Cars are associated with a complex array of changes in the way Americans live. Using the example of cars, explain the dialogue of technology and the social organization of convenience.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The automobile is a central example of the social organization of convenience.
We presume this technology to mean more technological choice, opportunity, and
convenience. We construct the bus as inconvenient. We allow alternatives to disappear,
and the car becomes inevitable. Rather by examining the car, we come to see how it is
highly subsidized through taxpayer support for roads—actually the World Resource
Institute estimates that the US subsidizes automobiles with $300 billion every year. As
we see in the National City Lines (NCL) example, those who were position to benefit
monetarily from the car made sure that the electric rails were all converted back into
buses. This later led to a successful suit against NCL for antitrust violations. Regardless,
though, this shows how an ample alternative to the car was consciously eliminated by
those in powerful (aka moneyed) positions. By instead having a dialogue of technology,
we realize that the car, or any other technology, is not inevitable. There are many other
options, and by discussing them, we remove the power and inevitability of technology.