Influences on Society
Influences on SocietyMichael Novak stated that there were three influences on any
society: Political influences, Economic influences, and Moral\Cultural
influences. The political influences consist of the governmental body
of that society and the laws and regulations set by this governing
group. The moral\cultural influences consist of the "voluntary
associations" of a society: the churches, media, education systems,
the people in this society. The final influence being the economic
influence, which is the rate of employment, GDP, incidence of poverty,
and structure of economic activity. Novak made this theory into an
object, a "triangle" of sorts, with each influence being a point on
this "triangle." Novak goes on later in his theory to deal with other
influences, but as other dimensions. What Novak appears to have missed
in his theory is another very important influence on society that
influences, and is influenced by the other points of this "triangle,"
technology. The Middle Ages did come up with a few inventions, such as
windmills and horseshoes, but technological process was imperceptible
compared with what is happening now. Very soon, a fiber the diameter
of a human hair will be able to transmit, in less than a second, the
contents of every issue of The Economist magazine that was ever
printed (Economy Survey 4). Since Adam Smith, economists have
recognized that technology is important for growth, but only in the
past two decades have they been studying this subject in earnest (7).
There pioneer was Joseph Schumpeter, one of the few economists who
tried to explain growth mainly in terms of technological innovation.
In the 1930's, he presented a model that postulated growth through the
interaction of bursts of technological development and competition
between companies (8). His evidence pointed to history. First, the
1780s to the 1840s, which brought the steam power and drove the
industrial revolution. Second, the 1850s to 1890! s introducing the
railways. Third, the 1890s to 1930s with electrical power. The fourth,
the 1930s to 1980s with cheap oil and the car. Now, today it is argued
that Schumpeterians' would label this period of history as being
powered by technology in all areas (9). Then there was "new" growth
theory, hatched in the mid 1980's by the work of Paul Romer, an
economists at Stanford University. His theory attempted to incorporate
technology directly into models of economic growth by explaining how
knowledge in the shape of both technology and human capital is created
and spread through the economy (8). This essay will attempt to use
evidence created by economic research and show how technology is
influencing and influenced by political, economic, and social/moral
issues; creating a fourth point on Novak's triangle. Technology
throughout history has been a major influence on governments in many
different societies. It has caused wars, and prevented them too. The
invention of the cotton gin played a major factor in leading to the
Civil War. Because of the cotton gin, production of cotton rose and
the export...
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