Civilizations and time 7 ( Efficient technical capability : E)

4 First, let's briefly consider value. Value will be considered in another article, "Civilization and Value," but if I explain only the conclusion, value will arise with the transition of the creative ruler . Synthesis of ``quantitative'' changes that occur with ``qualitative'' changes and the transitions of the imitative masses  is formed by “quality and quantity synthesis”.

So it would be a combinatorial problem. For example, what happens to society when the leaders of society lose their creativity and the masses are self-actualized?

This seems to be a problem relevant to modern Japan, but when a society's leadership groups respond creatively to the challenges of the outside world, and when the public's mentality is strongly communal-oriented, the society is strong. Conversely, when the leadership group can only take compulsory control and the masses are self-fulfilling and disjointed, society seems to be weakened.

 

With that in mind, let's consider value: V (V alue ) and time: t (T ime ).

Here the value V is given. The formula V=f(t) . . . 1 is a conceptual formula expressing that value is a function of time. This means that the value changes with time. Values change because, with changes in the external world and environment, the contents of challenges change, the ability of creative leaders to respond to change, and the intentions of the masses change. ) simply states that "value changes with time" including all such things.

As for the question of how "value" changes due to what influences time, it can be said that the external world, changes in the environment, the position of the creative ruler, and the position of the masses correspond to the function "f".  Whether V or f or anything can be quantified is not considered here, and I think there is a certain significance in the sense of how these relationships are positioned in the system of the driving force of historical change.

On the other hand, t is time, and time exists trivially as a quantity, just as the chronology of history does. However, the historical chronology was not treated as if Tyco Brahe observed celestial bodies and organized the data.

What should be considered here may be the work of selecting examples from many histories. For example, if we think about the transfer of hegemony, what kind of challenges did the Netherlands receive from the outside world, what kind of creative leaders emerged, and what was the state of the public at that time? This will be arranged along with a chronology (as objective time), and this will probably be how the "celestial bodies" in the world system of Holland, England, and America moved.

 

Accepting V=f(t) as a rough hypothesis, let us not consider the content and state of V for the time being, but consider the system of driving force.

 

4 Efficient technology: About E

Efficient technical capability E is mainly related to efficiency and technology. When a certain value V exists, it is defined as the ability to achieve technical improvement among the powers that try to realize that value. As a case to think about this, a comparison of "South Korea and North Korea" or "China and Taiwan" may be appropriate. If the value is different, the meaning of "efficiency" and "technology" to realize it will be greatly different. South Korea's national policy was economic growth, and North Korea's national policy was military . In this way, the value regulates and controls the content of efficient technical capabilities. In that case, the most important thing is to “find out values that match the trends of the times and the world,” and it will be the market, capitalism, or the government that will make this possible. Again, it may be interesting to see what happened in the case of Wallerstein's hegemonic states, Holland, England, and America. For the time being, let's express the relationship between efficient technical ability E and value V in a formula.

 

Since V=f(t)…(1), E=g(V) is E=g(f(t))…(2)

 

Formula (2) expresses that efficient technological capabilities are a function of value from formula (1) V = f(t), and that value is a function of time. In practice, values are chosen within the constraints of time, and technologies are chosen based on those values, within the constraints of limited resources. In other words, what has been achieved in the past history was achieved by the people who lived in that era choosing the best value in the environment as a challenge and investing limited resources in the best efficient technology. That is what it means. Regardless of whether it is truly optimal.

 

As an example of such efficient technology, if we take the case of the industrial revolution in England,

Invention of coke production method with coalfields (1709) "change from wood to coal"

Newcomen, Steam Internal Combustion Engine (1712)

Watt, Steam Internal Combustion Engine (1769) with further efficiency

Development of spinning machines and other machinery Use as a power source (Jenny, Arkwright, Cartwright, Mule)

Development of transportation (railway, steamship)

 

The use of coal as a power source and from wood to iron as a material was a technological innovation accompanying the reduction of wood resources and a response to environmental challenges. That kind of value existed in England at the time, and I can feel a strong obsession with "power" in particular. The raw material of iron and the power of the steam engine gave birth to full-fledged "machinery", supporting productivity and transportation, and at the same time becoming the source of the power of the British nation*. However, in the case of the British Industrial Revolution, before the leap in efficient technology, there was also a major element of the leap in social organization power (deregulation, centralization, fiscal reform, financial system), which will be discussed later . It was largely the non-mainstream Puritan middle class or Scots* who were responsible for the innovation,  and the fact that there were people with values that compelled them to go in that direction. 

 

In addition, there was a market in which capital (Atlantic trade: triangular trade with America and Africa) was accumulated from the beginning, but according to Ashton's "Industrial Revolution" , industrial entrepreneurs initially It was thought that the businessmen who expanded the factories were able to accommodate each other's capital. After production got on track, Gentry and financiers may have invested heavily in the factories, but looking at the background to the abolition of the grain law, it seems that it was not so simple*. Also, unlike London, Lancashire, where the Industrial Revolution took place, did not have a large population, which may have been a factor in promoting mechanization*. When it comes to technology, there were talents (Dissidents, Scottish Enlightenment) and resources (coal, iron ), depletion of timber, population scarcity as challenges, fostering value for innovation and has hatched. And there were favorable conditions such as the agricultural revolution in East Anglia such as Norfolk, strong centralization centering on London and deregulation after the Glorious Revolution, investment from the Netherlands, and overseas markets due to the Seven Years War. The appearance of a completely different world from the era before it, such as the Industrial Revolution, would not have appeared without the discovery or creation of "value" and rational (not only empirical) efforts* toward it. In a sense, then, by losing the creative middle class, Britain lost rationalism, and creative leaders degraded under empiricism.

 

The Industrial Revolution was cited as the best example of efficient technological power. would be mentioned as an example. These are interesting themes about what kind of challenges they faced, what kind of creative leaders emerged, how the masses followed them, and how civilization developed. At that time, social organizational power might be at work as well, but when looking at what kind of power was most dominant, it is fair to think that it was an era when efficient technological power was at work most. I wonder. The present age is truly an era of efficient technological power, and the value of technology is the most dominant situation .

 

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