So all we need do to remain safe, says Joy, is impose permanent totalitarian controls. Most technophobes aren't quite so obvious as Bill Joy and the clone haters in Congress. Calling for bans on research may get headlines, but people generally don't like the implications of international progress police pawing through the kids' science homework. It's a bit too creepy even for fans of freezing the world as it is. Before cloning humans or developing genetically enhanced crops or exploring other promising new areas of knowledge, advocates of the precautionary principle would require that scientists demonstrate that their efforts pose no risks.
Progress is good, as long as it's safe.
And that's no surprise to the principle's proponents. Reason's Ronald Bailey recently found just that sentiment at the International Forum on Globalization's Teach-In on Technology and Globalization, held in New York City. Yes, change isn't necessarily an unalloyed good. There are always risks and unintended consequences. But there are also consequences to standing still.