Throughout history, technological innovations have helped humankind improve their standards of living, beginning with the simple invention of bone tools of prehistoric times, continuing to and beyond modern air conditioners, automobiles, and supercomputers. For nearly half of the twentieth century, Robert Moses seized upon the opportunities of technology. Moses believed in the power of technology and the inevitability of change, and he felt that it was always important to accomplish the task at hand. Following these principles, Moses eventually became one of the most powerful people in New York City and shaped New York City during the middle part of the twentieth century. However, Moses’s power did not last, and his boldness eventually led to a loss of public support, and eventually his loss of power. Moses’s life highlights several issues connected with evolving technology, especially the relationship between technological progress and social progress, the question of whether or not social problems can be solved with technological fixes, and the emergence of Moses as a tragic hero.
Technological progress and social progress are related, but there are differing views on the extent of the relationship. Emmanuel Mesthene presents three general viewpoints on this relationship in his writing. The first is that technology is “the motor of all progress” and that it is a great blessing to society. He also puts forth a more pessimistic view that describes technology as an uncontrollable curse on society. His personal view combines the two by saying that technology can, and most likely will, lead to social change, however, there will be both positive and negative consequences accompanying the technology and the resulting change (Mesthene, p. 61-69). Volti presents the idea that technological progress is not the same as general progress, although he also believes that technological change does produce social change. He argues that a society can use, and even develop, advanced technologies without advancing in other areas. He points out the example of Nazi Germany and the fact that while they had great advances in automobiles and invented the V-2 rocket, their nature and treatment of other people can only be described as barbaric (Volti, p. 10, 31). While the world viewed the Nazis as inhumane and regressive, to the Nazi’s their ideology was the most righteous of all causes, and they used their technology to spread their beliefs to the rest of the world. The Nazis were using their technological advances to affect the social patterns of the world, and in their views, they were advancing society towards their ideals, which was their idea of social progress. This reflects the viewpoint of Leo Marx who states that technological progress does lead to social progress as long as humans are willing to answer the question of “progress towards what?”.technological innovations have helped humankind improve For nearly half of the twentieth century, Robert Moses shaped and reshaped the structure of New York City. His technological marvels helped to illustrate the relationship between technological progress and social progress. His public works projects showed the applications of technological fixes to social problems, and his bold ideas gained his initial support, but later caused his downfall. There are many aspects of technology and its applications that can be examined through the life and career of a person such as Robert Moses. Technology may be a vehicle of progress that initiates social change, but it is not necessarily a means to an end, at least as far as social problems are concerned.
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