Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology

This chapter is one of two that examine the way technology begins to dominate society once it is invented and implemented. Postman compares the use of medical technology in the US and Britain to show how the former was more predisposed to accepting it and how technology ultimately changed American medical practice. From the start, he argues, Americans have dealt aggressively with nature in general, attempting to conquer it to suit their needs, and this approach applies equally to medical care.

Then the boom in inventions during the 19th century increased the use of

machines used in medicine, beginning with the relatively simple example of the stethoscope. Invented in 1816, it introduced an objective method of diagnosing patients, whereas subjective methods had been used before. At first, this was the source of some pushback by physicians, who felt that such a device interposed between them and their patients would result in a loss of personal connection. Finally, “the culture reoriented itself to ensure that technological aggressiveness became the basis of medical practice” (102). That is, the technology employed by medicine ended up changing how medicine was practiced in the US.

The author provides statistics to show how much American doctors rely on technology.