These thirteen essays explore a crucial historical question that has been notoriously hard to pin down: To what extent, and by what means, does a society's technology determine its political, social, economic, and cultural forms?Karl Marx launched the modern debate on determinism with his provocative remark that "the hand-mill gives you society with the feudal lord; the steam-mill, society with the industrial capitalist," and a classic article by Robert Heilbroner (reprinted here) renewed the debate within the context of the history of technology. This book clarifies the debate and carries it forward.Marx's position has become embedded in our culture, in the form of constant reminders as to how our fast-changing technologies will alter our lives. Yet historians who have looked closely at where technologies really come from generally support the proposition that technologies are not autonomous but are social products, susceptible to democratic controls. The issue is crucial for democratic theory. These essays tackle it head-on, offering a deep look at all the shadings of determinism and assessing determinist models in a wide variety of historical contexts.Contributors : Bruce Bimber. Richard W. Bulliet. Robert L. Heilbroner. Thomas P. Hughes. Leo Marx. Thomas J. Misa. Peter C. Perdue. Philip Scranton. Merritt Roe Smith. Michael L. Smith. John M. Staudenmaier. Rosalind Williams.
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About the Author
Merritt Roe Smith is Cutten Professor of the History of Technology at MIT and the author or editor of six books, most recently Inventing America: A History of the United States.
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The belief in technology as a key governing force in society dates back at least to the early stages of the Industrial Revolution. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
The belief in technology as a key governing force in society dates back at least to the early stages of the Industrial Revolution. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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The Machines Rule (Or Do They?)
4 Feb 2008
By doomsdayer520
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This collection of essays purportedly addresses the philosophical theory of technological determinism - the belief that human behavior and culture is driven by technology and its unintended (or intended) consequences. Of course, the theory has many nuances and permutations, which are explored in depth by the various writers here. The book starts off with fine introductions to the topic, particularly the opening essay by Merritt Roe Smith and the seminal "Do Machines Make History?" by Robert Heilbroner. Unfortunately the book then descends into standard turgid theoretical obfuscations of dubious usefulness to anyone other than each professor's immediate colleagues. Examples include the standard academic exercise of reinterpreting the ideas of earlier thinkers and calling the results a new theory (Bruce Bimber, Thomas Mina), or forcing existing theories together and taking credit for the resulting "breakthrough" (Rosalind Williams, Leo Marx). Another running issue in this book is a lack of distinction among technology, progress, and modernity, as can be seen in the otherwise fascinating historical report by Michael L. Smith. And as usual for academic books that collect essays by various professors, everybody repeats the basic tenets of the theory at issue before embarking on their particular interpretation or example of interest. One benefit of this book is that the editors (both in their introduction and through the essay selection process) do not try to nail down a particular position on the many nuances of technological determinism, which is healthy for purposes of discussion. Regardless, little is accomplished by the writers except esoteric reinterpretations and feeble grasps for significance. [~doomsdayer520~]
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Does Technology Drive History?
30 April 2013
By Dawn A. Pompey
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Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book arrived in excellent condition. My daughter seem to love the book and is working with it for one of her classes for college.
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Great Book
23 Nov 2011
By ChaFitz
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Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I personally loved the content of the book. The exterior of this book was nice and it looks as if it were new.
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