Tech-nol-o-gy

I think I’m like many Westerners who marvel at technological developments and sometimes pat myself on the back for being part of a culture that can create something like the Kindle (my favorite little toy). But I find myself wondering how far these technological advancements are really going — in other words, who is benefitting from them and if they are improving life overall. I’ve always had my doubts, and then I read this review of a Hans Rosling TedTalk this morning:

Two billion of the world’s seven billion people live on less than $2 a day, below the poverty line, Rosling said. And only one billion live about the “Air line,” the term Rosling uses for those who spend more than $80 a day and whose lives are filled with gadgets, including airplanes. But how many live above the “Wash line?” Rosling asked. How many of the world’s seven billion have access to a washing machine? Only two billion. These people live on $40 a day or more. Everyone else — about five billion people around the world — still washes their clothes by hand.

Of course, women are often the ones who are doing the washing of clothes. And they spend hours every week performing this grueling task that we often take for granted. Hours that could be better spent elsewhere.

It would be really great if points like these could be brought up in our never-ending discussion about the latest gadget or the new frontiers of technology. 

Hat-tip: Andrew Sullivan (as usual).