Alternative Technology: A Viewpoint from India

The importation of Western technology has played a large role in polarizing the population into an elite of the top 10% & a 90% underclass who are mainly the Ru poor. Capital-intensive, labor saving Western technology tends to concentrate in large Ur plants, away from the Ru poor in countries like India which are capital-poor & labor-rich. The adoption of Western technology thus perpetuates the elite. Alternative, inequality- reducing technologies are preferrable for the average Indian. Such technologies would: (1) generate employment in Ru areas, (2) disperse miniproduction units to these areas, & (3) produce inexpensive consumer goods. The technological implications of these goals are specified, & 2 possible mistakes in deciding among alternative technologies are identified: (A) reliance on Western criteria, eg, economy of scale, which do not necessarily apply to Indian conditions, & (B) cost-benefit analysis based on market prices rather than social costs or 'shadow prices'. An example is provided which demonstrates that alternative technologies are advanced technologies developed for Indian requirements, not primitive versions of Western technologies. A strategy for the development of alternative technologies should be made at the macro- or national level; this is unlikely as planners & politicians are part of the Western-oriented elite. The small number of groups & individuals who are committed to development of alternative technologies should act as catalysts. They must educate themselves about Ru reality. 1 Table. J. N. Mayer.