By Gussai Sheikheldin
A fundamental difference between ‘developing’ and ‘developed’ societies is technology; in a broad yet specific sense. The ways in which technology is developed, institutionalized, animated and celebrated, is the core of ‘development’ as we experience it in various aspects of our lives. Generally, we are all encompassed by one big technosphere, made up of smaller technospheres that mould our ideas, behaviours and aspirations. Ursula Franklin once summarized this reality by saying, “technology has built the house in which we all live.”
But technospheres are not only technical. They are also social, political, and ideological. The book ‘Liberation and Technology’ talks about that with emphasis on utilizing technology for sustainable development. It suggests a novel way of thinking about development, through envisioning and building better ‘technosocial systems’.
Why this book?
A quote that is attributed to Toni Morrison says, “if there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” The collection of thoughts, perspectives and arguments that were eventually brought together in this book began building up in me from the last year of my undergraduate studies (engineering technology). By the time I completed my master’s degree (in engineering and public policy), I wanted to pursue further studies to understand the dynamic interactions between technologies and socioeconomic institutions and how they influence social transformation and human worldviews. My doctoral studies focused on sustainable development and technological change, with relative geographical focus on Africa. During that time I searched for writings that addressed technological change from comprehensive, interdisciplinary perspectives. I searched for ones that speak particularly to developing societies. Relevant literature was there from which I learned immensely. Yet, as much as I learned and improved my understanding of the subject matter, as well as had the chance to engage in relevant development activities outside pure research, I could not find the book I wanted to read. So, eventually I attempted to write it.
Publishing the manuscript also became an important decision of its own. Although most of the book was based on research and learning that took place within western academia, I felt more comfortable and consistent by working with an Africa-based publisher that has been providing a platform for relevant, endogenous perspectives for a few decades. Researchers in academia, think tanks and R&D institutions in developing societies (or those whose work is about developing societies) have learned over decades that publishing with western-based publishers and journals is better for the overall visibility and perceived credibility of their work, as well as for their careers. This perception reinforces itself: the more writers seek to publish with western-based publishers (especially the ‘prestigious’ ones) as first choice, the more such platforms continue to have more than their fair share at the expense of publishing channels in developing societies. Such trend has an overall negative affect on the capacities of scholarship and knowledge production in/about developing societies. Fortunately, it can be changed. I personally think that it is currently changing. When the main audience of a written work are likely from or about developing societies, writers will do good to publish through channels that are more accessible and relevant to that audience.
The book’s content
As put in its introduction, “The main thesis of this book is that if developing societies seek genuine human and socioeconomic development then they need to seek technological autonomy. Technological autonomy refers to the attainment of a sufficient level of self-determination in generating and managing technological phenomena for that society. It means acquiring an endogenous capacity to generate, transfer and administer technologies, as well to guide policies and manage innovation, industrial sectors, local and foreign trade, and priorities of development. Such autonomy also, of course, implies a relative independence from external manipulation; particularly from other societies with greater economic, political and military power. Technological autonomy, therefore, is a concept that identifies a policy and sociopolitical approach, with key consideration for technical and economic factors, to the issue of technological change and development.” (page. xv)
With the above thesis as guiding lens, a proposal to look at technology – generally defined as artefacts built and used to reduce uncertainties of material challenges within socioecological structures – as ‘the fifth estate’ in all modern societies. Akin to the ‘fourth estate’ (i.e. the media and press), we can say that “the various decentralized and interrelated institutions and agents that create and regulate technology in our societies operate and define the apparatus of the fifth estate. These institutions and agents have visible, wide and deep power, albeit ‘unofficial’, in shaping our lives.” (Ibid, p. xvi). Describing technology in such way articulates its importance and then allows us to talk about the importance of technological autonomy for any society.
The chapters of the book begin with an extensive summary and synthesis of the theoretical and historical literature on technological change. The following chapter introduces the technological autonomy framework which outlines the main processes and stages a society shall consider as it seeks to move from a status of ‘technological dependency’ towards autonomy. The framework is intended to guide areas of focus for research agenda and informed decision-making. The third chapter identifies multiple agents of technological change in society (e.g. states, innovators and market actors) and how they play their roles, as well as how they should, from the perspective of the book’s thesis. The fourth chapter pays attention to external sources of influence on technological affairs in societies. ‘Politics, ecologies and cultures’ interact and overlap with technological change processes in ways that need to be deciphered and indirectly manipulated for development goals. The fifth chapter is dedicated to the issue of ‘technology and justice’, i.e. why and how to engage and steer technological change towards benefiting the many instead of the few. The final chapter discusses a number of selected case studies: appropriate technology; dams and development in India and the Nile basin; and Tanzania’s Ujamaa as an experience of rural technological change. The cases demonstrate how the proposed approach of the book would analyze such phenomena of technology and development, and what lessons we can draw from them.
While concerned with all developing societies, the book draws more lessons and examples from Africa’s history and present. Not by any measure exclusively so, however. The general arguments and conclusions address various societies around the world, with a humble appreciation for how often different contexts summon different details.
For more info, the book is available at:
- The African Books Collective
- Amazon
- Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: TPH Bookshop (24 Samora Avenue)