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Technology, society and sustainability : selected concepts, issues and cases
Zacher L., Springer International Publishing, New York, NY, 2017. 442 pp. Type: Book (978-3-319471-62-4)
Date Reviewed: Nov 8 2017

The predominant nation represented in this book is Poland, however additional nations represented include Greece, Germany, Israel, Portugal, Australia, India, China, Italy, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, and the US.

The book has eight parts. Parts 1 through 3 discuss innovation and technology emerging in and for society. Parts 4 through 8 cover technology, economy, and sustainability.

The chapters in Parts 1 through 3 discuss the rise of Facebook, the relationship between free market enterprise and civilization, and the spread of technology and the policies used to control it. Also covered is an interesting discussion on verifiable identity and its relationship to social justice (using India as an example). Part 3 has an interesting discussion on the relationship between Internet technology and social order, the citizen in cyberspace, the law and technological implications, and finally threats to civil liberties. Parts 4 through 8 discuss technology and sustainability. Discussions include a focus on the environment, economic prosperity and sustainability, and threats to sustainable development.

The book covers the relationship between technology and the environment. For example, it has an interesting discussion about problems associated with fresh water and climate change. Chapter 8, “Peril and Promise of Internet Technology for Future Social Order,” gives an interesting discussion that states: “The most serious threats facing the development of the Internet technology are connected with the fear of losing control over structures responsible for maintaining social order” (p. 120). This statement hints at some of the problems associated with social structure and social order that are occurring today, some five years later.

One problem with this book concerns when the chapters were written. Although the book was published in 2017, the chapters in the book appear to have been written sometime between 2012 and 2015. Since this book covers topics that are changing rapidly, time stamps on the individual chapters would have been helpful.

Chapter 3, written by Lech W. Zacher (the editor for this book), discusses “Technologization of Man and Marketization of His Activities and Culture of the Future.” Zacher states:

Cultural sustainability is important in itself, but it is also necessary for a whole sustainability of society. ... In the case of failure to accomplish this purpose, the culture may degenerate and become a culture of fear and opposition (to technology and growth). ... For this purpose, cultural sustainability should rely on humanistic values since the future of humanity is at stake. (p. 37)

These readings may be useful in seminars on technology and society in sociology, economics, political science, history, or law. Although the specific chapters appear to be somewhat dated based on when they were written, they are relevant to the changes occurring today.

Reviewer:  W. E. Mihalo Review #: CR145645 (1801-0010)
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