"I for one think the advancement of technology has been amazing in my life time"
But what have we done with it? Our ambitions and will with regard to nation-level 'feats' certainly peaked in the late sixtiess/seventies, and we've been more or less focused on Utopian tweaking ever since (both parties) while accomplishing little toward that end. Since the mid-80's we've been hemorrhaging wealth internationally at a historically unprecedented scale. At this point, undertakings like the Grand Coulee dam are unthinkable (even a stupid oil-pipeline eludes our will
) and structurally impossible with the system we have now. Everyone enjoys the fruits of technological development, but how many actually strive to understand them? Technical disciplines and competitiveness had been declining precipitously until this recent recession smacked some $en$e (for a time, at least) into students/professionals who would have otherwise eagerly pursued a career in Canine Fashion.
I think the development of the Internet's easily available content has the
potential to spur a generation-spanning learning/enlightenment movement, but after only two decades of real prominence it almost seems like it is becoming a barrier to such; it's best content almost as inaccessible to the layman as anything before it due to the shear amount of noise. Precious few corners allow for real discourse, and are quickly found and ruined by trolls and fools. There are plenty of inventors, but our patent system is actively hostile to them now, should they actually become successful enough to draw notice. Investment is more difficult and laden with legal liability than ever, to say nothing of forming the business that would receive said investment.
The Jetsons was set in the 2060's because a highly-advanced and successful society seemed inevitable long before 100 years came around; anyone still think we'll be at the top of the world on flying cars in 2114? Or is
Blade Runner,
Soylent Green,
Brazil, or
Idiocracy more likely?
From what I understand, at the time of the Revolution, the hot/cool topic of the day was scientific and philosophical discussion, even amongst rural and working urban folk. The notion of 'liberty' and individual worth apart from a lord were very new and radical ideas with mass appeal, not unlike fascism, socialism, or populism before. Just as the invention of passably-sanitary cities coincided with Socialism, and 'mass marketing' with Fascism* (fancy that
), it seems like the proliferation of effective firearms (and other labor/skill amplifying devices of the Industrial Revolution) coincided with this bloom of individualistic philosophy. It makes sense; one man could suddenly do the work of 10 and could reasonably defeat the strongest champion alive in battle. Man was not
equalized, he was amplified to a higher plane. (I'm not very familiar with Japanese history, but didn't the mass influx of firearms through trade roughly precede the Meiji Restoration and their subsequent social modernization?)
To understand just how much this new philosophy pervaded contemporary thinking, just examine how the American Revolution did not end up as a military dictatorship or monarchy, as did pretty much
every single popular violent overthrow of a government before, or since. How much
power must these ideas have commanded to avoid the 'easy' solution of making George Washington or Adams or any other popular figure into strongman or monarch? The old story that GW himself rejected a crown has got to be facetious; the colonists not immediately under his command would have instantly rebelled had he pulled such a coup; they were done with kings.
Soon after, France went through like a dozen identical uprisings, which each left worse institutions in charge. It took until pretty much early last century for fate to finally settle things for them when the vast majority of their fighting men were annihilated in WWI (and then subsequently conquered/occupied for decades).
Mort à la révolution
TCB
*It could be argued the proliferation of all ideas equally through the Internet has lead to our current state of zealous philosophical movements clashing from all corners; everybody got louder and more determined, as opposed to just one sector gaining strength and sweeping the world.
