually explicit images, while eighteenth-century thinkers believed childhood was a distinct stage in life that warranted protection from the information of adults.



The author deeply regrets the loss of religion. When we do not have a narrative that generates some sense of purpose, he says, disorientation takes hold followed by a search for something to believe in or the conclusion that nothing of the sort can be found. He claims to be writing for those who search for a means of confronting the future—a means that takes on reality straightforwardly, is based in humaneness, and provides meaningful purpose.

He goes on to state that constructing a new narrative will not succeed, however, because we cannot escape ourselves and our own dilemma. It is delusional, he claims, to think the future will make irrelevant what we know about ourselves.

In today’s world, the march of progress now means everything is done to make humans happier or improve the standard of living, but eighteenth-century thinkers saw the value of progress. They also, however, saw its pitfalls. Postman feels that a cultural obsession with the notion of progress has resulted in confusion and spiritual emptiness.



Postman notes an instance when Lord Byron read a letter to the House of Lords early in the nineteenth century. Byron argued against a proposed law, stating that individuals who deliberately break machines, known as “Luddites,” should not face the death penalty. Luddites were attempting to demonstrate how the rise of factories was destroying their way of life. Byron hoped to show that progress is a tainted deal in which there is economic growth but a loss of self-respect and community.

The author challenges the reader by raising several instances in which technology has helped but also harmed us. For example, he asserts that while the automobile has been very convenient, it has also poisoned the air, created traffic, and contributed to the destruction of natural landscapes. Television has allowed for the dissemination of information but has led to a decline in literacy as well as socialization for children. Additionally, in weighing whether the advantages of technology outweigh the disadvantages, Postman is quick to note that the vast majority of new technology presents only marginal benefits.

He then raises the issue of information, observing that during the eighteenth century, knowledge was not thought of as separate the way it is today. It was not seen as worthwhile if it did not have a context that fit into a worldview. Although the nineteenth century solved the issue of delivering more information to the public in faster and more diverse ways, the author believes this has created a new problem—information glut and information that is divorced from purpose or meaning. This he refers to as a “crisis in narrative.” As a result, says Postman, men have sought narratives of masculinity, tradition, conquest, and strength.



The author concludes by asserting that education in today’s world fails to teach reason and skepticism, which are two of the more important priorities of the Enlightenment. Our society no longer seeks to create a world in which citizens can doubt the authority that controls them or identify propaganda. Rather, a small elite is given a proper education, while the rest are doomed to learn facts and obedience.