A dictionary of Marshall McLuhan’s quotations

Compiled by William Kuhns
©2026 Marshall McLuhan Estate

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The matrix of the family, the community, has been ripped off by new instruments of transportation, which simply eliminate the neighborliness and the natural rapport that men have with one another by proximity and daily dialogue and familiarity. It is the daily dialogue and familiarity that has been ripped off by rapid transport, so that people now go as quickly to Berlin, or to a Munich, or to Moscow, as formally they made a short journey or rather a 30 or 40 mile journey to some neighborhood on their own country. Now this has temporarily at least destroyed what we call community and so the family is left isolated, the nuclear family, stark naked unsupported by community.
Televised interview by Father Patrick Peyton, on Father Peyton’s Family Theatre, 1972; transcript, p 10
Quote #6546
Year: 1972
Chapter: Speedups

Drawn to McLuhan #5

Illustration of a smartphone whose screen displays a man in business attire curled into a cramped fetal position inside the device.
"New technology breeds new man."
Illustrated procession of warriors and soldiers through history — a Native American fighter, Roman legionaries, a medieval knight, WWI/WWII infantry, a modern rifle-armed soldier, a futuristic armored trooper, and an astronaut — set against a sky shifting from fire to outer space.
"Every new technology necessitates a new war."
Illustration of a giant boot-shaped prison labeled "Section 7" and "Processing," guarded by an armed soldier, with a long line of people below all staring down at their smartphones.
"Today the tyrant rules not by club or fist, but ... he shepherds his flocks in the ways of utility and comfort."
Illustration of a young man and woman riding old-fashioned bicycles through a swirling, disorienting vortex surrounded by crumbling buildings, uprooted trees, and floating debris, with a torn sign reading "...cade de l'avenir."
"Our confused efforts to re-establish goals, habits, attitudes, and the sense of security they bring has become the main order of business."
Illustrated procession of warriors and soldiers through history — a Native American fighter, Roman legionaries, a medieval knight, WWI/WWII infantry, a modern rifle-armed soldier, a futuristic armored trooper, and an astronaut — set against a sky shifting from fire to outer space.
"We put on our technology as evolutionary clothing."
Illustration of a diverse group of pedestrians on a city sidewalk lined with a cafe and bookstore, most wearing headphones or earbuds and looking at their phones near a crosswalk.
"We can musically harmonize our lives to a fantastic degree. And we are headed that way."
Cartoon illustration of an awards-ceremony stage with a banner reading "This Year's Man of Distinction," where a crowd of identically dressed men in black tuxedos jostle forward to receive the same trophy from a smiling recipient.
"[We can expect] less and less distinction for more and more men of distinction."
Photo-style graphic of a smartphone displaying the YouTube logo (red play button and wordmark) centered against a pink-to-orange gradient background.
"[As we retribalize, we're certain to build] a new tribal encyclopedia of auditory incantation."
© The Estate of Marshall McLuhan