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technoprogressiste (1 May 2010)

Since May 2009, life expectancy in good health has increased by about one quarter in the electoral district of Brussels-Halle-Vivorde and nearly one half in Bangladesh. Millions of citizens Dutch, French and the rest of the world who have died over the last twelve months without progress in health and economic growth flowing relatively quiet day today.

Until the early 20th century at least, the desire for technological advancement and the desire for social equality were related. The left dreaming of tomorrows that sing. These were made of tomorrows more equality, more goods and a world easier to live physically and technologically.

Today, liberals no longer dream of little technical progress. This is not because the progress before benefit all, primarily benefit the rich and sometimes create unemployment for the working poor, as was the case for centuries. This is probably due to the trauma of the failure of the Soviet Union which claimed almost inextricably communism and technical progress. And more recently, development pollution has led many progressives to want to "turn the tide" when they should instead be purified and thus direct otherwise.

Today in abundance, the aftermath has sung widely in the North, but also in the South. Contrary to what many say, the acceleration is not less but more extraordinary in the South. Infant mortality was a major source of death continues to decrease and this even in the majority of the states of sub-Saharan Africa, despite the ravages of malnutrition and the AIDS epidemic.

In this context of progress global human unparalleled in the history of mankind, the mobile phone is the first current object ever moved from being a luxury good than as a tool accessible to the majority of citizens of the world in less than a generation. In less than a decade, the majority of citizens who can read is likely to access mobile internet access. An important part of universal collective knowledge will be accessible to almost everyone, almost without cost and without discrimination. And so, even the poor citizens of the South have access to more knowledge than was available to the richest people in the North ago Barely a century.

developments in the short and medium term, the progressives would benefit from technoprogressistes. They could require that every citizen is entitled to a mobile phone (with low radiation, but with strong access to community services) rather than focusing on the dangers of these devices. They propose that would benefit from Google, Wikipedia and other websites operate as utilities increasingly developed rather than to intervene almost exclusively from the dangers of Google and its competitors. A left

proactive could require significant public investment to enable to all age much less in a few decades. Today the differences between life expectancies in the south and north are dwindling. But if the research for better health and longer life are considered with suspicion, progress will be reserved for more affluent, only able to afford care. A left

favorable to progress more generally could claim the largest technology investment group in the medical fields, knowledge dissemination and management of energy. Fortunately in this latter area, environmentalists and the left seem to establish or re technoprogressistes, but focusing mainly their energy on the problem of global warming. This while the main environmental issue, close but not identical, is that of providing sufficient and timely energy abundant, clean and renewable. These advances

fantastic does not solve (yet) all the problems of welfare. This is explained partly because the abundance is an inadequate instrument to allow everyone happy. This is also explained because, beyond a certain level of material comfort, the perception of welfare is almost exclusively by comparison with other hardware, which level is progressing well. It therefore remains to the left (and not only it) to discover how to increase happiness in an economy of abundance where milk and honey flowing in biblical times so much for all that no longer satisfies us. Why

still left technoprogressiste should it be? Because it grows and the equality of the future. But also because the rapid technological conquests include enormous risks, not only in developments already in progress often discussed (pollution, greenhouse effects, risks to privacy, digital divide ,...) but also developments in the medium term. These are existential risks related to control more of the absolute structure of living matter and perhaps eventually to the development of artificial intelligence. And the precautionary principle in a society evolves, it is not always stop technological change, it may instead accelerate them to save lives and reduce risk.

For that technical progress is most likely to be as an improvement at all, so that tomorrow is as extraordinary a brighter future, a favorable elements is left proactive, able to prevail peace, equality, Justice and concern for the common good on the mechanisms for financial and material interests in the short term.

must think globally to act locally. We must also think long-term action in the short term. Including the understanding that the acceleration of technology, among other means that the long term the 21st century is much closer than the long-term previous centuries. Science fiction today, dream or nightmare, or more probably dream and nightmare, is not only the reality of our children, so will ours.

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• To learn a little more: see especially http://technoprog-fr.blogspot.com

• For statistical information relating to increases in life expectancy
: http://www.gapminder.org
• This text is an updated version a text circulated in May 2009. Appointment on 1 May 2011!

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Source images: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghirigoribaumann/2970618023/ and http:// www.flickr.com/photos/surfstyle/277576227