Modern technogenic civilization has several key features. The main one is that in such a society, scientific progress and individual freedom always come first.
The appearance of the term
The term "technogenic civilization", or "technocracy", appeared in 1921. It was first used by the sociologist Thorstein Veblen. In his book Engineers and the Price System, the researcher emphasized the importance of uniting the efforts of engineers from all over the world to improve life on earth.
This concept quickly became popular in the scientific community. Veblen's followers continued the research of their predecessor. Several theories have emerged about what a technogenic civilization is. First of all, it was opposed to traditional society. Such a civilization is characterized by the fact that its members try to preserve their former way of life. They are guided by traditions and painfully endure change. It is a society with slow social development. Technogenic civilization is built around opposite principles - individual freedom, progress, innovation in all spheres of life, readiness to adapt to rapid changes.
Fundamentals of technogenic civilization
Technocracy is not only a civilization (that is, a way of society), but also an ideology. Its supporters believe that there is nothing more important than the development of science. At the same time, the development of technology leads to changes in social life. Technological growth is not just the fun of scientists. It is also a way to solve many social problems (like closing the gap between the rich and the poor).
Modern civilization (technogenic) changes not only the way of life of people, but also the political system. Such an ideology implies that the state should be ruled not by a charismatic leader, but by a clear institution of power. The mechanisms of governing the country in a technocratic society work without regard to a particular politician. In fact, the personality of the ruler becomes secondary. In the first place is the state machine itself, which, with the help of its social elevators, raises only high-quality managers to the top, and not populists who promise mountains of gold in the elections. Technogenic civilization is managed by professionals - people who have worked hard to achieve high qualifications in their field.
Prerequisites for appearance
Today it is difficult to deny that science is the main engine of progress. However, the attitude towards the development of technology was not always rosy. Even when humanity left behind the era of barbarism, science for a long time was the lot of the marginalized. The first world civilizations that arose in Antiquity, of course,belonged to the group of traditional societies. In all of them, traditions and customs occupied an important place.
The first prerequisites for the emergence of technogenic civilization can be noted in ancient Greek policies. These were independent cities, in whose life thinkers and scientists played an important role. The policies were governed by the principles of democracy, which replaced the classical tyranny of a single despot. It was in these cities that many significant human inventions appeared.
Struggle against traditional society
The difference between traditional society and technogenic civilization is colossal. Therefore, people had to prove their right to progress for many centuries. A noticeable development of technogenic civilization began in the 15th-16th centuries, when Western Europe learned about the existence of the New World. The discovery of lands on distant shores spurred the curiosity of the inhabitants of the Catholic world. The most enterprising and enterprising of them became navigators and explorers. They opened the world around them and enriched the knowledge of their compatriots. This process could not but affect the general state of minds. In the end, the quantity of knowledge turned into quality.
One of the main obstacles to the development of early technogenic society was religion. The church in medieval Europe was an important institution, both spiritual and political. Her opponents were declared heretics and burned at the stake. At the beginning of the 16th century, the Reformation movement was born in Germany. His inspiration, Martin Luther, advocated reform of the church. At the preachermany supporters appeared, including in the princely German dynasties. Soon an armed struggle began between Protestants and Catholics. It resulted in the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), after which the principle of religious freedom was established in many European countries.
The impact of progress on the economy
In the new society, much more resources went to the development of education. Universities opened, people studied and learned about the world around them. The development of technology has led to economic growth. Important inventions such as the loom or the steam boiler, for example, have allowed some countries to increase their own production and improve the well-being of citizens.
The Industrial Revolution of the 19th century made England a major world power with colonies in all parts of the world. Of course, it was already a technological civilization. The problems of its development were related to the fact that people who became the masters of the whole world did not immediately learn how to properly use its resources.
Importance of civil liberties
During the Renaissance and the Enlightenment there was a synthesis of many ideas of the ancient world and Christian civilization. The new ideology received only the best from these two foundations. In particular, it was love for a person. The ideas of the Enlightenment said that there is nothing in the world more important than a single individual.
These principles today underlie the constitutions of most states of the world. Human-centeredness was firstproclaimed a key idea after the declaration of US independence. In the constitution of this new country, all the basic modern civil liberties were enshrined. A few years later, France followed a similar path, where a revolution took place that destroyed the old order in the face of a conservative absolute monarchy. In the future, for another two centuries, different societies achieved civil liberties in their own ways, without which it is impossible to imagine a technogenic civilization.
Triumph of technogenic civilization
In the 20th century man and technogenic civilization moved to a new stage of their development. At this time, the pace of social change dramatically accelerated. Today, there is so much new in the life of one generation as there was not a few centuries before. Technogenic civilization is also sometimes called "Western", emphasizing the place of its origin. Today, the main abodes of such orders are Europe and the USA.
It is important that today the crisis of technogenic civilization can no longer occur, because the sources of its development were not new cultural zones as before (colonialism, etc.), but the restructuring of an already existing order. The main success of the transition from a traditional society to a technocracy can be considered a change in values. Today, the most important thing for society is any innovation, something new, like a phenomenon.
Traditional and technogenic civilization cannot coexist together. Therefore, modern society is characterized by dynamic spread to all corners of the planet. Traditional societies become obsolete by themselves in contact with the latest technologies. Adherents of traditions and haters of progress have only one way to survive in today's world - to put their society on the path of isolation. This is how North Korea lives, which does not recognize the discoveries of the West and does not even maintain economic relations with it.
Man and Nature
One of the most important dominants in technogenic civilization has always been the desire of man to subdue nature. Man did not immediately learn to take care of the world around him. Its vigorous activity associated with the intensive use of natural resources often leads to man-made disasters that harm the ecological environment. In a series of similar examples, one can note the tragedy at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. This is the case when people too quickly took up the use of new technology, having not yet learned how to use it. Humanity has only one home. An irrational attitude to nature is one of the main problems of technocracy.
It is essential for a member of such a society to engage in transformative activities. It is with this rule that the values of technogenic civilization are associated, thanks to which it constantly changes its own foundations.
The place of the individual in the new society
The emergence of technogenic civilization has changed the position of man in society. In a traditional society, people are extremely dependent on the supreme power, traditions and caste system.
In the modern world, a person is autonomous. Each person can in his own waydesire to change their environment, contacts, working circle. It is not tied to dogmatic orders. Modern man is free. Independence is necessary for the personality for development and self-realization. Technogenic civilization, which is built on innovation and discovery, encourages and supports the individuality of each individual.
