In this chapter of Technopoly, Neil Postman describes how technocracies have evolved into existence and their transformations to technopolies. He describes a technocracy as a social structure in which technology is highly regarded and causes traditional values such as religion to be overlooked. A technology forms when society is driven by technology becomes dependent on it.
This chapter gives us great insight into the world created by Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. In Brave New World the only thing that matters to government or society is consumption, which creates a perfect form of a technopoly. As Neil Postman wrote, “the engine of technological progress worked most efficiently when are conceived of not as children of God or even as citizens but as consumers.” In Brave New World people are bred and conditioned for the sole purpose of becoming a producer and consumer. The government’s sole mission is to try to make production more efficient and find ways to increase the amount that people consume to an absurd degree.
Neil Postman also relates to how Brave New World is a utopian society when he says “dozens [of utopian societies]were tried in an attempt to reduce the human costs of a technocracy.” In Brave New World people are conditioned to not feel true happiness, but instead resort to methods such as the consumption of the drug Soma. People are also not required to do much in the way of providing for themselves, so they do not have much to worry about.
Neil Postman’s Technopoly gives us insight to how and why a society such as one presented in Brave New World would occur. It also helps us understand why it is not such a good idea and the potential harms of it.
