Geek Heresy (47 page)

24
.
  
The quotation here is taken from Pradan’s (n.d.) online mission statement. Pradan is one of the wisest development organizations that I have come across. (Which is not to say that there aren’t others of similar caliber that I’m much less familiar with. In India, that list probably includes SEWA, MYRADA, Seva Mandir, Gram Vikas, MKSS, Timbaktu Collective, and so forth.) Pradan’s cofounder, Deep Joshi, speaks of his work in terms of “hearts and minds.”

25
.
  
Packaged interventions amplify human forces to produce outcomes. If you interpret this concept in a literal, arithmetic way, your mind’s eye should see a
rectangle whose width is determined by the amount of packaged interventions and whose height is determined by the strength of human forces. (In macroeconomics, the Cobb-Douglas function models economic output as the product of technology and human capital [and financial capital], so this literal interpretation is not as crazy as it might seem.) Given a particular rectangle, the optimal way to grow its area is to lengthen the shorter of the two sides. For example, if you start with a 1×5 rectangle, and have one unit to add to either side, it’s better to go for (1+1) × 5 = 10 than 1 × (5+1) = 6.) Therefore, in a world obsessed with technology, it’s the shorter side, the human side, that needs the boost.

26
.
  
The growth of the computing industry could be due to a similar effect within the technology world itself. It’s much, much easier to develop, test, distribute, and be paid for software apps than it is to develop, test, distribute, and be paid for an efficient mechanical engine. As a result, information technology grows by exponential leaps, but automobiles (just to take an example) haven’t changed much. Young people inclined toward engineering might be attracted to computing because it’s the easiest route to fame and fortune. As with everything else, there’s a natural tendency for civilization to warp toward the easiest tasks.

Conclusion

1
.
  
Singer (2009), pp. 3–5.

2
.
  
See, for example, American Red Cross (n.d.).

3
.
  
Easterly (2014), p. 7.

4
.
  
The thrust of
Geek Heresy
is a form of
consequentialist virtue ethics
applied to social causes. Philosopher Julia Driver (2001), who lucidly espouses this view, writes that virtue is “a character trait that systematically produces a preponderance of good.” The point of consequentialist virtue ethics is to foster certain tendencies in people for the sole reason that they are likely to result in a better world. Unlike the other major categories of ethics – such as the deontological rule-based ethics championed by Kant, or the utilitarian ethics put forth by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill – virtue ethics acknowledges that knowing what’s right is different from doing what’s right. It focuses more on the attempt to become more capable of ethical action.

Much of Western virtue ethics, both ancient and modern, is muddled by the teleological reasoning generally attributed to Aristotle – that virtues are worthwhile because they are the best expression of what makes us human. Those who see virtue ethics this way see virtues as ends in themselves, and they often speak of human “flourishing” as having axiomatic value. Philosopher Martha Nussbaum (2011), who, together with Amartya Sen established the “Capability Approach” to international development, tends toward arguments along these lines. But flourishing in the absence of a larger goal leads perilously close to an empty high
culture or a misguidedly narcissistic conception of self-actualization. More practically, neither Nussbaum nor Sen emphasize the importance of fostering the right intentions in people. They’re focused on providing freedoms, but not on nurturing responsibilities.

My reading of Aristotle, incidentally, suggests that he was actually more of a consequentialist than he is given credit for. Though he does seem to have viewed virtues as noble in and of themselves, he also understood virtues to be at least a partial cause of eudaimonic happiness: “activities in accordance with virtue which play the dominant role in happiness” (Apostle 1984, p. 15). And he began his exposition in his
Ethics
with happiness as the ultimate good, probably because he meant the rest of his discussion of virtue to be in service of it.

5
.
  
The importance of health systems strengthening is concisely captured in Bloland et al. (2012). Paiva’s (1977) definition of social development was the “capacity of people to work continuously for their own and society’s welfare.” Morozov’s (2013) critique of Silicon Valley’s save-the-world-with-apps mentality is excellent, but the solutions he offers are stronger in Morozov (2011). Ravitch (2011) issues a scathing critique of the “educational reform” movement in American education; David L. Kirp (2013) stresses the importance of basic management and good support of teachers. Easterly (2006) is the most constructive of his otherwise critical oeuvre; Easterly’s (2014) critique of technocratic solutions is similar to mine, though our policy recommendations differ. An overview of the institutional turn is provided by sociologist Peter Evans (2005). There are many philosophers of virtue ethics, but I agree most with Julia Driver (2001). For an overview of communitarianism, see Etzioni (1993).

6
.
  
Wills (2002), p. 36. The quotation is from Madison’s speech at the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 20, 1788.

7
.
  
Lincoln (1858).

8
.
  
