Some of these technological developments were themselves a result of social coordination. For example, solar panels are extremely cheap now, but they used to be very expensive. Getting them to where they are now involved decades of government funded research and subsidies to get the industry up and running, generally motivated by environmental concerns.
It seems like there are many cases where technology is used to solve a problem, but we wouldn’t have actually made the switch without regulation and coordinated action. Would you really attribute the banning of CFC’s primarily to the existence of technological alternatives? It seems like you need both an alternative technology and social and political action.
Agreed, titotal! As I commented, “technological development requires coordination, and coordination often requires technological develoment, so they cannot be analysed separately”.
Some of these technological developments were themselves a result of social coordination. For example, solar panels are extremely cheap now, but they used to be very expensive. Getting them to where they are now involved decades of government funded research and subsidies to get the industry up and running, generally motivated by environmental concerns.
It seems like there are many cases where technology is used to solve a problem, but we wouldn’t have actually made the switch without regulation and coordinated action. Would you really attribute the banning of CFC’s primarily to the existence of technological alternatives? It seems like you need both an alternative technology and social and political action.
Agreed, titotal! As I commented, “technological development requires coordination, and coordination often requires technological develoment, so they cannot be analysed separately”.