Reyner Banham was and is one of my heroes. Why? Why should you care? What the hell does he have to do with what we do?
Well, here’s a snippet from the publishers blurb about a new book on his work and theories:
“Trained in mechanical engineering and art history, he was convinced that technology was making society not only more exciting but more democratic.”
This is going to get bought as soon as possible…
» The MIT Press – Reyner Banham:
Historian of the Immediate Future by Nigel Whiteley
Petafloptimism 
not to mention, Nigel Whiteley is an excellent design historian and writer.
He also wrote, “Design for Society”. One of my favorite quotes from that book:
“… during the era in which Britain evolved from being a ‘consumer’ to a ‘consumerist’ society. Terence Conran recalls that, ‘there was a strange moment around the mid-60s when people stopped needing and need changed into want … Designers became more important in producing “want” products rather than “need” products, because you have to create desire.'”