Entry 2100, on 2021-01-10 at 11:54:38 (Rating 3, Politics)
Recently, I was debating with an academic over a few contentious issues, such as where real progress comes from. She maintained that progress - specifically social progress in this case, because that's really what were primarily discussing - comes from social action and activism, and I suggested that what has really lead to better situations for everyone in society, including "minority" groups, are the developments of science and technology.
She said that the feminist movement had allowed women to enter the workforce and participate in activities they might have found difficult or impossible in the past, but I countered by asking where that ability really came from. Could it be that women had more options today because of the ability to control their fertility and that the contraceptive pill might give them more freedom than all the feminists' theories ever have?
In fact, my point wasn't that strong because it is very difficult to isolate exactly which factors cause social change, and to what extent, but she did accept that my point was a good one. Reliable contraception is, of course, a scientific and technological phenomenon, primarily created by men in traditional Western institutions, and that further disrupts the feminist rhetoric.
So that was one example, but I think it goes a lot further than that. Most of the benefits that all groups in society (including "disadvantaged" groups) enjoy today came from Western science, and its application as technology, and then efficient production and distribution through corporations. So most of the positive aspects of society today come from the patriarchy, Western values, and capitalism; not necessarily the sort fo result the PC crowd really want to hear!
Here are some other sci/tech innovations which are improving everyone's life: efficient food production, modern medicine, clean and safe water, sanitation, automation of mundane tasks, and universal information distribution. Now I am fully aware that it is not all good. For example, the information which is so made available so conveniently is often unreliable, and sometimes malicious, but the importance of the information being available at all - and theoretically leading to better political and economic decision making - should be indisputable.
It's difficult to show with any certainty what the origin of any specific example of "progress" really is. In fact, the idea that there is a single cause is itself problematic. Like all complex social phenomena, there are many causes, and some of them are probably obscure and poorly understood. But science and technology are clearly important in almost every major advance we have seen.
And science, which is often seen as a part of the "oppressive patriarchy", should be celebrated, along with many other parts of that socio-political structure. Is there genuine oppression there too? Sure, but on balance I believe the good far outweighs the bad. Ironically, the thing that all the "progressive" activists should really be celebrating is the patriarchy they so often reject.
Comment 1 by Anonymous on 2021-01-19 at 12:04:43:
Is the world so binary to you? Why does progress only have to come from one direction. Why not state that "progress" as you define it comes from a complex interaction of science, political, social, and other movements?
Comment 2 by OJB on 2021-01-19 at 12:05:41:
To quote from the post: "Like all complex social phenomena, there are many causes, and some of them are probably obscure and poorly understood"
Comment 3 by Anonymous on 2021-01-19 at 12:07:40:
I don't think feminism or anti-racist movements are "obscure" or "poorly understood".
Comment 4 by OJB on 2021-01-19 at 12:08:28:
It is how these movements contribute to real change in relation to other phenomena which might be poorly understood.
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