Technological determinism
- 1Technological determinism asserts that technology follows an internal logic of efficiency.
- 2The theory suggests that technology dictates the evolution of social structures and cultural values.
- 3Thorstein Veblen is credited with the origin of the concept.
- 4Clarence Ayres was a prominent 20th-century proponent of this deterministic view.
- 5William Ogburn introduced the related concept of cultural lag.
Technological determinism is a reductionist theory in assuming that a society's technology progresses by following its own internal logic of efficiency, while determining the development of the social structure and cultural values.
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theoretical foundation for neo-Luddite critiques of social change
This theory posits that a society's technology drives the development of its social structure and cultural values, a core premise that neo-Luddites challenge by arguing for human agency over technological trajectory.
Technological determinism is a reductionist theory positing that a society's technological advancements follow an internal logic of efficiency. This framework suggests that the evolution of technology acts as the primary driver, effectively shaping the development of a society's social structure and cultural values.
Adoption of digital technologies (in%) by firm size, in the EU and the US.Wikimedia Commons; European Investment Bank; https://www.eib.org/en/publications/digitalisation-in-europe-2021-2022; CC BY-SA 3.0 igo; Wikimedia Commons: Category:Technologyschematische Darstellung aller Komponenten eines künstlichen Pankreas. Regelalgorithmus im Mobilfunkkgerät. Die Übertragung der Sensordaten dorthin und die Aktionen an die Pumpe, die der Regelalgorithmus generiert, läuft via über Bluetooth. Optional können die Daten über Mobilfunk an einer Cloud-Server des Herstellers...Wikimedia Commons; Sugarmaster; Own work; CC BY-SA 4.0; Wikimedia Commons: Category:TechnologyСхема камер стабилометра типов А и БWikimedia Commons; Lamed-vufniiks; Own work; CC BY-SA 4.0; Wikimedia Commons: Category:Technology The concept is widely attributed to the American sociologist and economist Thorstein Veblen, who lived from 1857 to 1929. Throughout the 20th century, influential thinkers such as Clarence Ayres and William Ogburn further developed these ideas. Ogburn, in particular, is noted for his contributions to the theory of cultural lag, which examines the friction that occurs when social institutions fail to keep pace with rapid technological change.