Neil Postman's theory on technology is outdated Thesis

Neil Postman's theory on technology is outdated - Thesis Example For others it may be a release from the daily stress of work by watching a grand movie on the television. For still others it may be finding solutions to problems faced by mankind, which works as a combined shot at development of the human race. No matter what form of technology or what meaning one chooses to give to technology, crux of the discussion can be simply put that â€Å"technology is defined by how one chooses to use it†.   Neil Postman, a very famous cultural-critic of the USA, came out with a book in, called Technopoly. Being a successful critic, Neil, in this book, raises issues that state, â€Å"In the age of technopoly, technology is not merely the dominant factor within culture; rather technology seeks to redefine culture itself â€Å"(technopoly, 2002). Neil described today’s American culture as one, which is ruled more by technology than their beliefs and morals so much so that technology has evolved into a culture. The book claims that these three cultures of technology and advancement are relevant and apparent through put to the world in a number of different ways. He goes ahead and describes his claim and alleged culture in three simple yet complete words as: Tool-using: The book claims that the very primitive of technical-culture was the tool-using culture. It came in the very start of the world. In this culture the entire technology was aimed to achieve the solutions to all human’s problems in the physical life and in the artistic dimension. For this purpose a variant number of tools were made which were representatives of all the technology of that age. None of these tools had ever been a nuisance to the humans. Soon these tools and technology were integrated into the lives of the people and did not stand out on their own. So they only affected the human life to the extent of problem solving and not anything else. And so they did not change the human culture in the slightest of means. These also did not change an y of the human believes about the existence of god or a higher superior power. And so were deemed harmless. This culture assumption was based on theology and was used as a means of controlling ideology. The very basic theological belief is and forever has been, that God is the inventor and giver of all intelligence and efficiency, so whatever number of tools that humans did make with this intelligence so these tools and inventions were only a means of furthering man’s belief in god and the higher powers. In that time, man was the slave of theology and not technology. Technocracy: the second part of the book introduces the concept of technocracy. The book says that in this culture the tools invented for the development of man-kind are the main-point or the through put of the world. Technocracy deals with the invention of techniques and tools. But it is different from the tool-using culture in the sense that it does not make tools which leave after the work of humans is done. I t also enhances the thought process of humans, forcing them to think of customs and procedure regarding the use of technology as a part of them. The highlight of this culture is the invention of the clock, the printing press and the telescope. These inventions were the breakaway of the humans from their independency on tools. Among them the telescope was by far the most important invention of this culture, both in the good way and the bad way. Before the advent of the telescope, it was

Governmental Crimes Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Governmental Crimes - Research Paper Example The increasing rates of governmental crimes are often neglected by the policymakers intentionally or unintentionally. It should be noted that governmental crimes do not only involve the national constituencies where nation faces the influences but it also crosses the borders and creates transnational influences (Rothe et al., 2006). This paper focuses on the discussion of governmental crimes, the implications of such crimes and their scope. It also recommends various ways to curb the issue of governmental crimes. The conventional crimes have been widely considered by the scholars, researchers, governments, policymakers, law enforcers, social workers and public representatives. The impact of such exposure and importance given to conventional crimes may be a factor which resulted in huge reduction of those crimes. However, the governmental crimes are often neglected by the authorities as well as the public (Rothe & Mullins, 2006). The reason may be lack of knowledge among general publi c but the impact of governmental crimes is larger and more extensive than conventional crimes. The influence of exposure to conventional crimes and increasing pressure by media, public and other groups influenced the policymakers and regulatory bodies to divert their attention towards resolving the conventional crime issues. ... The 20th century governmental crime incidents are real life examples of the effects this ignorance has caused. The Nazi Germany, Maoist China and many other such events which had devastating impacts on people, society and the states. Genocidal actions (in case of Bosnia and Rwanda) of tribunals were one of the major steps taken to curb the issue of governmental or state crimes in the late 20th century. The matters associated with Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine etc. also gave rise to the objection on the massive usage of mass destruction weapons. There are many opponents of America, Israel and other nations who qualify these states as criminal due to the policies and activities that led to the invasion of less powerful states. All these cases are clearly lack of controlled authority over the actions of nations involved and had transnational effects. However, there are a few criminologists who sought these issues as worth mentioning and debated on them (Mathew & Kauzlarich, 2007). Govern mental Crimes should be debated about and controlled for the reason that Governments are generally believed to enact and impose laws. They are responsible to maintain a sound law and order situation and prevent crimes in the state. The body that is responsible to prevent crimes from occurring should not be involved in that act itself. The history of governmental or state crimes is old enough to associate it with the emergence of states themselves. Chambliss () asserted during the presidential lecture almost twenty years back and claimed that economic and political well being is so important to the states and governments that they often go beyond the borders set by them in the form of laws and regulations. The basic theme was to put forward the idea of violating one’s own laws