Is Latin America’s dependency on the United States a result of technology? It can be hard for people to comprehend the notion that technological advancements are not always beneficial but, unfortunately, countless scholars are proving that the development of underdeveloped countries, like Mexico, is due to the United States technological advancements.
Of course, no one can disregard the benefits technology has brought, especially, to the medical field. And the daily chores of the average American have definitely become much less strenuous, or not strenuous at all. However, the majority of the people in underdeveloped worlds, like Latin America, are currently working in worse conditions than if the United States hadn’t had an Industrial Revolution and ignited the movement towards technological advancement because “education, training, science, and technology are all very unevenly distributed through the world” (Arocena 18).
Although, advancements in the medical field have, of course, proven to help people in both developed and under-developed countries, the terrible work conditions in factories and the lack of means for an education are just hitting the surface of reasons why it doesn’t balance out in the end. The life of a factory worker in Mexico is, without a doubt, an undesired life and education is the most promising way to a satisfying life. Technology in Mexico, therefore, hurts the people more than helps them.
So what exactly is appropriate technology in the United States during the 21st century? If the United States has such an overwhelmingly wealth of knowledge within the technical field shouldn’t they be expected to use only technology that benefits the world? Organizations such as, National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and Engineers Without Borders (EWB) have the right intentions. Their goals entail using new technology to benefit less fortunate people, with culture and environment, always in mind. With that, this introduces the main problem society faces in the field of technology: greed.
The misuse of technology is due to greed. The wealthy business man who only cares about how to turn one dollar in to two dollars is disheartening. The people are forgotten. In Mexico, the people’s culture is not even considered. It is because of greed and so many American’s established independent way of thinking that explains why so many underdeveloped countries are currently stuck in a vicious cycle. For example, “genetic engineering is being used to increase poor people’s dependence on the corporate sector for seeds, agricultural inputs, and produce,reinforcing farmers’ dependence on chemical herbicides and fertilizers” (Arocena 24). When practices, such as this, become installed in to the society it becomes very hard to change and it prevents room for innovation and or small farmer success. Native born American’s do not understand or comprehend other countries more “family” way of thinking.
In my opinion, it is, hands down, the development of technology that led to the “development of the underdeveloped” countries, such as those in Latin America. Frank’s idea “reproduces Baran’s thesis that the extraction of surplus from the periphery by the center limits the for- mer’s ability to grow” (Vernango 555). Suggesting that there was a determined man or woman to end the circle of dependency how would he or she accomplish it? Theotônio dos Santos concluded in his dependency analysis that only “a revolution—would allow a break in the circle of dependency and permit true development in the periphery” (Vernango 555).
Works Cited
Technology, Finance, and Dependency: Latin American Radical Political Economy in Retrospect
Matias Vernengo
Review of Radical Political Economics, Fall 2006; vol. 38: pp. 551-568
Technology, Inequality, and Underdevelopment: The Case of Latin America
Rodrigo Arocena and Peter Senker
Science, Technology & Human Values, January 2003; vol. 28: pp. 15-33
This is a very interesting topic you’ve chosen. I feel like I am choosing one quite similar to your focus. I think that for Latin America especially, the colonialization that occurred in the 1700s and 1800s are a huge factor in how they got to be in the state the people of these countries are in today. I think it would be very interesting to look at how a specific country was affected by the colonialization and further technological burden that exists today. I think it would be very interesting, if you are looking to focus on one country, to look at Paraguay in this respect. I learned in my History 214 class that Paraguay was the one country that decided to be self-sufficient during Britain's industrial (more of the textile era) revolution- not opening its doors to free trade with Great Britain,- but then was shut down by the nation ruled by Great Britain directly around it after Paraguay was noticeably attaining a higher quality of life. I think learning about how the technology they developed as a single nation and then how their technology changed when their nation was over taken by the western world and it’s corresponding demise would be a very interesting topic to focus your discussion. I really like the topic, and I would have done Paraguay if I didn’t choose Thailand!
ReplyDeleteJessica, I am very excited about the arguments and critique you are starting to develop in this post. Like Morgan, I think that attending to colonialism AND to what many call "neo-imperialism" (the sort of economic control exerted by the U.S., for example, via contemporary free trade agreements, IMF/World Bank loan requirements, and the ever-present threat of military force) is a necessary addition to our class explorations.
ReplyDeleteAs I have said in responses to other research projects, doing this type of comparative analysis allows us to ask "what does it mean to be modern?" and "what are the different models of development? why are some models privileged over others?"
My question to you - what do you want to focus on for your project specifically? Do you want to look at the development of engineering and technological policy in a specific country in order to trace the ongoing impact of colonialism? Do you want to evaluate proposals for technical decision-making that seek to empower citizens (e.g., citizen's juries, science shops)? Do you want to more closely analyze the vision statements, missions, and practices of EWB and NCAT? Do you want to focus on genetic engineering and the debates around it? There are so many different possibilities here - I look forward to seeing the direction you choose.