Inappropriate transfer of technology

The historical development of capitalism has gone far beyond the initial separation of workers from the means of production. Technological development has in fact so altered the production process that it is now enough to have control of the vital points of a technology system to control production. The transfer of any technology from one system to another raises the question of social appropriateness of the technology transferred. Direct copying of industrialization patterns is not always the best approach. In many cases it ignores the knowledge which has accumulated during the long development process in industrialized countries. Extensive studies have shown that large-scale capital-intensive technologies are often unsuitable to the employment needs and resource requirements of developing economies. Meanwhile, as the driving force behind technology transfer is increasingly the large, multinational corporations, the technology so transferred is more likely to make a receiving economy a market of the multinational who controls the key technological factors than to become a competitor in the technology transferred.

The political, economic and educational systems of many developing countries are strongly influenced by the legacy of the colonial powers. Such systems, or transplanted models, are therefore geared to the conditions of countries already highly industrialized, whereas the transition from a traditional type of society (pastoral or agricultural) towards an industrial type is still in its infancy in a good many of the newly independent countries. The systems are therefore ineffective in responding to the real needs of the countries.

1. Most developing countries experience an intellectual enslavement and technological dependence on developed countries, largely through the aggressive policies of the latters' transnationals. The purely materialistic approach they follow erodes economic systems, mutilates indigenous skills and craftsmanship, degenerates value systems, and nurtures an infectious "nationhood" concept in the narrow geographical sense.

1. Unethical practices relating to development
2. Uncontrolled application of technology
3. Limited social context in developing technology

1. Use of inappropriate technologies
2. Reverse transfer of technology
3. Insufficient access to technology for agricultural upgrading
4. Inappropriate emphasis on prestige technology
5. Haphazard transmission of practical technology
6. Failure of integrated pest management
7. Acquisition of inappropriate equipment
8. Abuse of science and technology in capitalism

1. Violation of human rights by technological development
2. Unvalued indigenous resources
3. Underemployment
4. Uncontrolled environmental impact of technology
5. Technological underdevelopment
6. Prohibitive cost of maintaining imported technologies
7. Misuse of societally-endorsed professions to conceal socially unacceptable initiatives
8. Insufficient energy equipment
9. Ineffectiveness of foreign aid
10. Difficulty of implementing development programmes

1. Unplanned technological expansion
2. Unethical practices of transnational corporations
3. Socially irresponsible programmes of transnational banks
4. Protectionism in the high-technology industries
5. Monopolization of technology by transnational corporations
6. Irresponsible scientific and technological activity
7. Inadequate environmental impact assessment
8. Inadequate capacity for technology assessment
9. Disadvantageous terms for technology transfer
10. Delocalization of production facilities
11. Cultural blindness in the application of research results
12. Colonialism
13. Capitalism

1. Technology gap between countries
2. Technological revolution

1. Transferring technology
2. Minimizing negative impact of technological development on donor governments
3. Developing technologies
4. Developing construction materials industry
5. Determining applicable technology

1. Inappropriateness
2. Abuse
3. Perversion
4. Adversity