Democracy and Technology [Paperback]

Sclove. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 089862861X | ISBN-13: 978-0898628616 | Publication Date: July 28, 1995 | Edition: 1

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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The profound effects of technology on society occur mostly without our say-so, much less our blessing. People tend to take the changes technology brings about for granted; we are seldom, if ever, given a say choosing the technologies that become part of our everyday lives. Arguing that it need not be so, Sclove makes a case for cultivating "strong democracy," giving communities a say in choosing which technologies they will live with. This involves making people aware of the unintended consequences that accompany technology designed for a specific narrow purpose. One of his models is the Amish community, which holds town meetings to discuss the effect of introducing any innovation. Is the bringing of indoor plumbing to every home in a village universally desirable if it may atomize a thriving community? Should we allow loud car alarms to keep our cars safe? Why is that such decisions tend to be made ad hoc by individuals instead of by the community? Sclove's idealistic program is provocative. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

This search for a "democratic politics of technology" represents a serious attempt to apply "strong democracy" concepts to decision making about technological innovation. Sclove, a research fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies, urges that technologies are social structures--a technology's effect, for example, on cities, communities, even family life isn't an unintended consequence; it's implicit in the technology itself--and "both conventional economic analysis and unregulated markets are seriously inadequate" at recognizing and evaluating these structural effects. Citizens, Sclove maintains, could and would make these judgments if they had an opportunity to review proposed technologies before corporate and scientific elites confront them with a fait accompli. In particular, Sclove sees a more democratic politics of technology as both "a coherent alternative to neoclassical welfare economics" and a vital component of (and step toward) a society that is more democratic in all respects. Mary Carroll --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 338 pages
• Publisher: Guilford Press; 1 edition (July 28, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089862861X
• ISBN-13: 978-0898628616
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,325,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Technology is not a force of nature., July 23, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Democracy and Technology (Paperback)

An excellent supplement to this book is GIVING UP THE GUN: Japan's Reversion to the Sword, 1543-1879, by Noel Perrin. Both works argue effectively that the technologies we use are the results of human choices, not the products of forces beyond human control. Sclove and Fuller make an important case, namely, that the direction of technology must be democratically determined. Not a "quick read," DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY definitely is a vital one