Is the Washing Machine More Revolutionary than the Internet?
In “Fluid technologies: The Bush Pump, the LifeStraw® and microworlds of humanitarian design”, the Bush Pump is considered such a powerful technology that alongside delivering clean water, it also helps ‘build the nation’. Such an example of how monumental technology can be reminds me of the humble washing machine, which economist Ha Joon Chang claims to have changed the world more than the internet has.
In “23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism”, Chang explains that the modest washing machine, alongside other household technologies, freed women from house chores and enabled them to enter the workforce. This, in turn, resulted in women having fewer children, female students receiving better education, and women having more bargaining power within the household.
Meanwhile, Chang claims that studies have not been able to find the positive impact that the internet has on productivity. One way that he compares the two technologies is by the number of hours it saves users. While the washing machine reduces the washing time of a 38lb load from almost five hours to just 40 minutes, it is not clear how the internet compares in this regard. His overall point is that while it might be tempting to think that the internet is revolutionary because it has been introduced to us recently, looking at a wider historical context, it appears that the washing machine might have had more impact on society.
While I can’t comment further on the revolutionary role of the internet, Ha Joon Chung’s argument reminds me to be more grateful for the washing machine, as well as the other seemingly ordinary household appliances, in terms of the hours that they save me.
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/23-Things-They-Don’t-Tell-You-About-Capitalism-Chang/ea75dc69d6f47d198fd20e1017203234e59d60af
https://www.ft.com/content/27a2027e-5698-11e3-8cca-00144feabdc0
Contributed by JolieTran on 17/02/2020
