(Up to: Technology Vs Evolution Politics Life Vs GUIDesign )

The old adage is that to solve a social problem, one needs a social solution, not a technical solution.

However, to turn it on its head, how much of our society is decided by the technology we have (or had)? Surely expanding free markets wouldn't be possible without the technology to extract oil, and turn it into something usable.

Granted, there must also be some feedback, dribbling from social ideas into the direction that technology takes, and that these ideas are formed within the historical context of a particular culture, and so the great loop continues. But without technology, many things would never be possible.

So the question is, when people say "this needs a social/political solution", are they right, or just utopian?

The music industry is a nice, understandable example. On one hand, yes, it would be great if the attitudes of the industry were to change, but on the other hand, their attitude only became possible thanks to the distribution technology on which music is produced. Now the technology has moved on, new attitudes are forming around it, and it seems more and more likely that instead of the established industry changing their stance, they will instead be superceded.

2004-07-29: Slashdot points to an article on how hackable RFID tags are, an important concept given that these could become as ubiquitous as barcodes, and a reminder that there's always a gap between use of technology, and understanding it.

(See also: Exploring An IDScheme Against Curing Bureaucracy With Police Offshoring And Outsourcing Knowledge Driven Economy Laws Vs Communication )