Since the industrial revolution, government, society, and industry have attempted to channel technological progress in useful directions. Whether it is the printing press, the cotton gin (轧棉机), the automobile or the Internet, technological innovations (创新) often have profound economic and social effects. To control the benefits and minimize the more harmful effects of new technologies, modern governments use four basic approaches: specific direction, market incentives (刺激), criminal prohibition and behavior modification.
Specific direction starts with governments identifying one or more key factors in the R&D phase. Then, using a variety of means ranging from administrative regulation to complete state Ownership, the government seeks to control the implementation of the technology.
Market incentives are the deliberate manipulation of the market by the government to control how a particularly technology is distributed and used. For example, some governments impose taxes to cover the hidden costs associated with the use of a particular technology. And also, some governments raise gasoline taxes to pay for highway improvements. Other methods include the granting of allowances to private researchers or the strengthening of intellectual property laws to give added allowances to developers.
Criminal prohibition usually takes place when strong opposition exists to a particular technology or field of research. In recent years, most developed countries have enacted legislation to ban the cloning of human beings. Other examples are the enforcement of clean air regulations that force power plants to emit fewer greenhouse gasses.
Finally, behavior modification includes the use of the media, advertising, and government and corporate leadership to encourage a particular society to use a technology in a beneficial way. Such campaigns do not use direct government regulation, but instead appeal to the user’s sense of civic duty or social responsibility.
Of all new technologies, perhaps none has changed the landscape and character of American life more than the automobile. Yet, the costs of this technology are not always reflected in the price of using the technology. For that, we must factor in the environmental costs associated with air pollution and the political costs. In short, in order to be effective, all of these strategies for channeling technology to benefit society must include all the costs associated with usage.
By implementing criminal prohibition, the government will be able to ______.