From: edhall@rand.org (Ed Hall)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian,alt.culture.us.asian-indian,soc.culture.asian.american
Subject: Re: Family values and the West.
Keywords: Marriage, Family, Industrial, West.
Date: 25 Jul 92 18:48:05 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: RAND Corporation.

In article <1992Jul25.170435.21224@usl.edu> sgs1679@usl.edu (Sudhindranath Sira G) writes:
>(This subject is related to the two threads (on SCI) : "Extra-marital
>relationships" and "The changing Indian woman ---- A woman's 
>perspective").
>
>According to Alvin Toffler (in the book "Future shock" or "The Third 
>Wave", I do not remember which of the two), marriage (and the
>concept of families) becomes a defunct or obsolete institution in 
>a super-industrial society. Hence the ancient countries are very 
>cautious about letting in some technologies. (and in turn the 
>super-industrial West which just _cannot_ look beyond material 
>profits, brands such countries as "fundamentalist", "undemocratic", 
>"primitive", "barbaric" etc.)

I don't agree that technology has a disintegrative effect on the family,
and I don't think Toffler makes much of a case that it does.  It is how
the technology is used that makes the difference.  Thus television (for
example) might be accused of spreading values which oppose tradition and
family life, but that has to do with the programming and not the
technology itself.

One thing is clear, though: repressive regimes--including some of your
"ancient countries"--frequently oppose informantion technologies because
they tend to dilute the power of those in command, which might eventually
lead to their overthrow.  An ignorant populace is a controllable populace.
When a technologically advanced country is put under authoritarian rule,
the media technologies are one of the first things put under government
control, something we've seen happen several times this century.
Frequently, "traditional values" (in the form of "national interest") are
cited as the motivation.  The Nazis are the most notorious example of
this, but there have been many others.

The lesson isn't lost on less technologically advanced countries.  It
is easier to prevent the importation of the technology than to control
it once it is established.  The funny thing is that those in power
usually have no problem in accumulating all sorts of technological
goodies for themselves, for the purpose of making their control of
the people easier and for intimidating their enemies.

>Ironically, we find even the West hankering after "family-values"
>these days.  Most technologies current in the West are deleterious for 
>maintaining the family values.  Maintaining family values in such a 
>society is virtually impossible. So long as the activities of
>the Western societies are market-oriented rather than family-oriented,
>there is no cure for their ills.

Curious non-sequitur--you suddenly jumped from technology to economics in
your last sentence.  I don't see the causal relationship, here, at least
not in the direction you claim.  Taking a market orientation over a family
orientation has an enormous effect on how technology is developed and
used, but that's nothing which is inherent in the technology itself.
Technology is the servant, not the master.

>P.S. : Before you query me as to why I should refer to the "ills" of 
>the Western societies, and whether there is any need to think about 
>families at all, you should probably ask the President of this 
>country!!!!

Oh, there are ills a-plenty.  Technology has been very much involved
in creating some of them.  But that's not surprising, since technology
of some level is a part of nearly all of humankind's endeavors.  It
is a mistake to blame technology for the ills, however.  It can either
enhance or degrade the values you speak of.

		-Ed Hall
		edhall@rand.org
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian