How does technology shape societies at different stages of sociological evolution?

Question

How does technology shape societies at different stages of sociological evolution?

Answer 1

Good question.  And there are several answers:

Here's a perspective from Karl Marx: In primitive societies, people are one with the products they make.  Men hunt and women gather, and each gets to consume the products made by their own hands.  If they want to share with other people in their own family, it is their choice to do so.  But when factories are built, people are alienated (taken away from) the products they make with their hands.  A person may make 100 cars in a day, but not be able to afford a single one of them.

So at the hunter/gatherer stage, people own what they make.  At the industrial stage, people never get to have what they make.

Here's an answer from the Amish (no seriously, I've been studying them for years):

In an agricultural society, people see each other all the time and there is a strong sense of community.  In order to buy a plow, a person must go to his neighbor and communicate with him face-to-face.  In order to trade butter for other goods, a woman must go to her neighbor or the market and interact with people face-to-face.  In this community, society depends on individuals interacting with each other in real life.

But in a modern society, people almost never interact with each other.  Even if we have to communicate with our next-door neighbors we call them on a phone to avoid having to see them.  We use our cars to drive hundreds of miles to see our aunt, rather than visiting our sister down the road.  And you can forget trading goods with your neighbors; most things are bought over the internet.

This modern society isn't evil because it has technology, but because it has destroyed the tight-knit community of the past and has reduced social interactions to nothing more than exchanging a few words over a phone or over the internet.

To be honest, I don't fully agree with the Amish, but here's a reality check for you:

I have no idea who you are, neither of us are using our real names, but even still, I'm spending 20 minutes answering your question rather than being at home with my wife and kids.