by Monty Pelerin
Monty Pelerin’s World
Technology is a double-edged sword. There can be good and evil produced by technology.
It can be a wonderful thing when it is used in a free market context. It can improve productivity, enriching the returns to workers. It can lower costs for buyers. It can make life easier for the common man. It can enhance prosperity and reduce effort. It can allow more leisure time for pursuit of noble ideals, self-improvement, more time with loved ones, etc. etc.
Technology in the hands of the State can be dangerous and used against the citizenry. It provides a technical superclass, able to confuse and bully the populace. Privacy can be illegally invaded. It can provide the means of monitoring (and penalizing) individuals who have done no wrong but are considered nuisances to the State. It can create conditions designed to further State memes (global warming being a prominent one). It can be used to falsify conclusions regarding national security or other major policy issues to justify decisions that are unwarranted. Technology in the hands of the State can be used to enhance tyranny.