In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Technology and Culture 43.1 (2002) 214-215



[Access article in PDF]

Book Review

Technical Fouls: Democratic Dilemmas and Technological Change


Technical Fouls: Democratic Dilemmas and Technological Change. By John Jacobsen. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 2000. Pp. ix+196. $21.

Though a short book, John Jacobsen's Technical Fouls offers a complex analysis of the economic relations of technology, science, and politics. Jacobsen uses four case studies with historical roots to examine technological and scientific changes and their political and social consequences. His cases include the issues surrounding automation in the workplace, the military-industrial complex, the ethics of genetic engineering, and the politics of the environment. While these seem like well-explored topics in technology and science policy studies, Jacobsen presents new interpretations of these controversies and the multiple players involved in the decision-making processes. He claims that analyzing the political power exercised by elites in the adoption of a technology is critical to understanding the role of technology in a democracy.

For Jacobsen, power refers "not only to formal political offices but to private economic and organizational resources devoted to influencing public policy agendas and outcomes" (p. 4). When numerous elites and their supporters clash over the acceptance or rejection of a technology, the confrontations contribute to the creation of greater public awareness and debate. The diffusion of political power among multiple groups of elites promotes dialogue. Jacobsen warns, however, that when a single cadre of elites successfully captures a technology, this results in less open discussion on the technology's merits and implementation. To avoid such a situation, democracies must strive to maintain a balance between influential groups of elites, the viability of the technology, and the interests of the public.

While pointing out that the issue of technological change and societal reaction is a recurring historical theme, Jacobsen claims that past examinations have lacked an understanding of the political and social context of such change. His address to his case studies departs from previous analyses by focusing not so much on the technologies and machines themselves, but on the policymakers and the debates encompassing the implementation of proposed technologies. Jacobsen challenges the perception that scientific and technological activity occurs in a dispassionate, nonpolitical environment, asserting that scientific discovery and technological advances germinate within the social contexts of the historical period encompassing them. He specifically explores the roles the public assumes when confronted by technological changes and how its roles might be modified to encourage greater democratic participation in technological and scientific debates.

According to Jacobsen, the dilemma for democracy centers on the question of who controls the potential for public dialogue. Departing from the well-trodden concept of technological determinism, he argues that multiple [End Page 214] sources of political and social power influence the direction of technological change: hence "technological decisions are the product of a blend of material interests and ideologies of those potent actors who strive to strike a balance between technical requirements for effective performance and for their own need to retain or augment their power" (p. 4). When these elites manage to capture a new technology, the economic, political, and social repercussions may threaten the stability of democracy. In order to counter the selfishness of power elites, Jacobsen proposes that the public must be made aware of the self-serving images of technology and the false dilemmas manufactured by elites. The public must be aware of, and must debate, all options and alternatives to any technology.

Technical Fouls provides a critical addition to the historiography of science and technology policy, though Jacobsen does not differentiate between technological and scientific activities. He does, however, offer a nondeterminist reinterpretation of discrete technology policies, and he warns about potential threats to democratic stability posed by those technologies. In a short book, he provides the basic groundwork for further examinations of the political and social factors, and the power relations, that influence implementation of technological and scientific policies.

 



Jason Krupar

Dr. Krupar is adjunct professor in the department of political science at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and lecturer in the departments of political science and history, Metropolitan State...

pdf

Share