عقب‌گرد فناوری: تفسیر شومپیتر از مدرنیزاسیون معکوس (اقتصاد دیگر کانن آنتهم)

The aim of this book is to broaden our understanding of technological change by adopting the concept of __technological retrogression__. With reference to concrete cases of technological retrogression a new conceptual framework is developed. The book’s exposition aims at contrasting retrogressive economic dynamics of technological change to progressive dynamics as developed by Schumpeter. At one extreme in the dimension of technological change, capital-strong production units innovate their way out of the recession through technological progress, adopting more advanced production equipment that improves productivity. Following Schumpeterian progressive dynamics, virtuous spirals of growth result. At the other end we find the producers that resort to technological retrogression, which secures survival, but which result in low labour productivity, diminishing the possibility of capital accumulation and thus modernization that could form an escape from poverty. Vicious spirals of decline result, which is the book’s main object of analysis. The theory is, thus, a contribution to understanding the anatomy of recessions. Cover 1 Front Matter 3 Half title 3 Title page 5 Copyright information 6 Dedication 7 Epigraph 8 Contents 9 List of figures 11 Foreword 13 Acknowledgments 17 Preface 19 Chapter Int-null 25 Introduction THE CONCEPT OF TECHNOLOGICAL RETROGRESSION 25 Point of departure 25 Conceptual clarifications 28 Diffusion of technology 28 The chapters 32 Chapter 1 CHALLENGING LINEARITY AND IRREVERSIBILITY 35 Grand narratives of progress 35 Constructing a testable theory of reversal of modernization 39 Necessity, choice and profit opportunity 41 Empirical evidence of technological retrogression 42 Challenging Schumpeterian thought 43 Chapter 2 PERSPECTIVES ON TECHNOLOGICAL HETEROGENEITY 47 Understanding time–space edges 47 One backward and one progressive sector 50 The destruction of antiquated modes of production 54 The transition to capitalism in the colonial context 61 Escaping dualism 61 Peripheral capitalism 64 Reproduction of labour in the pre-capitalist sector 66 Technological backwardness and marginalization 68 Explaining technological retrogression 72 Diminishing returns 72 Gaining more by producing less 77 Applying the three approaches to heterogeneity 79 A preoccupation with dualism 81 Expanded relations 88 An articulationist’s approach 93 An appraisal of the approaches 98 Chapter 3 PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND WORK HISTORIES 101 The production system approach 101 The concept of production system 101 Separate economic spheres 103 Interconnected relations 103 The direction of change 104 An ideal type approach 105 General features of the production systems 108 Resource exploitation 108 Technology 110 Capital 112 Market expansion 113 Labour recruitment 117 Share systems 119 Security nets 123 The classification problem 126 Reconstruction of technological pasts using work histories 130 Career paths 133 Forms of technology over time 134 Limitations of the work history method 135 Chapter 4 EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE OF TECHNOLOGICAL RETROGRESSION: THE SRI LANKAN CASE 139 Modernization efforts 140 New technology 141 The fisheries of Hambantota 143 Forms of technology 145 Forms of technology and age 146 Reconstruction of technological change 146 Changes within artisanal fisheries 147 The transition 150 Combination 153 Summing up the reconstruction 155 Standard of living 157 Ownership and standard of living 158 Forms of technology and standard of living 159 Technological pasts and standard of living 160 Summary 161 Chapter 5 EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE OF TECHNOLOGICAL RETROGRESSION: THE MALAYSIAN CASE 163 Poverty and inequality 163 The fisheries 166 Forms of technology in Kuala Kedah 169 The village 169 Discovering hidden variation 170 Forms of technology 171 Technological change in Kuala Kedah 174 Changes within artisanal fisheries 174 The transition 175 Expectations and reality 178 Expected career paths 178 Four fishermen’s careers 183 A progressive entrepreneur? 185 A reactionary traditionalist? 187 An aimlessly wavering man? 190 A complete failure? 193 Standard of living 194 Security nets 196 Hidden variation within individual career paths 197 Intermediate technology 197 Advanced high technology 197 Low technology 198 Combination 199 Interrupted careers 199 Technology and standard of living 200 Technological retrogression 201 Turn or return? 202 Old and tired? 203 Rich or poor? 204 Time of occurrence 204 Decreasing resources 205 A question of ‘culture’? 205 The Kuala Jerlun hypothesis 208 Perceptions on the villages’ future 209 Chapter 6 A THEORY OF TECHNOLOGICAL RETROGRESSION 213 Changes and continuity in the fishing villages 213 Causes and triggers of technological retrogression 216 Overexploitation 217 Oil price vulnerability 220 To struggle with oars and destitution: Historical parallels 222 Capitalism: pure, perverted, or peripheral? 225 A frozen transition 228 Confronting evolutionism 232 Schumpeterian dynamics in reverse 235 Modernization in reverse 239 End Matter 241 References 241 Index 249 The aim of this book is to broaden our understanding of technological change by adopting the concept of technological retrogression. With reference to concrete cases of technological retrogression a new conceptual framework is developed. Extensive fieldwork in Sri Lanka and Malaysia forms the empirical fundament. A new method of reconstructing technological change is furthermore developed. The book contains a detailed account of the work history method, which is designed to capture changes over time where there are no statistical data available. The book contains a thorough examination of central theories of socio-economic transitions in developing countries, searching for an explanation of instances where modernization reverses. The exposition aims at contrasting retrogressive economic dynamics of technological change to progressive dynamics as developed by Schumpeter. At one extreme in the dimension of technological change, capital-strong production units innovate their way out of the recession through technological progress, adopting more advanced production equipment that improves productivity. Following Schumpeterian progressive dynamics, virtuous spirals of growth result. At the other end we find the producers that resort to technological retrogression, which secures survival, but which result in low labour productivity, diminishing the possibility of capital accumulation and thus modernization that could form an escape from poverty. Vicious spirals of decline result, which is the book’s main object of analysis. The theory is, thus, a contribution to understanding the anatomy of recessions. The contention is, thus, that a choice of technology of production may lead to reduced productivity and economic decline. The concept of technological change should, therefore, not be equated solely with productivity improvements and economic development. Producers who experience technological retrogression may find themselves in the paradoxical situation of earning more by producing less, a paradox which is addressed in this book. Furthermore, where technological retrogression involves a return to organization of production of the past, this may affect the political leverage of labour, curbing social progress. Reversal of modernization, technological and organizational, is linked closely to marginalization of producers and increased social inequality. Lock-in of producers, both technologically and geographically, into activities characterised by diminishing returns, is considered a major precondition of technological retrogression. Therefore, the phenomenon is thought most likely to occur during periods of economic decline, recessions or during prolonged crises.