Are we a Technopoly?

Technology is a good thing. It makes jobs simpler and more productive. It takes less people to make more things. It gives us luxury and frees us from worry. Technology makes our lives better overall. Right?

Of course, if technology is making jobs easier, shouldn’t there be more free time? Yet all this extra time seems to do is give us more time to work. And if technology is reducing our worry, why does it seem that there is still so much to worry about? In fact, a lot of worries are related to technology, from worry that your computer isn’t up-to-date or worry that a foreign oppressed nation will launch weapons of mass destruction at us. What should make our lives more stress free seems to be making it stressful, and yet we appear to be caught in a cycle from which we can’t escape: we try to fix our old problems and create more free time by using the same old method of technology.

            In Technopoly, Postman discusses the how the United States has become a Technopoly. Now, in today’s era of rapid technological growth, most countries focus on technology. Postman calls most of these countries Technocracies. However, the difference between a Technocracy and a Technopoly is that, in a Technocracy, there still exist things such as religion and traditions. “Technocracy did not completely destroy the traditions of the social and traditional world” (Postman).

            Postman argues that a Technopoly is a bit harsher to old customs. He state’s that Technopolies “eliminates alternatives to itself in precisely the way Aldous Huxley outlined in Brave New World. It does not make them illegal. It does not make them immoral It does not even make them unpopular. It makes them invisible and therefore irrelevant.” Frederick W. Taylor states the underlying focus of a Technopoly: “the belief that the primary, if not the only, goal of human labor and thought is efficiency” (Postman). Therefore, everything inefficient, like religion and intellect, must be done off with.

I can see how this ties in with the novel. Brave New World is a technopoly, as the inefficient have been made obsolete to the people. They still exist, but there is no use for them. People find meaning in efficiency and technology. It is a painful sight to see, for humanity has been sacrificed for efficiency. And isn’t the whole point of efficiency to please the human?
            However, I think it is a bit extreme for Postman to consider America a Technopoly. In fact, he states “The United States is the only culture to have become a Technopoly” (Postman) Sure, Americans do have quite a dependence on technology, but they have not replaced old world customs with it. America still has religion, and people still spend time just enjoying and not being efficient. We are not yet the slave of technology. It still works for us.