This needs to be said because contemporary secular society has a deep ambivalence about the idea of self-improvement, particularly in America. On the one hand, we admire self-made people, like the fictional Horatio Algers or the real-life Steve Jobs. On the other hand, these people are admired primarily for their technical abilities or their defiance of convention, not for their compassion and virtue. If anything, we chortle at sincere earnestness the way cool kids sneer at the honor society nerds. There’s something about self-conscious moral striving that we belittle. The cause might be cynicism about human nature (human nature can’t change); an over-compensating disillusionment with religion (which virtue reeks of); an aversion to being seen as a Goody Two-Shoes; and inability to acknowledge one’s own moral failures. (As comedian George Carlin [1984] once quipped, “Anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac.”) Even among our most empathetic literary minds, one of the worst condemnations of art
and literature is to call a work “didactic” – the faintest whiff of moralizing is considered unsophisticated and undesirable. Coolness is valued more than goodness.

It didn’t always used to be this way, and there are secular cultures in which intrinsic growth is a conscious project. Benjamin Franklin (1986) listed thirteen virtues in his autobiography and went on to describe a weekly report card of virtues he made to keep tabs on his progress. Nothing could be nerdier. Mohandas Gandhi, also in his autobiography, details his “experiments with truth,” in which he works out both theory and practice relating to vegetarianism, celibacy, nonviolence, and simple living. In Japan, you can see conscious attempts at virtue in small details. For example, it’s common to see traffic signs with sincere admonitions to show courtesy to other drivers or to keep the roads clean. (The equivalent signage in the United States has to appeal instead to humor or threats: “Please drive safely – our squirrels don’t know one nut from another.” “Litter and it will hurt: $316 fine.”)

9
.
  
For a catalog of these missteps in international development, I strongly recommend Easterly (2001).

10
.
  
Consider, for example, that Rachel Carson’s
Silent Spring
– arguably the first milestone of American environmental awareness – was published in 1962, when US per capita GDP was $3,100 in 2012 dollars (World Bank 2012a). Indian per capita GDP today is $1,500 (World Bank 2012b). It will take at least another decade for India to reach America’s 1962 levels even at 7 percent year-on-year growth.

11
.
  
Park (2014) notes this statistic, which is based on data from the World Health Organization (2014).

12
.
  
Kralev (2009).

13
.
  
If the 2014 US-China climate deal was a bit of an exception, it was exactly because President Obama brought with him American willingness to cut carbon emissions. Congressman Henry Waxman said of it, “History may look back and say this was the turning point on climate” (Parsons et al. 2014). Let’s hope it sticks.

14
.
  
Figures are as posted by the US Energy Information Administration (2010) and include only CO
₂
emissions from the burning of fossil fuels in 2010.

15
.
  
Francis Fukuyama (1992) contended that liberal democracy represents the “end of history” – the summit and end point of human civilization, which other nations would eventually tend toward. The thesis has been heavily criticized, not least by Fukuyama himself.

16
.
  
Asimov (1942 [1991]), p. 126. Asimov’s thinking about the laws of robotics was philosophically much deeper than presented here, though none of it changes what I’m trying to say in these paragraphs. In a novel called
Robots and Empire
, Asimov (1985 [1994]) has the robot Daneel formulate a law that
supersedes the First Law: The Zeroth Law of Robotics, which says, “A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm,” allows a robot to harm a person it judges will cause far greater harm to humanity. But Daneel (and presumably Asimov) were not comfortable with this ethical can of worms. In
Foundation and Earth
, Asimov (1986 [1994]) has Daneel effectively retract the Zeroth Law by seeking out a particularly discerning human being to make a tough choice about the direction of galactic civilization. In doing so, Daneel serves as a role model for social activists – we should all be as thoughtful in allowing “beneficiaries” to determine their own fates (though one wonders whether it was sufficient for Daneel to ask just one person to represent all of humanity).

17
.
  
E. O. Wilson (2012), p. 7, often speaks of our “Star Wars civilization”: godlike technology, medieval institutions, and Stone Age emotions.

18
.
  
Asimov (1979 [1991]).

REFERENCES

Except where otherwise stated, all web links were operative as of October 30, 2014.

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.

Achebe, Chinua. (1977). An image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness.”
Massachusetts Review
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———. (2011). Nigeria’s promise, Africa’s hope.
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.

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.

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.

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.

Ainslie, George. (2001).
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Al-Rasheed, Madawi. (2012). No Saudi spring: Anatomy of a failed revolution.
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.

American Red Cross. (n.d.). Measles & Rubella Initiative,
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.

American Sociological Association. (2006). Peter H. Rossi (1921–2006).
Footnotes: Newsletter of the American Sociological Association
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.