Mark Reece's Blog - Posts Tagged "technology"

The Shock of the Old: Technology and Global History since 1900 by David Edgerton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book argues that many histories of technology are too focused on the point of invention. Instead, the author suggests that the use of technology is more important, especially given that older forms of technology are often used in surprising ways long after innovations supposedly made them archaic. Several interesting examples of given of this, such as that much modern ship breaking is carried out on beaches using primitive methods.

As a corollary of this, the author cautions against a teleological understanding of technology and 'globalization', pointing out, for example, that in recent history, autarkic policies were pursued by many states, and also the vitally important role of state agencies in developing technology, particularly militaries. This is noteworthy in light of recent political developments, where the world might be once again divided into regional trading blocs protected by tariffs.

Furthermore, the book invites the reader to think of 'technology' in a wider sense, including, for example, animal husbandry, contraception, and devices designed to kill, which is liable to change one's view of history. His description of the holocaust is particularly interesting, in which he points out that much of the killing was carried out by small arms, melee weapons, and starvation, although popular depictions of the genocide are often focused on the more innovative method of poison gas.

I thought a weakness of the book was that it was too short to cover that huge amount of material across its chapters, meaning that some sections comprised lists of interesting or surprising facts that were not fully analyzed or ordered into a coherent narrative. Nevertheless, the book gives an excellent critique of teleological ways of conceiving of technological development, and of how to provide a more fully materialist view of social change.



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