Peter wrote: > Mumford gives technology >an extraordinarily political reading; he thinks through the implications >of technical choices for human liberation and healthy lifeways (which he >sees as linked). Enjoyed your comments on Mumford, Peter. Whenever I start thinking about this stuff, I begin to wonder if "technology" is a meaningful term, or if we're just talking about material culture, or a particular intersection of political economy and material culture. I suspect it's the latter. A rather harsh acquaintance of mine refers to Mumford's work as "handwaving." (SNIP) > >Unfortunately, lurking behind his analysis is an uninterrogated reliance >on the notion of objective human needs, a sort of human flourishing >perspective. There is much to be said for this approach (Sen and >Nussbaum have been saying a lot of it), but its great flaw is that it is >fundamentally paternalistic, and therefore politically sterile. (SNIP) I'm curious as to where you see the paternalism in Nussbaum & Sen. When I read her development stuff, I get nervous about all the universal claims, but then I look at that list of things which comprise human flourishing** for her, and it's hard for me to argue with them. Are they paternalistic simply because Nussbaum is the one who formulated this list of universal goods? I wonder if c. and h. might be enough to protect against the inevitability, if not the possibility, of political sterility. Actually, maybe you could say some more about what you mean by political sterility. Frances **for those who haven't read her, here's (an edited version) of her list: a. living a life of normal length, b. avoiding unnecessary and nonbeneficial pain, c. using the senses, thinking, imagining, reasoning, d. being able to have attachments to things and persons outside oneself, e. being able to form a conception of the good and to engage in the planning of one's own life, f. being able to show concern for other persons, being able to laugh and play, g. being able to live one's life and nobody else's, h. being able to live one's life in one's own context and surroundings, i. being able to live with concern for and in relation to the world of nature.
