I have rerad some excellent books that address the idea that technology is responsible for the dominance of Western liberal democratic politics and the liquid state of our cultures in the 21st century. In Anthropology I read a book Guns, germs, and steel: The Fates of human society written by Jared Diamond. Diamond is renowned professor of physiology at UCLA and he has done extensive studies in evolutionary biology, and biogeography. He is much published in Discover, Natural History and Geo magazines. His premise is that it was the advantages of shared knowledge about the world – history, geography, medicine, languages, and cultural exchanges between many differing societies – gave the invaders of the American continent a huge adavantage over the peoples that encountered this force of discovery. The final outcome of the invasion was helped along by the indigenous peoples inability to combat the germs introduced from the Old World. But the essence of the book is that technology gave the Western discoverers the advantage over the civilizations that were encountered.
Another excellent look at technology and its affects on history is 1491:New revelations of the Americas before Columbus written by Charkles C. Mann. Mann has written on particle physics and biodiversity. he writesd for Science, The Atlantic Monthly and the New York Times Magazine, Technology Review, The Washington Post, and Wired. Mann puts to rest the fallacy that the Americas were vast and underpopulated – full of primitive people with no technology to combat the invasion by a dominant culture. In contrast to our normal view of American indigenous people Mann shows us that these peoples were highly sophisticated in their politics, their science, their medicine, and their economic practices. These civilizations had huge cities, and extremely organized modes of trade and transport. Language, religion, and culture flourished in many areas producing some very important contributions to our modern day culture like the introduction of corn, potatoes, tomatoes, cotton; and rubber to name just a few. They had sophisticated writing systems, systems of trade and commerce.
Another bookithat also gives an alternative look at North American culture and technology – Colonialism on trial: Indigenous land right and the Gitksan and Wetsuweten sovereignty case written by Don Monet and Skanu u (Ardyth Wilson. The interesting part of this book is that these people used traditional origin stories to prove their right to the land they had lived on for millenia. They use many experts to help them to prove their rights and the Crown and the prosecutors in the case used some of the same experts in their attempt to deny these people their indigenous rights to their traditional territories. This landmark case offended many not just the Gtksan and the Wetsuweten. Many anthropologists knocked the final trial outcome for its arrogant assumption of Western superiority. Regardless of the politics of this trial, in the end the federal government had to acknowledge that these particular societies had proof both scientific, and cultural of a very long occupation of their territory. Oral stories were backed up by geographical evidence and the trial itself changed the face of First Nations and colonial governments forever (in Canada). Another excellent book on the idea of Western superiority and the arrogance of modern civilization towards so-called primitives – leading lives that were nasty, brutish and short ( and by implication – less efficiently technological, even though they had been living successfully on their land for hundreds if not thousands of years.)!!
Anyhow, now that you all know my bias, I think I will go and read a book!
Tags: history and technology
