This book investigates the question as to whether technological developments will ultimately mean the end of work and, if so, what the consequences will be. The author addresses this question from the perspective of a technologist well versed in econometrics and game theory, and argues that it is not technology alone that could lead to the end of work, but its utilization by the capitalist system. Technology allows us to minimize the costs of work and increase profits, while the system is worsening unemployment, socio-economic inequality and stratification – which could lead to the end of capitalism in a massive global revolution. As such, the book proposes an evolutionary reform based on a seemingly minor but in fact essential correction of the corporate income tax, which he proposes should decrease in accordance with the percentage of the enterprise’s revenues expended to pay employee salaries. In this way, entrepreneurs will be motivated to implement new professions and occupations, as well as new workplaces. Only in this way, the book argues, can reforms be used to prevent the end of work, which would have catastrophic consequences.
The book expresses the conviction that the art of creating tools – Greek techne – changes its character together with the change of civilization epochs and co-determines such changes. This does not mean that tools typical for a civilization epoch determine it completely, but they change our way of perceiving and interpreting the world. There might have been many such epochs in the history of human civilization (much more than the three waves of agricultural, industrial and information civilization). This is expressed by the title Technen of the book, where n denotes a subsequent civilization epoch. During last fifty years we observed a decomposition of the old episteme (understood as a way of creating and interpreting knowledge characteristic for a given civilization epoch) of modernism, which was an episteme typical for industrial civilization. Today, the world is differently understood by the representatives of three different cultural spheres: of strict and natural sciences; of human and social sciences (especially by their part inclined towards postmodernism) and technical sciences that have a different episteme than even that of strict and natural sciences. Thus, we observe today not two cultures, but three different episteme. The book consists of four parts. First contains basic epistemological observations, second is devoted to selected elements of recent history of information technologies, third contains more detailed epistemological and general discussions, fourth specifies conclusions. The book is written from the cognitive perspective of technical sciences, with a full awareness – and discussion – of its differences from the cognitive perspective of strict sciences or human and social sciences. The main thesis of the book is that informational revolution will probably lead to a formation of a new episteme. The book includes discussions of many issues related to such general perspective, such as what is technology proper; what is intuition from a perspective of technology and of evolutionary naturalism; what are the reasons for and how large are the delays between a fundamental invention and its broad social utilization; what is the fundamental logical error (using paradoxes that are not real, only apparent) of the tradition of sceptical philosophy; what are rational foundations and examples of emergence of order out of chaos; whether civilization development based on two positive feedbacks between science, technology and the market might lead inevitably to a self-destruction of human civilization; etc.
The book expresses the conviction that the art of creating tools – Greek techne – changes its character together with the change of civilization epochs and co-determines such changes. This does not mean that tools typical for a civilization epoch determine it completely, but they change our way of perceiving and interpreting the world. There might have been many such epochs in the history of human civilization (much more than the three waves of agricultural, industrial and information civilization). This is expressed by the title Technen of the book, where n denotes a subsequent civilization epoch. During last fifty years we observed a decomposition of the old episteme (understood as a way of creating and interpreting knowledge characteristic for a given civilization epoch) of modernism, which was an episteme typical for industrial civilization. Today, the world is differently understood by the representatives of three different cultural spheres: of strict and natural sciences; of human and social sciences (especially by their part inclined towards postmodernism) and technical sciences that have a different episteme than even that of strict and natural sciences. Thus, we observe today not two cultures, but three different episteme. The book consists of four parts. First contains basic epistemological observations, second is devoted to selected elements of recent history of information technologies, third contains more detailed epistemological and general discussions, fourth specifies conclusions. The book is written from the cognitive perspective of technical sciences, with a full awareness – and discussion – of its differences from the cognitive perspective of strict sciences or human and social sciences. The main thesis of the book is that informational revolution will probably lead to a formation of a new episteme. The book includes discussions of many issues related to such general perspective, such as what is technology proper; what is intuition from a perspective of technology and of evolutionary naturalism; what are the reasons for and how large are the delays between a fundamental invention and its broad social utilization; what is the fundamental logical error (using paradoxes that are not real, only apparent) of the tradition of sceptical philosophy; what are rational foundations and examples of emergence of order out of chaos; whether civilization development based on two positive feedbacks between science, technology and the market might lead inevitably to a self-destruction of human civilization; etc.
