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\chapter{2}{Introduction to Technology Drafts}

	These articles are  drafts of sections of a  forthcoming book
on  technology  on  society.    Some  of  them  are  in the  form  of
disconnected articles rather than integrated parts of the book,   but
this will be fixed.

	They are  made available  for comment now  in the  hopes that
the final book will be improved thereby.

	The thesis  of the book is that human life can be made better
by application of  inventions and improvements along  lines described
in the  book.  In so far as  can be done with the  effort I have been
able to  put  in, I  have  been as  specific  as I  could  about  the
inventions  and improvements  that will  make  these improvements  in
life.  All  the technology proposed is based on present science,  and
almost all  of it  is either  economically feasible  now  or will  be
provided some of  the improvements in productivity  also proposed are
realized.

	In  order to demonstrate  the thesis  of the book,   it would
seem that I ought to prove the following:

\item{1.}  If certain new technology were available and  used,  then
human life would be improved.   This requires making explicit what is
presumed about what would constitute an improvement.

\item{2.} It is appropriate to think about improvements rather  than
merely about how to avert disaster.

\noindent I shall summarize my views about these points:

\item{1.} Human  welfare has many  components not  all of which  are
affectable  by technology.   However,   the following  are worthwhile
goals and are affectable by technology:

\itemitem{a.} It is better to be rich than to be poor. Access  to more
material goods has improved human life  and can still do so. However,
the  American upper middle  class has reached a  point of diminishing
returns with respect to the  goods now available.  Much  more benefit
can  from   come  from  inventing  new  goods   than  from  increased
availability of the present ones.   This is not  true of most of  the
population  of the  world  and  of a  substantial  part of  the  U.S.
population.   The  pursuit of  both  goals will  be discussed  in the
book.

\itemitem{b.} More personal freedom is better than less.  This personal
freedom  includes not  merely political  and civil  rights, but  also
opportunities.   Many  generally accepted  social goals such  as more
rights for  women, full equality  of opportunity,  and a better  life
for the old and incapacitated  can be more readily realized in a more
technological society.

\item{2.}  The  present American  high  material consumption  can  be
continued  and extended  to  the  rest  of the  world  and  sustained
indefinitely.  Moreover,  it is desirable to do so.  Conclusive proof
would require examination of more  specific resources than I can  do,
but I  hope to be  convincing about the  main problems of  energy and
material resources.
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