Unfortunately there is no better world to escape to (and if there was I dare
say we'd need rocket ships to get there!) Avoiding global capitalism is not
an option at this point in the game, those who refuse to play will probably
not survive. Therefore I see no other option than the creative adoption of
technology as a weapon of resistance for those cultures that wish to
survive. However, I don't believe that global capitalism is necessarily
synonymous with technological advance; in many ways technology appears to be
hindered by capitalism, and backwards agendas promoted (why else gas
guzzling cars STILL are the primary form of transportation?). I don't see
technology as something that necessarily conflicts with inherited cultures,
either. Techno music itself is in so many ways a technological reworking of
very basic human rhythms, often with roots in Africa. Even the
homogenization promoted by the internet seems to exist primarily insofar as
the internet promotes a homogenous corporate agenda; but one must admit that
it has just as much potential to create virtual spaces that promote what is
unique and singular, what is heterogenous rather than always the same.
Indeed the decentralization of the internet makes it ideal for this,
although there is an ongoing struggle over how decentralized it will be and
who will control it. In the end, your argument against technology would
seem to be misleading, as all humans use tools, there is no human culture
that exists without technology. The question is: what kind of technology
will we choose to create???
/dave
g wrote:
Agreed that societies which are
technologically advanced have a "competitive advantage" in the global
economy, but should all cultures be forced into global capitalism and
the technology race?
g
Paul Virilio:
"Resistance is always possible! But we must engage in resistance first of
all by developing the idea of a technological culture. However, at the
present time, this idea is grossly underdeveloped. For example, we have
developed an artistic and a literary culture. Nevertheless, the ideals of
technological culture remain underdeveloped and therefore outside of popular
culture and the practical ideals of democracy. This is also why society as a
whole has no control over technological developments. And this is one of the
gravest threats to democracy in the near future. "
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