Explosion of Needs, Quality of Life, and the Ecology Problem

The aim of my paper is to point out the inherent features of modern technology. In doing this I shall not primarily dwell on normative, moral issues, however important they are. The questions I raise pertain to the nature of man and to the structure of society, i.e., to the realm of the real world. My claim is that (a) it is only by turning to the interrelated general mechanisms, as considered here, that the dynamics of modern technology can be appropriately understood, and that (b) it is only on the basis of such an understanding that we can hope to fetter the Unbound Prometheus of modern technology. The first step for coping with the actual problems is to bring to mind the underlying aggregative mechanisms. Perhaps the analogy of medicine can be helpful here. In order to arrive at a promising therapy, one needs a reliable diagnosis and possibly a correct etiology, i.e., an assignment of causes. Only when this is achieved can one hope to improve the given state of affairs.