Technological development has been an integral part of human history. In pre-modern times, societies had some of the most important technological advancements – often as a result of necessity. Even today, when we are focussed on wireless and globalised technologies, we should remember the fact that the wheel was a technological advancement: and probably the world’s most important breakthrough!
In this blog, I want to look at the emergence and importance of technologies in shaping our lives in contemporary society. Importantly, we should remember that this is not a one way relationship: for it is the structure of our society that shapes technologies. In other words, just like other dimensions of life that I have discussed in these blogs, technology is socially constructed.
If we see technology as socially constructed, then we can avoid the trap of 'technological determinism': that is, the idea that technology is independent, autonomous and inevitable, and somehow disconnected from social processes. Our current technological advances have a historical and social basis. And as will be seen, a history and sociality that is strongly rooted in modernity.
Transport and communications
Before beginning, it is important to consider that technology takes many different shapes. Obviously it is impossible to discuss all technologies in a short blog, so I will be concentrating on transport and communication technology that affects our every day lives in contemporary society.
Once, transport and communications technology used to mean the same thing. But now, with massive advances in both, they have essentially separated. With regard to transport, we have seen the world grow smaller as we have moved from the steam train to the jet.
Similarly, the development of communications technology such as intercontinental cables, satellites and internet means communications can occur instantaneously over vast distances.
Technology and globalisation
While I will discuss globalisation in a future blog, it is not possible to discuss technology today without also looking at the issue of globalisation. To ensure that this blog makes sense, let me briefly describe globalisation as a process that essentially makes the world smaller! That is, in compresses time and space.
For this to make sense, think about how even ten years ago if you wanted to call someone to see if they were home, you would have to find a phone booth. Now you just grab your mobile and call them. Your friends seem much closer even if they live the same distance away. For those of us who use Skype to make international phone calls, we can log on and see who is on the net and call them anywhere in the world for free! Or you can contact 100 friends simultaneously via Facebook or twitter! Imagine trying to do that with everyone just by using a home phone!
Another example would be to see how easy and cheap it is to fly to Europe. It now costs less than $1,500 to fly to London, and you can get there in less than 24 hours. Some 15 years ago, the cheapest fair was $2,500, you would have to check visa requirements, and flights took hours longer. In other words, the world is much smaller than in previous times in history.
Such dramatic changes that affect our everyday lives in contemporary society could not be possible without the many benefits that technology brings.
We should, however, not just view technological change in a globalised world as consumers. We need to also understand how the world has changed from a production perspective. For example, once in the not too distant passed, cars were designed, built and assembled in one place and in one factory. Now a car will be designed in Europe with parts built from nations as diverse as South Africa, Indonesia and Australia, and assembled in Korea. Then they are exported all over the world on well established routes with payments made instantly via wireless connections.
Authors such as Manuel Castells (2000) – who s very influential in this area – refer to technology as involving capacities to develop new ways of doing things: often in a reproducible manner. That is, finding ways to better reproduce things in an easier, quicker and cheaper manner. Think of micro-processors that reproduce their own technology that allows computers to become smaller and faster.
It kind of hurts my head if I think about the many technological networks that we rely on everyday. In this way then, technological advances should not be seen in abstraction, they influence our daily lives in many ways – from the economy, to the way our politicians react, but also how we see ourselves (or our identity and subjectivities).
Think about how spaces on the net like Facebook or Secondlife.com allow people to establish multiple identities in a way that have never been possible before. How we now communicate via text messaging: people sustain whole friendships and relationships by sending messages to each other. (I mean I know I do.)
My point is that technology is closely aligned with a host of social changes at local and global levels.
Technology and modernity
As I said above, we should not think of technology as something that is prolific only in our contemporary society. Scientific and technological innovations were prolific in the Renaissance and early modern periods.
As I noted in a previous blog on modernity, the belief in progress, rationality, predictability and science offering us a better path through advances are all very much part of the intellectual paradigm that emerged during the Enlightenment. Technology fits into this world view. The Enlightenment and in many ways, modernity, were driven by a utopian vision which could be reached using technology.
However, this utopian vision was fractured by many of the atrocities of the 20th century. While technological innovations promised so much, it also brought us the Nazi death camps, Hiroshima nuclear bombs, nuclear accidents and the use of depleted uranium in Iraq today – which is having horrific side effects on Iraq civilians and US veterans alike.
So, while we celebrate technological advances, we need to put them in context of the historical periods from which they emerged, and the political beliefs that have driven them. Consequently, technology is not itself neutral and benign, and should not be viewed uncritically.
As we have also seen, networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have also given rise to internet bullying, while naked photos of ex-partners have often been distributed via texting: these are issues that have led to major social problems – even suicide.
Technology and politics
Let's take a closer look at this statement by looking at technological developments since WWII. While many of these have been beneficial to us, they are closely aligned with to political and military objectives.
For every piece of technology, you have those who celebrate it and those who raise concerns. The politics of nuclear power is one example. You cannot disconnect discussions of nuclear technologies from global politics. So while many celebrate the potential of nuclear power to achieve resource efficiency and decrease global warming, others raise the risks.
But even more than that, it is the world's wealthiest nations that have this technology, and it is in their strategic and economic interests to limit its availability to others. Think about how the USA has reacted to Iran's nuclear aspirations. Is this driven by concerns that Iran is really a nation that is a rogue state or is it of strategic importance to ensure the Middle East remains nuclear free?
Personally I would prefer that no-one has access to nuclear technologies, but you can think about that one. But while you do, think about the fact that the nuclear non-proliferation treaty is about ensuring that nations without nuclear technology do not get it: those who already have it do not have to abide by the same rules.
