Influences On Society

8 Pages 2115 Words

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 of cotton from the United States to other countries rose
too. The need for more workers, slaves at the time, rose too. This
influenced the government by pushing the need for slavery, and look
what happened as a result. Sputnik help lead a governmental race
between two countries to see who could reach the Moon first. The
invention of the A-bomb led to the end of a real war and the start of
a cold one. Just recently, technology has been a major factor in the
fall of several Communist governments. With the invention of the
television and satellite dishes, as well as the Internet, many people
could have access to media, propaganda, and information not available
in their own society! and learn how their governments really were n...