Message-ID: <19960928161439133.AAA148@smtp.persocom.com.br> Date: Sat, 28 Sep 1996 16:14:40 +0000 From: Joaquim Moura <mailto:joaquim.moura@PERSOCOM.COM.BR> Subject: "Appropriate technology" still useful? To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
I refer to Reinaldo's last message (copied at the bottom of this message)Firstly, how can Reinaldo admire Schumacher's "Small is beautiful" and find the concept of "technology appropriateness" absolutely nonsense? Secondly, why did the world, smaller by telecommunications, change the "appropriate technology" into an "insult to intelligence of our developing countries"? Did he read the book, indeed?
Dear Reinaldo, "appropriate technology" is not supposed to be a second class technology, typical of corrupted and old-fashioned countries, or a collection of resources already tried and failed. No, appropriate technology is just what the name tells: more appropriate from the environmental point-of-view, for instance, or from the job creation point-of-view, or from the local resources utilization point-of-view. I cannot see how neoliberalism can substitute adequate local resources using, job creation or environmental soundness by cable TV programming, American football games or Brazilian soap operas, which have incredible audiences in many countries around the world, including Russia, China and Cuba...
The world became smaller but the problems are still getting bigger and bigger every day. Yesterday night I saw a TV program showing the modern life in Russia. A remarkable issue is that in Russia now they can see Brazilian soap operas. Is this a real progress, since soap operas just show egotism, greed, envy, precocious erotism, revenge, jalousie and very personal materialistic concerns? In the Brazilian TV soap operas (from TV Globo, famous around the world) - even more than in the modern commercial American movies - all the characters are concerned just with their "petit bourgeois" problems, and they never discuss any social or intellectual issue. They are always and for many years now teaching the people that life can be lived without any social or community awareness and commitment.
Also, "appropriate" technology is still an inedited solution for the populations' problems. In Brazil, for example, just NGOs have tried projects based on "appropriate technologies", never the government - at least, not at a significative level... But I am sure that if government tries it, it would produce an important and total upgrade for the population's quality of life.
And tell me, Dear Reinaldo, what is the relation between products' QUALITY and TECHNOLOGY? Remember Bach, Da Vinci and Freud, for example: how much technology did they need to produce their outstanding works? (just to stay inside the occidental tradition, but I also know other high quality products from many other cultures, based on their own "tech-etnologies"). Do the "natural" products have less quality than the "technological" ones? Do you prefer eating "natural" food or vitamins or the "last generation" industrialized food and vitamins? Do you prefer fertilizing your garden soil and healing your plants with "natural" composted hummus and sound management or using "industrialized" "fertilizers" and pesticides? Do you prefer (in daily conditions) preventive "natural" living habits and "soft" therapies or the "technological- industrialized-chemmical" medicine products and methods? Do you prefer clothes made of "natural" or synthetic fabrics? Natural or synthetic wood to cover a wall with? There are many other examples, for every aspect of our lives, where you shall choose between nature proven experience and industry's "profit-first" concerns and motivation.
Of course, there are also the issues where "tomorrow"'s technologies are very welcome, like airplanes, emergency medicine, computers and networking, but a whole population cannot make their living on these intensive capital (and few jobs) industries.
Just adopting conventional "modern technologies" and neoliberalism will keep a country underdeveloped and dependent to the developed ones forever; but by properly mixing appropriate and "state-of-the-art" technologies, we will be able to fully develop our nation's whole potential. ___________________________________________________________________________ At 23:25 27/09/96 -0500, you wrote: >Dear Gene and friends:
>
>As a member of a development country and also an admirer of Schumacher's
>"Small is beautiful"I find the concept of "technology appropiateness"
>absolutely nonsense. With all respect, I feel it as an insult to
>intelligence of our developing countries since telecommunication
>technologies have made this world smaller. The use of all types of
>technologies has expanded all over the world. The creation of technologies
>however, is concentrating more and more, since developed countries
>have grown through our developing process higher barriers of entry to
>current leading technologies. We lost via "appropiateness" this wave of
>technological change on key technologies. We can't catch up, just get ready
>for the next one to happen.
>
>
>In this developing country I have access in my house to 40 TV channels from
>US, France, UK, Germany, Italy, Peru and Venezuela. 90% of this country can
>now reach TV from Mexico, Peru and Spain and US through satelite TV in
>Spanish. I personally have access to Internet and talk daily with friends
>from all parts of the globe. I read everyday through Internet venezolan
>newspapers. It is impossible to deny that me, as many others are a powerful
>source of technology difussion that until few years ago didn't exist. Even
>more, I watch every Sunday and Monday nights american football games.
>
>I just talked to my teacher at LSE in UK via e-mail and she kindly sent me
>her newest papers. Information is not a resource of developed countries
>anymore. Information is what it should be. A universal resource. And
>information increases a country's knowledge base which ultimately redefines
>the use and *choice* of technology.
>
>One more thing. Ever since developing countries are starting to take
>neoliberal approaches and IMF Recipes, the countries are doing far better
>that in the past. Increasing taxation, eliminating silly and expensive
>subsidies, only used to feed corruption. Less government intervention
>telling us all citizen what was right to eat and look and dress favoring
>their protected business monopolies. Less tariffs, allowing people to
>compare between well manufactured and cheaper products from other countries
>against expensive and poor-quality local products. Unfortunely, the only
>logic that prevails is the only no-non-sense economics: good old supply and
>demand. Price increases with a lack of supply or/and excess of demand. That
>is what happened in developing countries, favoring the few priviledged who
>made the economy inefficient and concentrated large amounts of income. In
>developing countries must of us love economic openness because now we are
>enjoying better products cheaper, since the local producer now has to be
>productive. Long gone the times when the government protected -bribes given
>in the process of course- local monopolies via tariffs and exchange rate.
>Goodbye.. Adios... We don't want to see them anymore.
>
>You have to live and suffer it to understand it. You have to suffer red
>tape, politics and corruption in order to feel it and be angry about it.
>You have to live paying high taxes in order to feel the anguish of not
>getting anything back from them and see government officers get rich in the
>process..
>
>Technology appropiateness => Monopolies & Government intervention =>
>Corruption & bribes & poorer people & wealth concentration
>
>Best Regards
>
>
>Reinaldo Vicini
mailto:>interext@anditel.andinet.lat.net >http://www.colomsat.net.co/rotarios.bogota
>
>
>Como todas las cosas están llenas de mi alma
>emerges de las cosas, llena de alma mía.
>Mariposa de sueño, te pareces a mi alma,
>y te pareces a la palabra melancolía
>_____________________________________________
>
>Poema 15 - Fragmento Pablo Neruda
>20 Poemas de amor y una canción desesperada
>
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