David Harvey's reflection and criticism of modern technology
09:35, August 18, 2020 Source: "China Social Sciences", August 18, 2020, No. 1991 Author: Zhang Shuang

David Harvey (David Harvey) analyzed the trajectory of capitalist development as seven "activity levels",、Social Relations、System and System Arrangement、Production and labor process、Natural Relations、Daily life of daily life and human species,The ideas of the world。Where,Technology and organizational form is a key "activity level",It changes to social relations、The relationship between people and nature has had a profound impact,At the same time, it has also become a driving force for continuously expanding the geographical scale of capitalist activities。

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What is technology? Harvey thinks,Technology is a means to use natural processes and things to manufacture products to meet human purposes。We are often pleased with the many convenience brought by the application of technology in production and life。But,From Harvey's view,Technology itself, whether it is generated from it、The application is still the final result,Not a neutral existence。In the process of inspecting the technical evolution trajectory,Harvey Discovery,Technology and capital are intertwined with each other。On the one hand,Technology has become increasingly evolved into a business of capital,Become a special business field。On the other hand,A new technology is created not to meet people’s existing needs,Instead, people's needs are created to meet the needs of new technology consumption。In the relationship between technological innovation and people's needs,Technology is the purpose and the Bet365 app download means; in the relationship between technology and capital,Technology is the means or intermediary used by capital to realize its own expansion and accumulation,Technology for the purpose of serving capital; in technology、In the relationship between capital,People become the object of capital and technical control。So,Harvey thinks,Technology is not a neutral existence,The generation and application of technology reflect the various purposes that human utilization technology wants to achieve、Regeneration of the Class Power of the Capitalist,and the pursuit of accumulation of capital。

From the perspective of the history and logic of capital,Technology is used by capital to complete five necessary and intertwined tasks: first,Promotion of efficiency as much as possible with the optimized cooperation organization and division of labor、Promotion of profitability and capital accumulation。Second,At each stage,Capital flow must be accelerated,By shortening the capital of capital in production and market turnover,Capital completes "Destroy the Space Volume",Finally promoting a series of amazing technological revolution。third,The survival and sustainable dependence of capital depends on the technology of production and communication、Storage and data technology provides information,Guide investment decisions with this、Market activities, etc.。Fourth,Through new hardware technology capabilities、New organizational forms and staggering software technology.,Capital has promoted the operation of deprivation accumulation and asset value speculation in the financial and currency field; fifth,Work and labor is a key "Arena" for capital,Invention of capital utilization technology、Innovation and adoption,Complete bet365 Play online games work、Control of labor and workers。These five tasks of technology directly point to two goals: one is to complete capital accumulation,The other is the reproduction of the bourgeois power。

  The co -conspiracy of technology and capital

The smooth operation of capitalism is based on the basis of capital accumulation and the continuous growth of capital。No endless accumulation,The capitalist system cannot maintain or even exist,Zero -growth means capital crisis for capital。Marx pointed out when analyzing the circulation of capital,Number of capital appreciation、The number of reproductions and the number of times the value of capital value depends on the circulation speed,That is the time of circulation experience。Time is a key element that affects the rapid accumulation of capital,So in order to achieve the maximization of capital accumulation,Capital must compress the time cost to minimum the minimum in the form of "time to eliminate space"。Harvey pointed out,Driven by the target of capital accumulation,New technology is constantly emerging,Technology that can achieve the goal of capital accumulation will soon have a market。With the help of technology, capital has spanned space obstacles,Promote the accumulation of capital worldwide,and the accumulation speed is getting faster and faster,The accumulation method is becoming more and more flexible and diverse。Due to the huge effect of technology on capital accumulation,From Harvey's view,Capitalist society formed a "technical worship" culture,It seems that any problem can be solved with technical means,Technical innovation has become the object of worship of capitalists。

