Politics of Technology
Reorienting the way we think about technology
Technology plays a huge part in our lives. There is growing recognition of the ways that the technologies that we have come to depend on are a significant driver of the interconnected crises we are collectively facing — from ecological collapse to widening inequalities. At the same time, the interventions proposed by powerful governments, corporations, and institutions to address these crises tend to centre new technologies as the answer.
Every day, powerful actors design, develop and pitch new tools, which they claim can fix the problems created by their predecessors. In our rapidly changing technological landscape, it’s vital that we develop our own frames and strategies to understand the implications of technologies in food systems. In 2023, A Growing Culture and ETC Group collaborated to unpack the role of technology and explore how to engage with it through a more politically informed lens — when to uplift, when to challenge and resist. One result of that collaboration is a publication, Politics of Technology. This is part one in a three-part series laying out key aspects from the booklet, in the hope that they spark deeper conversations about technology within our movements.
*Many of the ideas conveyed here grew out of a series of online conversations that took place in January 2023 between A Growing Culture; ETC Group; La Vía Campesina; the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa; International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations; and Pat Mooney, and build on work with the Center for Story-Based Strategy.
Technology tends to bring to mind high-tech digital objects (computers, smartphones, GPS systems). But something doesn’t have to be high-tech, digital, or complex in order to be considered a technology.
Technology can be defined as a useful set of techniques brought together into a system and sustained over time – often in a physical form. That could include basic items in our everyday lives — from clothes, to glasses, to pencils, to ploughs. It could also include intercropping systems or fermentation processes.
“Technology” derives from the word techne- and -logos.
Techne means “a way of making or doing”.
-logy means “an expression” or “a body of knowledge”
In short, a technology is a body of accumulated knowledge and expertise related to a specific way of producing or accomplishing something.
Technology can encompass many things, from processes, to objects, to knowledge. It can also refer to systems that bring together all of the above, as well as the people and worldviews that drive their creation.
We tend to be oriented toward technology in a few key ways:
Technology Averse
Technology is at the root of our problems, and the only true solution is to reject it whenever possible.
For example:
“Technology is killing us, and is killing the planet.”
Technology Neutral
Technologies are not good or bad, it is the way they are used that determines their value.
For example:
“Robots aren’t replacing jobs; it’s the lack of proactive measures to reskill and adapt the workforce to the changing work landscape that can result in job displacement.”
“Social media algorithms aren’t inherently divisive; it’s the people who exploit them for spreading misinformation and sowing discord.”
“Educational technology isn’t diminishing the role of teachers; it’s the individuals who fail to effectively integrate these tools into their classroom.”
Technology Positive
Technology defines progress and provides the solutions we need to solve all our problems.
For example:
“Climate change can only be solved if we bring together the top scientific minds to create the technologies of tomorrow.”
“Hunger can only be solved if we produce more food through modern agricultural technologies.”
These frames can inhibit us from being able to fully understand the role technology plays in our lives.
We suggest an alternative:
Technology Political
Technological politics is a way of framing technologies as neither “good”, “bad”, or “neutral”. It suggests that, instead, technologies are the products of deeply political processes, knowledge, and systems.
The politics of technology encourage us to ask more questions, like:
Who decided we needed the technology?
Who designed it?
Who is the technology designed for?
Where did the parts of the technology come from?
Who gathered the raw materials needed to build it?
What was the ecological impact of gathering those resources?
Who built the technological object?
Who implemented the technology?
Who owns the intellectual property rights?
Who has access to the technology, and who doesn’t?
Who profits from the technology?
What practices did it alter or displace?
In this way, we can begin to engage with technologies as processes by which social, economic, political, and ecological relationships are negotiated and transformed. The political roots of that transformation lie in the purpose for which a technology was created.
In our upcoming newsletters, we will delve deeper into the roots of innovation and its political underpinnings, examining how power shapes technological innovation and implementation. We'll explore case studies, engage with diverse perspectives, challenge the notion of technological expertise, and offer practical insights for fostering more equitable and sustainable technological futures. Join us as we continue this journey of inquiry and dialogue.
You can access the complete booklet on the Politics of Technology in three languages here.
This article by Langdon Winner on technological politics, which set the groundwork for much of the thinking in this publication.
This publication which we produced with ETC Group, in collaboration with La Via Campesina and the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, confronting the narrative behind the rise of corporate agtech.
This piece by ETC Group from 2012 on the need for civil society to be engaged in assessing technologies.
Every resource produced by A Growing Culture, whether a newsletter, article, post, or design, results from countless hours of research, reflection, and the synthesis of profound conversations held both within our team and with our partners and comrades. Behind the scenes, a wealth of effort goes into making these conversations happen, from overseeing our day-to-day operations, and securing our funding, to forging deep relationships with communities around the world who are leading food systems transformation. These relationships fuel our thoughts, inform our words, and inspire our actions.
We recognise that no single person can take credit for the work we collectively produce, which is why we prefer to sign as an organisation rather than as individuals. We believe that no idea is inherently our own and welcome anyone who sees value in our work to translate it, build upon it, adapt it to their own contexts, or share it however they see fit.
I think this is absolutely essential work. All the questions about technology that are necessary, right here.