coquelicot

A technopoly is one of Neil Postman’s three classifications of cultures. The other two are tool-using cultures and technocracies. Tool-using cultures are those in which tools do not attack the culture, technocracies are those in which tools do attack the culture, and technopolies are those in which the culture is dependent on tools in such a way that new technologies change the culture completely, because the old tools are rendered completely obsolete by the new ones (Postman).
Although the two (that is, nature and technology) may initially seem to be mutually exclusive, technology is an order of nature because many “technological advancements� used to combat problems caused by nature in fact previously existed, you guessed it, in nature. Man, in his constant fight with nature for survival, is in general is always trying to make life easier, longer, and more enjoyable. In his attempts, many tools are created, because when facing nature alone, man is rather helpless. Therefore, technology is an order of nature because the workings of nature necessitate technology (Lavine).
Technopoly occurs when the tools, rather than nature, are the ruling factor in the lives of the people that make up a culture. A perfect example of a technopoly is the computer-controlled society we live in today. This very assignment is evidence that the computer has invaded every aspect of our lives in such a way that we now depend on it to exist (a.k.a. complete class assignments). It was invented to make the storage and retrieval of information easier (an order of nature- trying to make life easier), among other things, and has now replaced many things in our lives, such as the postal system (largely), and even simple person-to-person communication (think instant messenger). The computer, in fact, has become so important it is starting to replace other, previously-monopolizing technologies, such as television, the telephone, and the printing press (now any jackass with a computer can spread his ideas across the globe, he doesn’t even need to get published). However, I think it may be possible that this technology will be very difficult to replace in the future, because it is conceivable that it could be applied to many different functions and therefore last forever. But I strongly suspect that that is only what “they� want me to think.