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There's way more to women's liberation than washing machines. For example, contraception. Besides that, an egalitarian society could have men share in the washi
by drewrv 14y ago
There's way more to women's liberation than washing machines. For example, contraception. Besides that, an egalitarian society could have men share in the washing. So the importance of the washing machine is lost on me.
Similarly, I think Chang is underestimating the internet here, there's more to the internet than online shopping. Chang mentions reading the news. Does it occur to him that, with the internet, we're getting live firsthand news accounts from almost everywhere, almost instantly. The "fourth estate" is more powerful than ever. Transparency is growing. This is great news for the billions of people who live with authoritarian or corrupt governments.
Given that throughout human history up to and including today, most people have never lived in a democracy, the democratizing effects of the internet should not be underestimated.
- Turing_Machine 14y ago"So the importance of the washing machine is lost on me." Spend a year living without appliances, electricity, running water. Then you'll understand.
- Turing_Machine 14y ago"an egalitarian society could have men share in the washing" And no, it doesn't work that way. The men were spending all their time doing heavy manual labor in the fields (another area where technology has been incredibly liberating).
- lutusp 14y ago> So the importance of the washing machine is lost on me. That's because we have them. It's like breathing -- you don't notice it until someone puts his hand over your mouth. > There's way more to women's liberation than washing machines. There certainly is, but liberation proceeds one step at a time. If they spent their days hand-washing clothes at the riverbank, women wouldn't have any energy left to notice their oppression. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Lionel_Walden_-_Women_Washing_Laundry_on_a_River_Bank.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Lionel_Wa... > Besides that, an egalitarian society could have men share in the washing. True, and in fairness they should. That's why men invented the washing machine.