Abstract
The philosopher of technology Albert Borgmann is another important heterodox voice. “E, Neutrality, and Democracy” uses his notion of the “device paradigm” to explore the dark sides of convenience and the means-ends dichotomy that are central to the energy orthodoxy. It begins by criticizing the idea that modern energy services are neutral, arguing instead that they are ‘media’ that shape culture and identities in non-neutral ways. The chapter then explores questions about the supposed neutrality of liberal democracy, and it concludes with a discussion of freedom and meaningfulness in a high-energy world.
People and motors do not move through the same kind of space
Ivan Illich (1983)
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Briggle, A. (2021). E, Neutrality, and Democracy. In: Thinking Through Climate Change. Palgrave Studies in the Future of Humanity and its Successors. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53587-2_15
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