Technology and Polity: The Dynamics and Dilemmas of Managed Change
Document Type
Article
Program
Sociology (Pitzer)
Publication Date
1982
Keywords
technology, polity, managed change, Communism, China, Soviet Union, U.S.S.R.
Abstract
For good or ill, our world is increasingly being shaped by the technologies we use. While technological advances have been most evident in economic matters, at the same time technology has also enlarged its domain over cultural forms, political relations, social interactions, and even psychic states. These manifold effects make the study of technological change a matter of great importance and complexity. This is particularly evident when efforts are made to understand the course of technological change in Communist societies. Although the ruling elites of Communist nations have attempted to control technological change and make it congruent with their primary political and social goals, there has been a quixotic quality to their efforts. Not only have technological changes produced unintended spillover effects, the effective application of new technologies has often necessitated political and organizational changes that do not easily harmonize with the existing order.
Rights Information
© 1982 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0039-3592(82)90005-9
Recommended Citation
Rudi Volti, Technology and polity: The dynamics and dilemmas of managed change, Studies in Comparative Communism, Volume 15, Issues 1–2, Spring–Summer 1982, Pages 71-94, ISSN 0039-3592, 10.1016/0039-3592(82)90005-9. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0039359282900059)
Comments
Brief excerpt of the content is used in lieu of abstract.