Knowing and doing in science and technology

Science and Technology

Dominance of Western Technology

In a heavily, densely populated developing nation like Indonesia, technology has devastated traditional ways of life and disrupted centuries-old customs and values. Whereas subsistence farming was once the primary means for small-scale communities and families to survive in the lush tropical environment, Western farming technologies and especially agro-business has replaced indigenous farming methods. Although rice paddies are still tilled by animals like oxen and Indonesia people still do use hand tools for farming, large-scale farming has been slowly but systematically replacing small community and family farms. Technology that allows rice to be grown all year round disrupts the environment, sometimes wreaking havoc on the land and causing flooding. Moreover, rice and other crops are more than staple foods for the Indonesian people. Social customs and rituals revolve around rice: its cultivation, harvest, and consumption. when centuries of tradition are wiped away by Western technological and commercial innovations, the result is often social, political, and economic strife.

Likewise, Western technologies are replacing traditional forms of entertainment in Indonesia. The ancient arts of dance, song, and stage play are starting to fade while the more glamorous Western films and television shows are becoming more popular with Indonesians of all ages. Especially the younger generations are more enamored with Western entertainment and cultural values than they are with their ancestors' traditions. The effect that technology has on family and community life cannot be underestimated. For example, whole communities would once gather together to watch a ritual dance but now, nuclear families stay at home behind closed doors to watch their televisions or play their game consoles. Communities, families, and individuals are modeling their lifestyles after what they see as Western ideals, too. The speed at which these changes are taking place is astonishing and disturbing and often leads to direct conflict.

Discussion 2

The United States has had both positive and negative impacts on the lives of individuals living in developing nations. Powerful American business interests have edged their way into local communities in countries like Indonesia. Whereas small artisans once ruled the marketplace in Indonesia, now craftsmen and trades workers churn out goods on a mass scale to be sold to large American, East Asian, or European corporations. Rural communities are being torn apart by globalization and capitalism when youth relocate to urban centers to find work instead of remaining in the community and devoting their labor to the immediate needs of their family. Because agriculture has been largely re-appropriated by big companies based on the American model -- or even run by Americans -- there are fewer and fewer opportunities to maintain traditional ways of life in Indonesia.

The American business model and the American capitalist ideal has infiltrated every aspect of Indonesian society, transforming the way people live and work. Not all of the changes taking place are negative. Before American culture influenced that of Indonesia, local elite controlled a vast amount of wealth and power and created what can correctly be called a caste system like the one in India or more accurately, feudalism. Without any possibility for a middle class to emerge, many individuals remained impoverished and beholden to the landowning class. The influence of American culture has allowed a middle class to emerge. Large corporations hire local managers and community liaisons.

The Dynamics of Capitalism

Discussion 1

Ultimately capitalism caused the Great Depression, even though capitalism also enabled social mobility on a scale never before practiced in human history. Rampant speculation was the main culprit: buying on credit and borrowing prematurely. Moreover, unchecked capitalism caused the unbridled growth of monopolistic and predatory corporations that have since been curbed by legislation. Interestingly, the capitalist economy and world market system is still based on speculation and credit. Communism, socialism, and other alternative economic/social systems failed to compete with capitalism because of the self-propelling power of the fee market and its seamless integration with free democratic societies.

However, some vestiges of socialism remain in place in the nations of Western Europe, which combine strong social services funded by taxpayer money with strong market economies. The United States has failed to recognize the value in tempering capitalism with some of the wise tenets of Marxism. Unfortunately, Marxism and ancillary socialist doctrines have been given a bad reputation in the United States due to the authoritarian regimes operating under their names. Yet with the U.S. economy in a slouch and the devalued American dollar, a new view of capitalism is due.