Essay about Technological Pessimism

Words: 1216
Pages: 5
Open Document
Are we living in an age of technological optimism or technological pessimism? In The Idea of Technology and Postmodern Pessimism Leo Marx, a leading historian of technology and American culture, argues that while technological optimism had been the default mode of American culture throughout most of its history, technological pessimism asserted itself to an unprecedented degree in the second half of the twentieth century. His essay traces the roots of what he terms “postmodern pessimism” in the earlier, dominant technological optimism and the evolution of our terminology for what comes to be known as “technology.” This latter semantic history, not unlike that which undergirds his more recent Technology: The Emergence of a Hazardous …show more content…
In Marx’s view, it would not be until the 1930′s that the term would achieve “truly wide currency.” By mid-century it was used more or less as we use it today, to denote a remarkably wide array of tools and techniques, singularly and in complex combination.
The term’s elasticity, according to Marx, fit the new reality “in which the boundary between the intricately interlinked artifactual and other components — conceptual, institutional, human — is blurred and often invisible.” Marx goes on to add, “by virtue of its abstractness and inclusiveness, and its capacity to evoke the inextricable interpenetration of (for example) the powers of the computer witht eh bureaucratic practices of large modern institutions, ‘technology’ (with no specifying adjective) invites endless reification.”
The consequence is a “common tendency” to “invest ‘technology’ with a host of metaphysical properties and potencies, thereby making it seem to be a determinate entity, a disembodied autonomous causal agent of social change.”
Recalling the second, ideological development, the semantic evolution just describe took place alongside of related evolution in the concept of “progress.” The development of technology had been previously understood to be a means to the end of constructing a “just, republican society.” By the late nineteenth century the advance of technology was synonymous
Show More

Related Documents: Essay about Technological Pessimism

Essay on Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren

Will our children and grandchildren live in a better world, or will economic and social conditions decline? Every culture has worried over this question—often for good reason. One would think that modern man, living amid ever-rising material comforts and a security unimagined by his ancestors, would have moved beyond this fear. But despite our growing prosperity there is a renewed fear in many quarters that we are living on borrowed time, because we’re running out of resources and endangering our…

Words 736 - Pages 3

Kafka's Metamorphosis

everything further. Everything within the story was broken up between different people and different viewpoints. Woolf perfectly broke it up to show different societal outlooks on life after the war. It all starts with optimism, breaks up the happy with pessimism and realism, and then breaks out the content optimism again. It shows that there are these breaks that began to form after learning almost everything was a lie. The optimism begins with a lovely tour of the streets of London that shows everyone lively…

Words 865 - Pages 4

Mama Mia Essay

the first cities emerged Some claim that the first cities emerged in Sumer c. 3000 B.C. Others argue that early settlements like Jericho were the first urban centers because of large populations, trade activities, and public works Neolithic technological advances included: Shaping and baking clay for pottery containers, potter’s wheel Grinding stone tools on rock Wheel and sail Plow and ox yoke Use of copper for tools and weapons Combining copper and tin to make bronze The Rise to Civilization…

Words 876 - Pages 4

Economic Growth and Technological Level Essay

Economic Research 14 (2009) 285–308 285 The Technological level of Exports and Economic Growth Jong-Il Kim1 Dongguuk University Received 12 September 2009 ; Accepted 15 November 2009 Abstract This study tries to explore the relationship between exports and economic growth by focusing on the technological level of exports. We construct the technological level index of exports by using trade data and investigate the significance of the technological level of exports in determining economic growth…

Words 8465 - Pages 34

Kenneth Waltz Argument

Argument Kenneth Waltz, a leading scholar in international relations and founder of neorealism, rebuts Scott Sagan in their ongoing debate on nuclear proliferation. In his critique, Sagan presents “the problems and conditions that conduce to [nuclear] pessimism.” Waltz’s chapter 4 responds to Sagan by emphasizing “the likely solutions and the conditions that conduce to [nuclear] optimism.” It does so by dividing the chapter into six parts, A-F. A. Terror Three types of terrorist organizations exist: ones…

Words 1115 - Pages 5

Tata: Value Added Tax and Long-term Capital Gains Essay

You should identify the key drivers in the environment that are relevant to TATA and support your analysis by providing references of your research. The conclusion should discuss why these drivers are so important to TATA and how they are responding to them. Identifying Environmental Influences – PESTEL Analysis Political Taxation Policy Taxes on corporate income Companies and residents in India are taxed on their worldwide income arising from all sources in accordance with the provisions…

Words 1101 - Pages 5

Essay on Toyota Car Manufacturing

The rate of inflation increased and demand for automobiles fell drastically. Yet, in the face of the overall pessimism that gripped the industry and the nation, Toyota’s chairman Eiji Toyoda proposed a highly aggressive corporate strategy. His conviction was that the automobile, far from being a “luxury,” had become and would remain a necessity for people at all…

Words 1245 - Pages 5

What Contribution Can Behavioural Finance Make to the Explanation of Stock Market Bubbles and Crashes? Essay

The occurrence of stock market bubbles and crashes is often cited as evidence against the efficient market hypothesis. It is argued that new information is rarely, if ever, capable of explaining the sudden and dramatic share price movements observed during bubbles and crashes. Samuelson (1998) distinguished between micro efficiency and macro efficiency. Samuelson took the view that major stock markets are micro efficient in the sense that stocks are (nearly) correctly priced relative to each other…

Words 7029 - Pages 29

Economic Crisis Essay

March 2013: Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 8.1 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.1 7.8 7.9 7.8 7.8 7.9 7.7 7.6 Expectations While expectations were improving earlier in the year, economic outlook is currently showing signs of widespread and growing pessimism. This is evident in the fact that in March, 2013 US employers hired at the slowest rate since July, 2012. In fact, payrolls expanded by just 88,000 last month outside the farming sector - a figure that was well below market expectations for a 200…

Words 1465 - Pages 6

Recharging China's Electric Vehicle Policy

in an emerging industry. While the government has prioritized the development of electric vehicles, more can be done to ensure success. Recommendations 1. Open the domestic electric vehicle market to leading international automakers to promote technological development. 2. Prioritize promoting electric vehicle use in commercial operations that rely on large numbers of vehicles, such as car-rental and car-sharing services, business distribution networks, and taxi companies in city centers, and as official…

Words 3537 - Pages 15