Democracy and Technology

This eye-opening book describes how modern technologies--such as computers, automobiles, machine tools, hybrid crops, nuclear reactors, and others--contribute to vexing social problems ranging from the continued subordination of women and workers to widespread political disengagement. Engineers, manufacturers, and policy makers rarely take these consequences into account. Contending that reinvigorated democratic politics can and should supersede conventional economic reasoning as a basis for decisions about technology, Richard Sclove clearly outlines how the general public can become actively involved in all phases of technology decision making, from assessment and policy making to research and development. For half a century, the Cold War provided the rationale for U.S. science and technology policies. The demise of the Cold War, Sclove argues, provides an ideal opportunity to reformulate technology decision making and design, making them more responsive to social needs. Synthesizing recent research into the social dimensions of technology with democratic theory, the author develops an innovative, practical framework for distinguishing technologies that are compatible with true democratic ideals from those that are not. The text abounds in well-researched examples from all over the world and throughout history of societies that have used technology to enhance their way of life without sacrificing their ideals or traditions, as well as those where technology has completely disrupted prior patterns of community life. Drawing valuable lessons from these studies, Sclove offers concrete suggestions for implementing political and institutional strategies that will create a more sustainable, socially responsive, and humane technology.