This book compares resistance to technology across time, nations, and technologies. Three post-war examples - nuclear power, information technology, and biotechnology - are used in the analysis. The focus is on post-1945 Europe, with comparisons made with the USA, Japan, and Australia. Instead of assuming that resistance contributes to the failure of a technology, the main thesis of the book is that resistance is a constructive force in technological development, giving technology its particular shape in a particular context. Whilst many people still believe in the positive contribution made by science and technology, many have become sceptical. By exploring the idea that modernity creates effects that undermine its own foundations, forms and effects of resistance are explored in various contexts. The book presents a unique interdisciplinary study, including contributions from historians, sociologists, psychologists, and political scientists.

‘… Bauer [suggests] that resistance to new technology ... performs a function analogous to acute pain in the body - as an alarm signal. It might be hard to persuade the biotechnologists to accept that idea. But as we move into the century of biology, they may need to begin thinking along these lines if the future is not to be marked by conficts. They should start by studying this thought-provoking collection.’

Jon Turney Source: New Scientist