[PEN-L:2414] Re: women & technology

[Robert Peter Burns <rburns@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

McDonough wrote:

> In partial response to Doug H.'s latest post (which I by and large
> agree with) it strikes me that the valuation of the ecosystem and the
> objective limits this sets on the size of the human economy
> establishes a standard by which to judge the implementation of
> technology which goes beyond the "it should be under democratic
> control" position.

It may establish a standard to judge technologies and their uses,
but other than through democratic procedures how is this standard
and the judgements which conform to it to be made effective?  If
you are saying that the EPA should be as free from political control
in setting environmental policy as, say, the Federal Reserve is in
setting monetary policy, that's fine; but such a choice would
be the result and expresssion of democratic procedures and choices,
not something wholly external to those procedures/choices.  (It's interesting,
isn't it, that in practice the Fed seems to be much more independent
of political control--except in the broad sense that it's subordinate to
the wishes of the capitalist class--than the Supreme Court, which to this
non-US citizen appears laughably politicized and mediocre.  An 'independent'
EPA that ended up like the Supreme Court might not be worth much.)

Peter
rburns@xxxxxxxxxxx