Historical Roots Narrative - Revision history

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In the mid-1970s Ivan Illich presented his idea of [[Convivial Tools]] as an alternative to the existing system of industrial tools. The criticism of industrial technology first emerged during the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century, but the framework for the debate was set nearly a century earlier, during the French Enlightenment. Most of the Enlightenment philosophers held that the development of civilisation and knowledge would inevitably bring social progress, but [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] held on the contrary that the progress of civilisation, in separating city dwellers from nature, degraded their well-being and corrupted their morals

The industrial revolution brought with it widespread social ravage that was commented upon by many contemporaries, such as the sociologist [[Emile Durkheim]]. In his "On the social division of labour" Durkheim cites several early nineteenth-century observers who commented on the degraded condition of industrial workers. In a similar vein, the Marxist [[Theory of Alienation]] analysed the discontent of the worker in the industrial factory. Another nineteenth century critic of the industrial revolution was [[Henry David Thoreau]], who foresaw that the development of industrial society would foster inequality of competencies.

Throughout the nineteenth century, however, the great majority of observers greeted industrial development favorably, the disputes centering on the question of how to distribute the newly-produced wealth. It was only following the experience of the First World War, with the carnage of trench warfare and the use of mustard gas, that serious questions were first raised about the potential misuse of technology.

Doubts about the directions taken by technical development were expressed by scholars such as [[Lewis Mumford]], an American architectural critic and historian of science. In "Technics and Civilization" (1934) Mumford contrasted a Polytechnic society, which enlists a range of different modes of technology, and a Monotechnic one, which is based on a single oppressive mode of technology, such as America's transportation networks with its over-reliance on automobiles. Also during the 1930s, a group of unorthodox leftist scholars in Germany, known as the [[Frankfurt School]], asked how Western civilisation could have given rise to German fascism. In "Dialectic of Enlightenment", which was only published after the second world war, Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno proposed that Enlightenment thought contained the seeds of its own self-destruction, in the form of a split between human subjectivity and natural forces, the former being embodied in a form of scientific rationality which is raised to the status of myth, thereby becoming irrational. Meanwhile, while the Second World War was raging in Europe, Swiss architect and historian [[Sigfried Giedion]] was calmly searching through the American patent archives for his history of mechanical invention, published in 1947 as "Mechanization Takes Command," which examined the intrusion of mechanization into all realms of modern life, from bakeries and slaughterhouses to private kitchens and bathrooms.

At the end of the Second World War the dangers of technological development were strikingly demonstrated by the Nazi extermination camps and the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In this context the French social philosopher [[Jacques Ellul]] published in 1953 "The Technological Society," in which Ellul expanded the notion of "techniques" to cover all procedures for social and administrative management. Ellul's radical conclusion was that the interrelated system of techniques takes on a life and logic of its own, such that techniques themselves determine human decisions, rather than the contrary, a conclusion which Ellul summed up as follows: "efficiency is no longer an option but a necessity imposed on all human activity."

During the nineteen-fifties the evolution of American society towards consumerism and a service economy spawned new analyses of these phenomena. The sociologist [[C. Wright Mills]] contended that new middle class bureaucracies had turned city workers into cheerful robots, paid a decent salary, but unable to exercise any effect on the world around them. In The Power Elite (1956) he called attention to the interlaced interests of the leaders of the military, corporate, and political elements of society, suggesting that the ordinary citizen was a relatively powerless subject of manipulation by those elites. In "The Waste Makers" (1960), cultural critic [[Vance Packard]] denounced the tendency of business to make consumers wasteful, debt-ridden, permanently discontented individuals. Packard notably analyzed [[Planned Obsolescence]], a marketing strategy which aims to wear a product out in the owner's mind through changes in "styling" unaccompanied by meaningful design changes in the product.

The nineteen-sixties brought wider public consciousness of the negative side-effects of over-industrialization. The harmful environmental impact of uncontrolled use of pesticides was documented by Rachel Carson in Silent Spring (1962), the publication of which can be considered the founding act of modern environmentalism. In 1963 appeared the little book
Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth by R. [[Buckminster Fuller]], an American inventor best-known for having developed the geodesic dome. Fuller was an early advocate of holistic thinking, which a new type of [[Comprehensive Designer]] would apply in order to design new technologies in accord with the universal patterns inherent in nature.

Also in the mid-sixties, an economist named [[E.F. Schumacher]] began promoting what came to be called [[Appropriate Technology]], and a counter-cultural entrepreneur called [[Stewart Brand]] published the first [[Whole Earth Catalog]]. These trends are more fully covered in the [[Appropriate Technology]] and [[Whole Earth]] parts of this website.

The same period brought increased awareness of ecological limits of planet Earth. In 1968 appeared [[Paul Ehrlich]]'s book [[The Population Bomb]], in which he predicted that world population would keep growing exponentially while agricultural production would reach its limits, resulting in mass famine. While this prediction of immediate catastrophe failed to materialise, the book helped promote consciousness of the earth as a finite system. In 1972 the Club of Rome published a book called [[The Limits to Growth]], written by an MIT team working under Dr. Dennis Meadows. The MIT team built an elaborate computer model of the world system, and concluded that continued exponential economic growth would lead to a catastrophic collapse some time before the year 2100, unless transition could be made to a steady-state. In the following year, 1973, two books were published which proposed positive steps towards such as transition: [[E.F. Schumacher]]'s [[Small is Beautiful]], and [[Ivan Illich]]'s [[Tools for Conviviality]].

