ERIC Number: EJ689911
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Feb
Pages: 9
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0270-4676
EISSN: N/A
Commodification of Ghana's Volta River: An Example of Ellul's Autonomy of Technique
Agbemabiese, Lawrence; Byrne, John
Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, v25 n1 p17-25 Feb 2005
Jacques Ellul argued that modernity's nearly exclusive reliance on science and technology to design society would threaten human freedom. Of particular concern for Ellul was the prospect of the technical milieu overwhelming culture. The commodification of the Volta River in order to modernize Ghana illustrates the Ellulian dilemma of the autonomy of technique. Displacing a commons way of life, the Volta River Project has imposed an energy commodity regime and a technocratic management scheme to rule the basin, which now includes modern aluminum manufacturing. But after 50 years of modernization, there is little evidence of poverty alleviation or an advance of freedom.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Freedom, Poverty, Social Change, Development, Science and Society, Industry, Energy Management, Developing Nations, Economic Development, Quality of Life
Sage Publications, 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243 (Toll Free); Fax: 800-583-2665 (Toll Free).
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A