Opression and Liberty - AT&T
Simone Veil's text seems significantly outdated in the light of the changes brought on my the modern technologies. Seems to me that the rules of the game have changed in recent years and what we're witnessing is only the begining of the significant shift.
Somebody called this The Reverse Big Brother. It's the ones in power and the ones abusing the power that are being watched by the people. What was the general prediction of 1984 is playing out differently than feared. Bloggers that cause political and media resignations, secretly filmed police beatings bring culprits to justice, images snapped with cellphones expose army abuses of innocent, search engines that threaten governments, etc, etc.
I would argue that the massive distribution of the information technologies can (may or may not) eventually bring liberty to all and prevent the rise of yet another opressive system after another. The information technology is not the only factor in the struggle for power, liberty or creation of opressive systems. But it is an unprecedented factor, much more influential than anything ever in human history. Will it mainly benefit the people or the (current or future) oppressors is yet to play out...
tomek
Veil analyzes the natural growth of a nation as a shift in the human being's relationship of his physical and mental involvement in his society to the living conditions of which he benefits. That eventually, the complex organization of ideas requires the speciailization of human output, distancing the individual from the ultimate goal of the organized power.
What is interesting to me is her rather fundamental scientific basis for the argument of a non-quantitative seeking power; that humans are not inert in nature, but can only "progress" technologically through the use of that which is inert. Because there is no absolute, defined goal for power to attain, there is no limit in which inert materials will be used.
With the only other worldly obstacle being the character of Nature, increasingly powerful technology allows us to conquer this always in a more efficient manner (at least while resources are still plentiful enough to allow the infrastructure to reap the benefits of the increasingly complex sieve of management overhead). But as man's struggle for power becomes ever more fierce, so does the need to maintain it, and the fear of losing it - and so the battle becomes less with the physical forces of nature, but more so with the human nature of the system which has been created (which has also shaped Nature in response).
tim
Weil claims, as Tim mentions above, humans progress through the domination of the inert (resources); unfortunately, resources are finite, and despite our always increasing efficiency of consumption, they are running out. Humanity is in need of a new paradigm for progression; we need to support our society in a more sustainable manner in order to survive. This changes the situation from what Weil describes, it breaks the formula. Possibly oppression will still exist in our new sustainable society, but without consumption of the inert, maybe not.
Somebody called this The Reverse Big Brother. It's the ones in power and the ones abusing the power that are being watched by the people. What was the general prediction of 1984 is playing out differently than feared. Bloggers that cause political and media resignations, secretly filmed police beatings bring culprits to justice, images snapped with cellphones expose army abuses of innocent, search engines that threaten governments, etc, etc.
I would argue that the massive distribution of the information technologies can (may or may not) eventually bring liberty to all and prevent the rise of yet another opressive system after another. The information technology is not the only factor in the struggle for power, liberty or creation of opressive systems. But it is an unprecedented factor, much more influential than anything ever in human history. Will it mainly benefit the people or the (current or future) oppressors is yet to play out...
tomek
Veil analyzes the natural growth of a nation as a shift in the human being's relationship of his physical and mental involvement in his society to the living conditions of which he benefits. That eventually, the complex organization of ideas requires the speciailization of human output, distancing the individual from the ultimate goal of the organized power.
What is interesting to me is her rather fundamental scientific basis for the argument of a non-quantitative seeking power; that humans are not inert in nature, but can only "progress" technologically through the use of that which is inert. Because there is no absolute, defined goal for power to attain, there is no limit in which inert materials will be used.
With the only other worldly obstacle being the character of Nature, increasingly powerful technology allows us to conquer this always in a more efficient manner (at least while resources are still plentiful enough to allow the infrastructure to reap the benefits of the increasingly complex sieve of management overhead). But as man's struggle for power becomes ever more fierce, so does the need to maintain it, and the fear of losing it - and so the battle becomes less with the physical forces of nature, but more so with the human nature of the system which has been created (which has also shaped Nature in response).
tim
Weil claims, as Tim mentions above, humans progress through the domination of the inert (resources); unfortunately, resources are finite, and despite our always increasing efficiency of consumption, they are running out. Humanity is in need of a new paradigm for progression; we need to support our society in a more sustainable manner in order to survive. This changes the situation from what Weil describes, it breaks the formula. Possibly oppression will still exist in our new sustainable society, but without consumption of the inert, maybe not.
posted by Anonymous at 9:47 AM
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