Over the past century technology has advanced greatly without a doubt. The three main advancements in technology has improved mechanics, weapons and science in the nature of research and techniques used within the NHS today. From these given examples, the advantages are obvious. It increases the speed capacity of day to day life and it allows the human race to have the freedom of choice against nature.
However, the human misery caused behind these examples include, the causation of human laziness, the loss of traditional methods and morals, the creation of a stronger force in politics leading to war between countries and many ethical issues raised from the research findings and techniques as the result. Social advancement has been greatly influenced by the government. Again, politics play a role in the societies thoughts and beliefs. The government gives the information which they would like their society to obtain, by owning the media they have allowed information to be censored and restricted according to their preference.
This has limited the way the society advances as it mildly propoganda’s the society according to the governments wants and needs. Technology, if used unappropriatly will ultimately cause human misery as the harmful consequences are often ignored, or the public are oblivious to them. For instance, the improvement in nuclear welfare, chemical weapons, and so called techniques to ‘protect’ the country has been made. Millions of pounds from income taxes have been funded towards these research, and the outcome is to increase the ‘power’ of the country.
However, increasing the power of one country, ultimately as a contrast, decreases the power of another, making them more venerable and weak. As politics is all about power, as shown in the current wars against Iraq, has caused human misery to the Iraq society, to the families of UK and America’s armies and themselves. Using the advancement to wipe out populations demonstrated in the war in Japan with the two bombs has wiped out a fraction of the population, and afterwards realising that the outcome and consequences has over taken the benefits the war has produced.
Social advancement is improved only as a mean of noticing mistakes made in the past and criticising ones history, thus social advancement is noticeably always one step behind technological advancement. The use of cars and big factories which both produce greenhouse effecting gases has led to the dilemma of global warming, melting of ice caps and the rising of sea levels. Due to the outcome over these years, climate change is believed to be the consequence. If social advancement will not improve soon, then the human misery caused will be devastating.
Not to an individual country but to the whole Earth as a whole. However, not everyone acknowledges the severity of the situation and is allowing the consequences to progress. This is another example of how technology has turned it’s back against the human race and causing misery in countries, especially those who relies purely on their climate to survive. For instance growing crops. Science and research in the NHS has lead to techniques available in choosing a ‘test tube baby’ and allowing abortions to take place.
The ethical issues in both of these is complex as one believes that nature should choose the baby and that life exist as soon as an egg is fertilised. The right technology has given human to choose against nature has made moral issues more flexible. in certain situations these decisions is seen as a good thing, however as moral ethical beliefs are changed, more and more research and techniques could be accepted and the traditional morals once had, will be diminished.
This, can lead to human misery in the future. An example is the use of GM crops. Even though the benefits of having pesticide resistant crops, that grows cheaply, and could be given to third world countries, to prevent poverty, GM crops is also feared to decrease the biodiversity and therefore effecting the ecosystem which would have devastating results. I believe the biggest problem is the growing gap between developed countries and un-developed countries.
As developed countries have the funds and facilities to do research causing more and more technological advancement, it will subconsciously high light the lack of research and funds un developed countries have. This gap will carry on increasing especially as the global warming dilemma has limited some countries in how quickly they are able to develop. This difference in the two countries bring across well known problems such as cheap labour from third world countries. As a country become rich of technology it will ultimately be rich overall.
Prices will rise in all their resources, making it more and more difficult for the third world countries to catch up. This means, they will be trapped within the sector of where they are. This causes human misery on a larger scale. Even though technological advance has brought many benefits in the societies day to day life, from easier transport and communication, to more efficient life-saving techniques; it is demonstrated that it could be vase problem if technological advancement is made without social advancement.
