2023 PowerandProgressOurThousandYear
- (Acemoglu & Johnson, 2023) ⇒ Daron Acemoglu, and Simon Johnson. (2023). “Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle over Technology and Prosperity.” ISBN:1541702530
Subject Headings: Technology Equals Progress Narrative, Human Flourishing, Social Inequality.
Notes
- It argue that throughout history, technological advances have tended to benefit small elites rather than the masses. The broad prosperity of the past was the result of citizens organizing and forcing ways of sharing gains more equitably, not automatic progress. To ensure the next wave of technology is more inclusive, the authors recommend challenging the narrative that technology equals progress, cultivating countervailing powers like unions and civil society groups, and developing progressive policies that repurpose technology to prioritize human flourishing over profit. We must learn from history to avoid repeating patterns of inequality.
Cited By
2023
- "Power and Progress review – why the tech-equals-progress narrative must be challenged.” In: The Guardian
- NOTE: It argues that throughout history, technological advances have tended to benefit small elites rather than the masses. The broad prosperity of the past was the result of citizens organizing and forcing ways of sharing gains more equitably, not automatic progress. To ensure the next wave of technology is more inclusive, the authors recommend challenging the narrative that technology equals progress, cultivating countervailing powers like unions and civil society groups, and developing progressive policies that repurpose technology to prioritize human flourishing over profit. We must learn from history to avoid repeating patterns of inequality.
Quotes
Book Overview
A thousand years of history and contemporary evidence make one thing clear: progress depends on the choices we make about technology. New ways of organizing production and communication can either serve the narrow interests of an elite or become the foundation for widespread prosperity.
The wealth generated by technological improvements in agriculture during the European Middle Ages was captured by the nobility and used to build grand cathedrals, while peasants remained on the edge of starvation. The first hundred years of industrialization in England delivered stagnant incomes for working people. And throughout the world today, digital technologies and artificial intelligence undermine jobs and democracy through excessive automation, massive data collection, and intrusive surveillance.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Power and Progress demonstrates the path of technology was once—and may again—be brought under control. Cutting-edge technological advances can become empowering and democratizing tools, but not if all major decisions remain in the hands of a few hubristic tech leaders.
With their bold reinterpretation of economics and history, Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson fundamentally change how we see the world, providing the vision needed to redirect innovation so it again benefits most people.
Table of Contents
Prologue: What Is Progress? 1 Control over Technology 2 Canal Vision 3 Power to Persuade 4 Cultivating Misery 5 A Middling Sort of Revolution 6 Casualties of Progress 7 The Contested Path 8 Digital Damage 9 Artificial Struggle 10 Democracy Breaks 11 Redirecting Technology
Prologue: What Is Progress?
Every day, we hear from executives, journalists, politicians, and even some of our colleagues at MIT that we are heading relentlessly toward a better world, thanks to unprecedented advances in technology. Here is your new phone. There goes the latest electric car. Welcome to the next generation of social media. And soon, perhaps, scientific advances could solve cancer, global warming, and even poverty. Of course, problems remain, including inequality, pollution, and extremism around the globe. But these are the birth pains of a better world. In any case, we are told, the forces of technology are inexorable. We couldn’t stop them if we wanted to, and it would be highly inadvisable to try. It is better to change ourselves—for example, by investing in skills that will be valued in the future. If there are continuing problems, talented entrepreneurs and scientists will invent solutions—more-capable robots, human-level artificial intelligence, and whatever other breakthroughs are required. People understand that not everything promised by Bill Gates, Elon Musk, or even Steve Jobs will likely come to pass. But, as a world, we have become infused by their techno-optimism. Everyone everywhere should innovate as much as they can, figure out what works, and iron out the rough edges later.
WE HAVE BEEN here before, many times. One vivid example began in 1791, when Jeremy Bentham proposed the panopticon, a prison design. In a circular building and with the right lighting, Bentham argued, centrally positioned guards could create the impression of watching everyone all the time, without themselves being observed—supposedly a very efficient (low-cost) way of ensuring good behavior. The idea at first found some traction with the British government, but sufficient funding was not forthcoming, and the original version was never built. Nevertheless, the panopticon captured the modern imagination. For the French philosopher Michel Foucault, it is a symbol of oppressive surveillance at the heart of industrial societies. In George Orwell’s 1984, it operates as the omnipresent means of social control. In the Marvel movie Guardians of the Galaxy, it proves to be a flawed design that facilitates an ingenious prison breakout.
Before the panopticon was proposed as a prison, it was a factory. The idea originated with Samuel Bentham, Jeremy’s brother and an expert naval engineer then working for Prince Grigory Potemkin in Russia. Samuel’s idea was to enable a few supervisors to watch over as many workers as possible. Jeremy’s contribution was to extend that principle to many kinds of organizations. As he explained to a friend, “You will be surprised when you come to see the efficacy which this simple and seemingly obvious contrivance promises to be to the business of schools, manufactories, Prisons, and even Hospitals....” The panopticon’s appeal is easy to understand—if you are in charge—and was not missed by contemporaries. Better surveillance would lead to more compliant behavior, and it was easy to imagine how this could be in the broader interest of society.
Jeremy Bentham was a philanthropist, animated by schemes to improve social efficiency and help everyone to greater happiness, at least as he saw it. Bentham is credited today as the founder of the philosophy of utilitarianism, which means maximizing the combined welfare of all people in society. If some people could be squeezed a little in return for a few people gaining a great deal, that was an improvement worth considering. The panopticon was not just about efficiency or the common good, however. Surveillance in factories implied inducing workers to labor harder, and without the need to pay them higher wages to motivate greater effort. ...
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1 Control over Technology
2 Canal Vision
- Walk carefully, do not wake the envy of the happy gods, Shun Hubris.
—C. S. Lewis, “A Cliché Came Out of Its Cage,” 1964
- If the committee had decided to build a lock canal, I would have put on my hat and gone home.
—Ferdinand de Lesseps, 1880, speaking of plans to build the Panama Canal
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3 Power to Persuade
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4 Cultivating Misery
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5 A Middling Sort of Revolution
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6 Casualties of Progress
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7 The Contested Path
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8 Digital Damage
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9 Artificial Struggle
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10 Democracy Breaks
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11 Redirecting Technology
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References
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| Author | volume | Date Value | title | type | journal | titleUrl | doi | note | year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 PowerandProgressOurThousandYear | Daron Acemoglu Simon Johnson | Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle over Technology and Prosperity | 2023 |