We can draw also examples such as genetically modified seeds. Many promise that they can end world hunger – but many who do so are the same ones that develop the seeds and sell them. Others say it will merely make poorer nations even more reliant on the wealthy (see, for example, the work of Vandana Shiva).
Both these examples highlight how technology is used to maintain and enhance power relations rather than used to overcome them.
Technological enthusiasm
However, we should note that technological advancements are generally celebrated in our society – almost always seen as a good thing. This position that embraces technology and looks forward to more and more developments is titled 'technological enthusiasm'. In essence, technological enthusiasts embrace the following ideas:
- Technological advances in the second half of the 20th century have been the principle drivers of globalisation;
- Technological forces exceed the power of nation-states, leading to global markets and a global village;
- Technological advances renders national border meaningless;
- Technological advances, including those that promote a global economy, should not be interfered by governments;
- Technological advances are inevitable and desirable; and
- The concepts of the nation state and national economies have become essentially obsolete.
It is important to note that many who are viewed as technological enthusiasts also believe that technology cannot be stopped. In this way, they believe technology will shape society for the better and there is nothing that can be done to stop it. This returns us to the concept of technological determinism that I mentioned above – and warned you against!
Technology and inequality
Many authors, such as Francis Fukuyama and Thomas Friedman, celebrate technological innovations and the opportunities that they offer – and in this way they can be described as technological enthusiasts. They cite examples of communities that are struggling using the net to sell something unique products all over the world or jobs appearing in India in call centres that did not exist a few years ago. This is a celebration of technological capitalism and is embraced enthusiastically.
A more critical reading of this is offered by Manual Castells, who analyses the rise and development of information technologies in relation to globalisation and the economy. Like Fukuyama and Friedman, Castells sees a new economy that has emerged. However, this is different world vision and based on a group of networks that bypasses laws and solidarity units such as the state and labour unions. This allows capital to move easily with little regard for regulation or community needs, and results in exploiting the most vulnerable.
The conclusion that Castells draws is that we see an increasing polarisation – like the one I described when discussing class – driven by technology. Those who access technology can take advantages of the new economy, but those who cannot are left further and further behind.
It is important to stress that this takes place both within and between across nations: think about the technological ability of those using the net in Australia against those using it in the Solomon Islands. In addition, there are vast differences in the technology available to those living in remote parts of Australia with those in Sydney.
Likewise, this returns us to the availability of different technologies across public and private school issue I discussed in a previous blog: access to technology in public schools is much below that of private schools. Those with access have the ability to cement their position in social stratification in a way that those who do not, cannot.
Castells argues that information technology is beyond the nation state control and we are seeing tensions emerging between state power and capital power. Riding on the back of developments in communication and transport technology, capital and its managers can go anywhere in the world and hold governments to ransom. If they do not get what they want – subsidies or reductions in taxation – they can move on. In this way, the powerful and large corporations can hold nation-states to ransom!
Another dimension of life that technology seems to cement is unequal relationships between different genders. In many parts of the world, and this includes Australia, men have greater access to technology in comparison to women. Young men are encouraged to a greater degree to access communication technologies and continue to dominate areas that require access to technology.
But technology is not always negative: again, it depends. There are many positive events in which technology has played an important role… and I will discuss some of these below
Transformative power of technology
Technology, particularly information technology, transforms the global political, economic and social landscape. One simple example is the internet – which has had profound effects socially and politically.
One researcher (Aronson 2001) has found that technological advances have a number of profound impacts on government institutions. One example is that information overload impacts on the ability of many governments to make decisions and has influenced policy making in various ways:
- Governments have so much information that their decision making can become paralysed;
- Governments often aim to centralise information when we are seeing many other organisations – civil society, media and corporations – decentralising information. This means that these other groups may even be better informed than government decision makers.
- Global networks increase the transparency of information. This means that issues such as terrorism and global warming cannot be dealt with unilaterally
Aronson also notes that the rapid growth in information technology has not been coupled with appropriate government regulation. This means that the information technology has allowed corporations to expand with little oversight. In this way, if we look at the 100 largest economies in the world today, more than half are private corporations. There are less than 200 governments but over 60,000 TNCs that individually and collectively wield a great deal of power.
The third dimension of transformation is the way that NGOs have proliferated and taken advantage of global communication technology – with some of them becoming important global actors. These include activist NGOs involved in promoting environmental and human rights issues, rallying against arms proliferation as well more conservative and right-wing organisations.
Finally, Aronson notes that we have seen global communications technology empower people and allow collective social movements to be formed. The internet, a structure designed by the military, is the very structure that has been used to protest against issues such as the Iraq invasion in 2003. But at the same time we should think how similar technologies were used to rally a large crowd that resulted in the Cronulla riots.
Conclusion
In concluding, I want to emphasise how technology is grounded in power relationships and is never neutral.
Importantly, technology interacts with many of the other dimensions of contemporary society that we have discussed in many ways and influences them as they influence technology.
References
Aronson, J. (2001) "The communication and internet revolution", in Baylis, J. and Smith, S. (eds.) The Globalisation of World Politics, Oxford University Press
Arvanitakis, J. (2009) Contemporary Society, OUP, Melbourne
Castells, M. (2000) The Rise of the Network Society, Blackwell Publishing Limited
Friedman, T.L. (2000) The Lexus and The Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Fukuyama, F. (1992) The end of history and the last man, Penguin, London.
Shiva, V. (2000) Protect or plunder? Understanding intellectual property rights, Zed Books, London.
For more information on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty see http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/peace/solutions/international-solutions/npt
