Technikatörténeti szemle 16. (1986-87)

KRÓNIKA - Szabadváry Ferenc: Technology: Necessity and Danger. The Pros and Cons in our Museums

FERENC SZABADVÁRY* TECHNOLOGY: NECESSITY AND DANGER — THE PROS AND CONS IN OUR MUSEUMS** Sensitivity to environment, solicitude for it has grown all over the world and has become in many places a significant social force and moreover a political factor, a political party. The fact that environment protection became one of the centres of attention was imperative; it was impossible not to notice the visible deterioration of the environment and the dangers deriving from it. Deterioration of the environment is directly attributable to numerous causes: extensive industrialization, increasing urbanization, traffic, or even armament rush, and so on, and so on. All these causes, however, stem from one cause, namely that the population of the earth has grown at an accelerated rate, while its domicile, the earth has remained unchanged in size. Therefore its potentials had to be exploited increasingly to support us all. It became more and more necessary to intervene in the wonderful harmony of nature, to an extent that its persistent compensating and re-establishing power has been severely injured, in some places eventually wounded irreversibly. This process must be stopped at all events as long as it is still possible. Conscious and planned environment protection and environment restitution are therefore immensely important. However, when turning into a social movement, these activities, like all social movements, will not be exempt from emotions, excesses and subjectivism. The glorification and fetishism of scientific and technological progress is perceptibly succeeded by some sort of anti-scientific and anti-technological keynote in the public opinion of the world and particularly in that of the developed countries. In these countries science and industry begin to turn more and more into the culprit, the cause of all evil. However, it is the merit of science and industry that in the developed countries everybody has enough food to live on and moreover very much more, all sorts of commodities that even the most radical „greens" would not care to give up. It would of course be foolish to deny the responsibility of science and technology for human environment, for our planet. It is none the less evident that environment protection cannot be implemented by stepping back in historic development. Moreover, the damage already done can only be eliminated by the help of science and technology, and future damages can also only be avoided by * Országos Műszaki Múzeum, 1502 Budapest, POB 311. ** Lecture delivered at the meeting of the International Committee of Museums of Sience and Technology in Barcelona.