Technology, democracy and a settled future
A study of technological manifestos and their construction of a determined outcome
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52610/rhs.v30i92.471Keywords:
Technology, manifestos, constitutive rhetoric, transhumanismAbstract
Technological change can lead to societal upheaval but are not isolated from political processes. With technological advances come debates over the implications and consequences of technology. In some cases, these debates happen through technological manifestos, a type of text combining speculation on the future with political argumentation. This article examines two technological manifestos: John Perry Barlows A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace, and Marc Andreessens The Techno-Optimist Manifesto. These texts were chosen as examples of influential manifestos which grapple with attempts at regulation of technology. The article addresses two research questions:
1) How do the manifestos construct technological changes and advancement?
2) How do the manifestos construct political subjects in relation to technological development?
Through answering these research questions, the article then discusses what lessons can be learned about technological manifestos in general, and about how they reflect and adapt to technological development over time.
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