The accumulation of capital utilization technology also realizes the reproduction of capitalist class power。From Harvey's view,Capitalists Bet365 lotto review have controlled the control of workers through technology,Including control of the body of the worker、Control of labor skills for workers、Control of workers' work outside time。In terms of control over the body of the workers,The invention of some technologies in its historical capital、The primary goal of improvement and adoption is to control labor。Through the factory system、Taylorism、Automation、Robotics, etc.,Technology effectively realized the provision of work labor、Save time、Save effort,But the result of the result is the random attached to the workers to become a machine。Capitalist production is no longer an art,Workers are not "individuals with unique artistic skills"。In terms of control over the labor skills of the workers,In order to meet the needs of new technologies or new machines,Labor has to go through the process of "going to skills" or "re -skills"。"Go to the skills" or "re -skills" of the workers is not to eliminate the skill itself,Instead of depriving the workers' exclusive power to labor skills。For this,Capitalists By providing a large number of training methods,Turn relatively scarce skills into skills that everyone has the opportunity to master。When this skill loses its exclusiveness,The cost of hiring workers in capitalists will be greatly reduced。In terms of control over the work of workers,Due to the use of technology,Many labor is automated machine、Replacement of artificial intelligence,More and more time saved in production,Workers are also liberated from the hard work of production。But,In order to avoid the creation of the self -individual in order to avoid the creation of the freedom between workers outside the work and the workers,Capital has created more and more goods and services Bet365 app download with technology,Remove the time of the worker into the consumerism,Free time released from new technology。other,In the process of consuming workers' working time,Technical and technological innovation also destroys the possibility of unity between workers。So,Technical and technological innovation has not become the key weapon of "key weapons for class struggle" for workers that Marx expects to carry out "class struggle",Instead, it has become an effective weapon for capital against class struggle。

  Eliminate the alienation of modern technology

During the development of capitalism,A co -conspiracy relationship between capital and technology,That is the capital accumulation of capital utilization technology,Technology dependence on capital can be innovative and change。Capital and technology are all for workers、Cold and Ruthless、The production process and production activities are indifferent、Cold and Ruthless。Harvey pointed out,Although modern technology cuts off the sensory interaction between people and the world,Capital dwarfs people into meaningless existence,But due to the irreversible technical changes,We cannot live in technology。

From Harvey's view,We need technology to solve the global environmental degradation、Abnormal growth of population trends,Improve global health、Education and Nutrition Questions,Use technology to fight against military and geopolitical tensions,It can even use technology to achieve non -capitalist society、Ecological and political purposes。Technology is a contradiction,Although the existing technology is expressing and showing the mentality and practices of capital seeking class liberalization,But it also contains the potential of liberation。So,Harvey calls for this potential that must actively discover Bet365 app download the technology in the fight against funding。What are the development of technology? This,Harvey pointed out very clearly,This option is on the human hand,The choice of value is in people instead of nature itself。Although we see harmony and balance、beauty and morality and stability、Cooperation and mutual assistance、Ugly and violence、Level and order、Competition and survival、turbulence and change bureau、Cause and effect、Confrontation Unification、Chaos and disorder、splitting and attraction,But these are not the "natural value" inherent in nature,but the part of our own value prejudice to us。So,The final decision is the framework of people explaining things instead of things itself。

Based on reflection and criticism of technology,Harvey proposed the idea of ​​solving technical contradictions。One,Political practice concepts are based on creating new technology and organizational forms,By automated、Robot、Application of artificial intelligence,Complete political practice。Its two,Through the innovation and application of technology,Reduce all forms of social labor burden,Eliminate or reduce unnecessary technical division of labor,and separate the remaining necessary technical division of labor and social division of labor as much as possible。Its three,Release free time for personal and collective activities,Reduce people's running for survival。Four,Citizenship is no longer ruled,Instead of being given power to the use of production tools,At the same time, individual take turns to make administration、Leadership and Public Security。Its five,Implementation technology、Society、Difference in cultural and lifestyle innovation。In short,The Bet365 app download essence of Harvey's political practice concept is to break the same logic of the capitalist society,Eliminate the alienation of modern technology,Going to what he calls "revolutionary humanitarianism"。

 (This article is the Study Research on the Relationship between Human Destiny Community and Capital Logic of Human Destiny and Capital (18BKS118) in the National Social Science Fund project (18BKS118)

(Author Unit: Marxism College of Harbin University of Engineering)

Editor in charge: Zhang Jing
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