Ecological criticism of growth and the means and ends of technology. A pragmatist perspective on societal dynamics

Abstract

This article examines technological dynamics from the perspective of an ecological criticism of growth. The first part introduces the use of pragmatist thinking for this purpose. It also provides a basic definition of criticism of technological growth, which is a criticism of a self-increasing and uncontrollable dynamics of means that fails to take social and ecological ends into account. The second section explicates pragmatist thinking in more detail and argues for reflecting on means–ends relationships as a critical guideline in assessing technological developments. The third section builds on this conception and discusses historical and current criticism-of-growth debates, particularly degrowth/postgrowth debates. The main results of these considerations are, first, that specifications of growth can clarify the role of technology in growth dynamics, and, second, further reflections on societal development are necessary to overcome the uncontrollable proliferation of technologies. With regard to the first point, the fourth section distinguishes between direct and indirect driving forces underlying the dynamics of technological advancement: technological development is inherently driven while consumerism and capitalist accumulation can indirectly reinforce technological dynamics as well. Finally, section five points to the potential of pragmatist ideas to obtain more control over the criticized dynamics in a democratic and sustainable way.