File spoon-archives/marxism-international.archive/marxism-international_1997/marxism-international.9711, message 145


From: Michael Hoover <hoov-AT-freenet.tlh.fl.us>
Subject: M-I: post-materialism & "technology in itself"
Date: Sat, 8 Nov 97 17:24:32 18000


the freenet I use has been on the fritz so other listers may have
received a reply I sent to m-i regarding James Heartsfield's (apologies
in the event of misattribution) comments about Ronald Inglehart's post-
materialism hypothesis and his use of the phrase "technology in itself"...
my post hasn't appeared on my screen, so apologies as well if this is
a duplicate...

re: Inglehart...while there appears to be comparative and longitudinal
opinion data confirmation, one shouldn't exaggerate the extent of
post-material values (even on RI's terms - i.e., more say on the job, 
more beautiful cities, more personal society)...the average proportion of 
people who have scored as postmaterialist is about 10% and the
percentage has declined slightly over time...these folks may well have
served as basis for Green and other social movements..but post-WW2
affluence and economic security were not so entrenched...and sizeable 
numbers of the "post-materialist" generation to turn to Kohl, Reagan & 
Thatcher - presumably more concerned with economic growth...it was 
Thatcher's poll tax not her environmental and military record that eroded 
support in '89-90...

re: "technology in itself"...technological development occurs in a
context of class conflict...the design and use of particular
technologies reflect decisions of social groups and institutions with
power...of course, technologies may be used in unintended ways (i.e.,
camcorders, marketed as middle-strata toys, have potential political
importance stemming from their site of display, use of sound, and
narrowing of the quality gap)...but as David Noble indicates, it is
crucial to show how technical possibilities have been delimited by
social constraints...there is no "technology in itself"...Michael
-- 





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