Milestones of Technocracy: Six Technological Orders

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The technological structure is a set of production technologies of mankind, complementary to each other. The change in technological structures is predetermined not only by the course of scientific and technological progress, but also by the inertia of society's thinking: new technologies appear much earlier than their mass development. Throughout its history, mankind has already mastered five orders and at full speed (at least civilized countries) are approaching the development of the sixth.

The first technological order (1770)

The main resource is water energy. The key factor of the first technological structure is spinning machines, the core of the structure is the textile industry. What is the novelty of this technological order: the mechanization of labor, the creation of continuous production. Leading countries: Great Britain, France, Belgium.

The second technological order (1830)

Main resource: steam energy, coal. Main industry: transport, ferrous metallurgy. Achievement of the way of life: an increase in the scale of production, the development of transport. The key factor of the second technological structure is the steam engine, the core of the structure is steam shipping, coal mining, and railways. Leading countries: Great Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, USA

Humanitarian advantage: gradual liberation of a person from hard manual labor.

The third technological order (1890)

Main resource: electrical energy, inorganic chemistry (converter, dynamite). Main industry: heavy engineering, electrical engineering, ferrous metallurgy, railways, shipbuilding, explosives production. The key factor is the electric motor.

Achievement of the way: concentration of banking and financial capital; the emergence of radio communications, telegraph; standardization of production. Leading countries: Germany, USA, UK, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Netherlands

The humanitarian advantage is an improvement in the quality of life.

The fourth technological order (1930)

The main resource is the energy of hydrocarbons, the beginning of nuclear power.

The main industries are automotive, non-ferrous metallurgy, oil refining, synthetic polymer materials.

The key factor is the internal combustion engine, petrochemicals, jet and turbojet engines, rockets, nuclear fuel, computer, laser, conveyor production, radio communications. Leading countries: USA, Western Europe, USSR.

Humanitarian advantage - development of communications, transnational relations, growth of production of consumer goods.

The fifth technological order (1960)

The fifth mode is based on achievements in the field of microelectronics, informatics, biotechnology, genetic engineering, new types of energy, materials, space exploration, satellite communications, etc. based on the Internet, closely cooperating in the field of technology, product quality control, innovation planning.

Microelectronic components are the key factor. The advantage of the technological paradigm, in comparison with the previous one, consisted in the individualization of production and consumption, in increasing the flexibility of production.

Humanitarian advantage - globalization, speed of communication and movement.

The sixth technological order (2010)

Main industries: nano- and biotechnology, nanoenergy, molecular, cellular and nuclear technologies, nanobiotechnology, biomimetics, nanobionics, nanotronics, and other nanoscale industries; new medicine, household appliances, modes of transport and communications; stem cell use, living tissue and organ engineering, reconstructive surgery and medicine.

The advantage of the technological order, in comparison with the previous one, according to the forecast will consist in a sharp decrease in the energy and material consumption of production, in the design of materials and organisms with predetermined properties.

Humanitarian advantage: a significant increase in the life expectancy of humans and animals. Increased robotization of production, a sharp increase in society's demand for highly qualified workers, the emergence of new types of professions.

In 2016, the share of the productive forces of the fifth technological order in the most developed countries was about 70 percent, the fourth - 20 percent, and the sixth - about 10 percent.