[[Category:Historical Roots]]

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 The criticism of industrial technology first emerged during the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century, but the framework for the debate was set nearly a century earlier, during the French Enlightenment. Most of the Enlightenment philosophers held that the development of civilisation and knowledge would inevitably bring social progress, but [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] held on the contrary that the progress of civilisation, in separating city dwellers from nature, degraded their well-being and corrupted their morals
-==Nineteenth Century critics of industrialization==
+==Nineteenth century critics of industrialization==
 The industrial revolution brought with it widespread social ravage that was commented upon by many contemporaries, such as the sociologist [[Emile Durkheim]]. In his "On the social division of labour" Durkheim cites several early nineteenth-century observers who commented on the degraded condition of industrial workers. In a similar vein, the Marxist [[Theory of Alienation]] analysed the discontent of the worker in the industrial factory. Another nineteenth century critic of the industrial revolution was [[Henry David Thoreau]], who foresaw that the development of industrial society would foster inequality of competencies.

←Older revision		Revision as of 14:28, 13 January 2011
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	In the mid-1970s Ivan Illich presented his idea of [[Convivial Tools]] as an alternative to the existing system of industrial tools. However, the criticism of the dominant forms of the industrial system has a long historical background.		In the mid-1970s Ivan Illich presented his idea of [[Convivial Tools]] as an alternative to the existing system of industrial tools. However, the criticism of the dominant forms of the industrial system has a long historical background.

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-In the mid-1970s Ivan Illich presented his idea of [[Convivial Tools]] as an alternative to the existing system of industrial tools. The criticism of industrial technology first emerged during the industrial revolution of the nineteenth century, but the framework for the debate was set nearly a century earlier, during the French Enlightenment. Most of the Enlightenment philosophers held that the development of civilisation and knowledge would inevitably bring social progress, but [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] held on the contrary that the progress of civilisation, in separating city dwellers from nature, degraded their well-being and corrupted their morals
+In the mid-1970s Ivan Illich presented his idea of [[Convivial Tools]] as an alternative to the existing system of industrial tools. However, the criticism of the dominant forms of the industrial system has a long historical background.
 The industrial revolution brought with it widespread social ravage that was commented upon by many contemporaries, such as the sociologist [[Emile Durkheim]]. In his "On the social division of labour" Durkheim cites several early nineteenth-century observers who commented on the degraded condition of industrial workers. In a similar vein, the Marxist [[Theory of Alienation]] analysed the discontent of the worker in the industrial factory. Another nineteenth century critic of the industrial revolution was [[Henry David Thoreau]], who foresaw that the development of industrial society would foster inequality of competencies.
 Throughout the nineteenth century, however, the great majority of observers greeted industrial development favorably, the disputes centering on the question of how to distribute the newly-produced wealth. It was only following the experience of the First World War, with the carnage of trench warfare and the use of mustard gas, that serious questions were first raised about the potential misuse of technology.
 Doubts about the directions taken by technical development were expressed by scholars such as [[Lewis Mumford]], an American architectural critic and historian of science. In "Technics and Civilization" (1934) Mumford contrasted a Polytechnic society, which enlists a range of different modes of technology, and a Monotechnic one, which is based on a single oppressive mode of technology, such as America's transportation networks with its over-reliance on automobiles. Also during the 1930s, a group of unorthodox leftist scholars in Germany, known as the [[Frankfurt School]], asked how Western civilisation could have given rise to German fascism. In "Dialectic of Enlightenment", which was only published after the second world war, Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno proposed that Enlightenment thought contained the seeds of its own self-destruction, in the form of a split between human subjectivity and natural forces, the former being embodied in a form of scientific rationality which is raised to the status of myth, thereby becoming irrational. Meanwhile, while the Second World War was raging in Europe, Swiss architect and historian [[Sigfried Giedion]] was calmly searching through the American patent archives for his history of mechanical invention, published in 1947 as "Mechanization Takes Command," which examined the intrusion of mechanization into all realms of modern life, from bakeries and slaughterhouses to private kitchens and bathrooms.
 At the end of the Second World War the dangers of technological development were strikingly demonstrated by the Nazi extermination camps and the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In this context the French social philosopher [[Jacques Ellul]] published in 1953 "The Technological Society," in which Ellul expanded the notion of "techniques" to cover all procedures for social and administrative management. Ellul's radical conclusion was that the interrelated system of techniques takes on a life and logic of its own, such that techniques themselves determine human decisions, rather than the contrary, a conclusion which Ellul summed up as follows: "efficiency is no longer an option but a necessity imposed on all human activity."
 During the nineteen-fifties the evolution of American society towards consumerism and a service economy spawned new analyses of these phenomena. The sociologist [[C. Wright Mills]] contended that new middle class bureaucracies had turned city workers into cheerful robots, paid a decent salary, but unable to exercise any effect on the world around them. In The Power Elite (1956) he called attention to the interlaced interests of the leaders of the military, corporate, and political elements of society, suggesting that the ordinary citizen was a relatively powerless subject of manipulation by those elites. In "The Waste Makers" (1960), cultural critic [[Vance Packard]] denounced the tendency of business to make consumers wasteful, debt-ridden, permanently discontented individuals. Packard notably analyzed [[Planned Obsolescence]], a marketing strategy which aims to wear a product out in the owner's mind through changes in "styling" unaccompanied by meaningful design changes in the product.
 The nineteen-sixties brought wider public consciousness of the negative side-effects of over-industrialization. The harmful environmental impact of uncontrolled use of pesticides was documented by Rachel Carson in Silent Spring (1962), the publication of which can be considered the founding act of modern environmentalism. In 1963 appeared the little book
 Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth by R. [[Buckminster Fuller]], an American inventor best-known for having developed the geodesic dome. Fuller was an early advocate of holistic thinking, which a new type of [[Comprehensive Designer]] would apply in order to design new technologies in accord with the universal patterns inherent in nature.