The Methodical Conquest: Perceptions of the Impact of Modern Science and Technology on Society

This thesis is a study of ideas and an essay in political philosophy. Broadly conceived, its purpose is to examine some basic issues concerning the impact of technology on society. More specifically, it is concerned with interpreting the relation between modern technology and the increasing rational, purposive organization of our lives, particularly through political institutions. A simple, causal connection between technology and government, however, is not evident. Several factors, including the rationale of efficient operation, mediate this relationship. :Primarily this is a study of ideas, not a study of their origins or their advocates. One theme may be said to dominate this discussion. It is the idea that modern technology invests political organization with the means to increasingly organize all variables which directly impinge on its operation. Moreover, the need to economize an organization’s activities, which is due to a condition of insufficient means and material, motivates an effort to secure greater control over those variables on behalf of the organization’s presumed interests. Perspectives suggested in the literature under consideration provide a basis for critical examination of these trends and their implications. A speculative framework will furnish a context within which these issues may be understood