RUTH SCHWARTZ COWAN

As the Civil War came to an end, America began the transition from a preindustrial society into the industrial age. The period from 1870 to 1920 saw many changes in America, and at the end of that era, it had become the largest economy in the world—one that was far less dependent on nature than it once had been.

While we currently use many different technological systems, Ruth Schwartz Cowan, professor emeritus of history at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, discusses five developed during that fifty-year period to demonstrate the increasing complexity of life and the development of infrastructure we now largely take for granted. Eventually, this increasing complexity spread across the world. The characteristics of an industrialized society can now be found in even the most remote corners of the globe.

The increased levels of productivity in manufacturing, including agriculture, had economic as well as political ramifications. As these changes occurred, few thought about what was happening or what the long-range implications would be. Today’s globalized world is vastly different from what it once was, with many people more reliant and interdependent on one another. Our lives are increasingly more intertwined than ever before.

1. Explain the rationale behind Cowans assertion that industrialization has made us less independent and more closely connected to many other people than ever before.

2. Consider the key points of this article in relation to the ethical issues raised in the Jonas piece (Selection 1.3.2). What new individual responsibilities might arise from the new networks extending far beyond the nuclear family?

3. If technology continues to improve the quality of life for many more people in the world, what might our future look like if the networks discussed by Cowan become larger and more common, linking even greater numbers of people throughout the world?