Techno-Fix

, by Huesemann, Michael; Huesemann, Joyce

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ISBN: 9780865717046 | 0865717044
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 10/4/2011

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A powerful and insightful critique of modern techno-optimism.

Acknowledgments	p. xv
Foreword	p. xvii
Introduction	p. xxiii
Technology and Its Limitations
The Inherent Unavoidability and Unpredictability of Unintended Consequences	p. 3
Interconnectedness	p. 3
Human Improvement upon Nature	p. 5
Unavoidable Negative Effects of Technology	p. 7
Irreversible Consequences	p. 8
The Limitations of Reductionism	p. 11
When Things Bite Back: Some Unintended Consequences of Modern Technology	p. 17
Unintended Environmental Consequences	p. 17
Unintended Consequences of Industrialized Agriculture	p. 23
Unintended Side Effects of Genetic Engineering	p. 25
Unintended Consequences of the Automobile	p. 28
Intended and Unintended Consequences of High-Technology Welfare	p. 31
Unintended Consequences of High-Tech Medicine	p. 33
Unintended Consequences of Technological Revolutions	p. 43
The Decline in Fitness of Future Generations	p. 46
Technology, Exploitation and Fairness	p. 49
Technology and Exploitation	p. 50
Technological Exploitation of Nature	p. 53
Human Domination of Nature	p. 56
Machines and the Control and Exploitation of Workers	p. 60
Television: A Powerful Tool for Social Control and Manipulation	p. 64
Military Technologies	p. 68
In Search of Solutions I: Counter-Technologies and Social Fixes	p. 71
Counter-Technologies	p. 73
Social Fixes	p. 75
Environmental Counter-Technologies	p. 77
Military Counter-Technologies	p. 83
Medical Counter-Technologies	p. 86
Unintended Consequences of Counter-Technologies and Social Fixes	p. 88
In Search of Solutions II: Efficiency Improvements	p. 91
Technological Progress and Rising Material Affluence	p. 94
Efficiency Improvements and Limited Resources	p. 98
Inherent Limits to Efficiency Improvements	p. 109
Unintended Consequences of Efficiency Solutions	p. 112
Sustainability or Collapse?	p. 117
Sustainable Development and Eco-Efficiency	p. 119
Three Conditions for Long-term Sustainability	p. 122
Challenge #1: Serious Environmental Impacts of Large-Scale Renewable Energy Generation	p. 125
Challenge #2: Replacement of Non-Renewable Materials with Renewable Substitutes	p. 133
Challenge #3: Complete Recycling of Non-Renewable Materials and Wastes	p. 135
Sustainability or Collapse?	p. 137
The Uncritical Acceptance of Technology
Technological Optimism and Belief in Progress	p. 145
Belief Progress: A Brief History	p. 148
Comparison of Belief in Progress to Religious Faith	p. 152
Ignorance: The Basis of Most Techno-Optimism	p. 154
Medical Techno-Optimism	p. 159
Techno-Optimism and the Mass Media	p. 167
The Decline of Techno-Optimism	p. 169
The Positive Biases of Technology Assessments and Cost-Benefit Analyses	p. 173
An Overview of Cost-Benefit Analysis	p. 174
Problem #1: Boundary Selection and Externalization of Costs	p. 176
Problem #2: Prediction of Potential Impacts and Selection of Appropriate Indicators	p. 180
Problem #3: Institutional Biases and the Perception of Costs and Benefits	p. 183
Problem #4: Monetization of Non-Market Values	p. 185
Problem #5: The Ethics of Cost-Benefit Analyses	p. 187
The Uncritical Adoption of the Automobile	p. 189
The Hidden Costs of Biofuels	p. 192
Limited Testing of the Effectiveness of Medical Therapies	p. 194
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): A Biased Indicator of Economic Progress	p. 200
Happiness	p. 207
Technological Innovation, Consumerism and Materialism	p. 208
Material Affluence and Happiness	p. 214
Explaining the Paradox	p. 216
Sources of Happiness	p. 224
The Destruction of Traditional Sources of Happiness	p. 226
The Uncritical Acceptance of New Technologies	p. 235
The Myth of Value-Neutrality	p. 235
The Myth of Autonomous Technology	p. 241
The Technological Imperative	p. 243
Technological Dependency and Loss of Freedom	p. 245
The Undemocratic Control of Technology	p. 248
Profit Motive: The Main Driver of Technological Development	p. 253
Technological Development as a Social Process	p. 253
Understanding the Meaning of Profit	p. 255
Profit Maximization and the Development of New Technologies	p. 258
Profit Maximization: Agriculture and Food	p. 261
Profit Maximization: Medical Care	p. 263
Profit Maximization: Military Technologies and Foreign Policy	p. 266
The Next Scientific and Technological Revolution
The Need for a Different Worldview	p. 271
The Power of Worldviews and Paradigms	p. 271
Conflicting Worldviews and Paradigm Shirts	p. 273
A Different View of Reality	p. 277
A Different View of the Economy	p. 279
A Different View of Science and Technology	p. 285
A Different View of Medicine	p. 286
The Need for Increased Awareness	p. 289
The Design of Environmentally Sustainable and Socially Appropriate Technologies	p. 295
Design Criteria for Environmental Sustainability	p. 295
Design Criteria for Social Appropriateness	p. 300
The Prevention of Unintended Consequences	p. 304
The Democratic Control of Technology	p. 306
Local Organic Agriculture: A Model of Environmentally Sustainable and Socially Appropriate Technology	p. 309
Critical Science and Social Responsibility	p. 313
The Myth of Value-Neutrality	p. 313
A New, Critical Science	p. 320
The Question of Responsibility	p. 325
The Problem of Professionalism	p. 328
The Need for Comprehensive Professional Ethics	p. 330
Toward a Critical Science and Engineering	p. 334
For Further Thought	p. 339
Bibliography	p. 355
End Notes	p. 383
Index	p. 415
About the Authors	p. 435
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Techno-Fix

Summary

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Techno-Fix

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

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