This book investigates the question as to whether technological developments will ultimately mean the end of work and, if so, what the consequences will be. The author addresses this question from the perspective of a technologist well versed in econometrics and game theory, and argues that it is not technology alone that could lead to the end of work, but its utilization by the capitalist system. Technology allows us to minimize the costs of work and increase profits, while the system is worsening unemployment, socio-economic inequality and stratification – which could lead to the end of capitalism in a massive global revolution. As such, the book proposes an evolutionary reform based on a seemingly minor but in fact essential correction of the corporate income tax, which he proposes should decrease in accordance with the percentage of the enterprise’s revenues expended to pay employee salaries. In this way, entrepreneurs will be motivated to implement new professions and occupations, as well as new workplaces. Only in this way, the book argues, can reforms be used to prevent the end of work, which would have catastrophic consequences.
First published in 1988, Political Trials in Poland 1981-1986 describes the major political trials which took place in Poland between 1981 and 1986. Based on extensive original research using both official and unofficial information from Poland and interviews with Solidarity activists, it shows how the trials constituted an attempt by the Jaruzelski regime to break the back of the independent Solidarity movement by judicial and penal measures. It discusses how the authorities abused the law and how the law itself leaves much to be desired and it charts the different human rights that were violated in each case. It considers the implications of the abuse of law in this way for the rule of law and the image of the state in communist countries. This book will be of interest to students of history and political science.
The Spring Will Be Ours focuses on the turbulent half century from the outbreak of World War II in 1939, which started the chain of events that would lead to the communist takeover of Poland, to 1989, when futile attempts to reform the communist system gave way to its total transformation. Andrzej Paczkowski shows how the communists captured and consolidated power, describes their use of terror and propaganda, and illuminates the changes that took place within the governing elite. He also documents the political opposition to the regime - both inside Poland and abroad - that resulted in upheavals in 1956, 1968, 1970, 1976, and 1980. His narrative makes evident the pressures that the elite felt from above, from Moscow, and from below, from the population and from within the party. The history of Poland and the Poles is of special interest because on numerous occasions in the twentieth century this relatively small country influenced developments on a global scale.
Der Autor untersucht die polnisch-weißrussischen Beziehungen, die historisch gesehen, wie der polnische Historiker Marcel Kosman schrieb, "sehr eng, wenn auch nicht immer idyllisch" waren (Kosman, 1979, S. 6). Der belarussische Autor Piotra Rudkoŭski wiederum hat es so formuliert: "Für Weißrussen ist Polen mehr als ein Nachbar. In der historischen und kulturellen Dimension sind Weißrussland und Polen siamesische Zwillinge" (Rudkoŭski, 2007, S. 185). Nach Ansicht des Autors werden die polnisch-weißrussischen Beziehungen durch die historische und kulturelle Position, den Identitätsfaktor und die geopolitische Situation bestimmt. Er betont, dass die polnisch-weißrussischen Beziehungen den polnisch-russischen Beziehungen untergeordnet sind und dass sie in erheblichem Maße eine Funktion in den weißrussisch-russischen Beziehungen innehaben. Der Autor widmet sich den historischen und kulturellen Determinanten, der polnischen Ostpolitik, den politischen, wirtschaftlichen und kulturellen Beziehungen und versucht, die Bedeutung und internationalen Interessen der beiden Staaten zu verstehen.
This book contains an overview of many publications by employees of the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw in the field of Eastern studies. We have selected texts on the recent history of Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union and communist rule, as well as contemporary Russia and Polish-Russian relations. By making these available to English-speaking readers, on the one hand, we want to present a small part, due to limited space, of the Eastern studies conducted by the Institute and, on the other, pay tribute to their distinguished representative, Richard Pipes. In 2019, according to the last will of this historian, scholar and sovietologist, who died on 18 May 2018, the Institute received his book collection of over three and a half thousand items, mainly concerning Russia and the Soviet Union. These are works of high scientific rank that the scholar collected for over half a century. Acquiring the book collection was the first step towards establishing the Professor Richard Pipes Laboratory. This was possible thanks to funding obtained by the Institute at the end of 2019 from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education as part of the Dialogue programme.
The Institute of Political Studies Polish Academy of Sciences
Published Date
ISBN 10
8366819019
ISBN 13
9788366819016
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