{"653584":{"#nid":"653584","#data":{"type":"news","title":"What can East Germany Teach us About Environmentalism and Mass Automation?\u00a0","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hsoc.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/mario-bianchini\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EMario\u0026nbsp;Bianchini\u003C\/a\u003E, a Ph.D. candidate in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hsoc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of History and Sociology\u003C\/a\u003E, has been studying the Soviet Union since high school, when he noticed that the state\u0026rsquo;s history only seemed to start after the fall of the Berlin Wall. \u0026ldquo;But I just remember thinking that can\u0026#39;t possibly be true,\u0026rdquo; he said. \u0026ldquo;How could nothing\u0026nbsp;have\u0026nbsp;happened for like,\u0026nbsp;100 years?\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENow,\u0026nbsp;Bianchini\u0026nbsp;is finishing up his dissertation on the history of science and technology in East Germany, where he explored \u0026ldquo;the state\u0026#39;s efforts to build a socialist technological utopia.\u0026rdquo; A scholarly\u0026nbsp;sounding thesis statement that essentially asks: \u0026ldquo;What is the final promise of full communism, this future idea that everyone is supposedly working toward?\u0026rdquo; he said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBianchini\u0026nbsp;investigated hobbies, sports, and education in East Germany and narrowed the state\u0026rsquo;s rhetoric down\u0026nbsp;to two main promises: the complete control of nature and the end of drudgery and routine work.\u0026nbsp;These dual undertakings, he found, have surprising parallels to\u0026nbsp;today\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;conversations around environmentalism and mass automation.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EOver-reliance on future technology\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of the reasons\u0026nbsp;communism\u0026nbsp;failed was because of \u0026ldquo;this concept of an over-reliance on a future technology to solve the problems of the present moment,\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;Bianchini\u0026nbsp;said. \u0026ldquo;That\u0026#39;s something you see today very heavily, especially in environmentalism.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECommunist politicians in East Germany promised their citizens a future technology that would provide infinite energy to their state and heal the damage they\u0026rsquo;d already done to the environment by burning coal. Nuclear power was going to solve\u0026nbsp;all of\u0026nbsp;the environmental problems in East Germany \u0026mdash; until it was achieved. Then, it was not a utopian technology anymore, but a reality with limitations. And the goalposts had to be moved again.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;That\u0026#39;s reflected in the way that people talk about global climate change now,\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;Bianchini\u0026nbsp;said. \u0026ldquo;Like, \u0026lsquo;oh, we\u0026#39;ll build a technology, and then we\u0026#39;ll solve it. So,\u0026nbsp;we\u0026nbsp;actually don\u0026#39;t\u0026nbsp;have to change our consumptive behaviors now.\u0026rsquo;\u0026rdquo; (As people pointed out on Twitter, he added, we already have carbon capture technology: it\u0026rsquo;s called trees.)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe key takeaway? Act now. \u0026ldquo;The case study of East Germany shows that [the future technology] never happens,\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;Bianchini\u0026nbsp;said. \u0026ldquo;This concept of over-reliance on technology will always shift its definitions and will never actually come to pass,\u0026nbsp;because if something\u0026#39;s attributed to the future, you can always change its form to fit exactly what you need.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EGrappling with mass automation\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBianchini\u0026nbsp;said another interesting parallel between the East Germany of the past and the United States today is the idea of mass automation.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESimilar to\u0026nbsp;environmentalism, there were promises in East Germany that everything would get\u0026nbsp;automated\u0026nbsp;and workers would be free to pursue poetry and art and leisure.\u0026nbsp;Today, the narrative\u0026nbsp;is\u0026nbsp;similar to\u0026nbsp;the promise of driverless trucks, automated data entry, and cashier-less stores. \u0026ldquo;But if that\u0026#39;s the case, then how is capitalism going to continue to exist?\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;Bianchini\u0026nbsp;asked. \u0026ldquo;Like, no one is getting paid. There\u0026#39;s no one to exchange money on the market. It doesn\u0026#39;t make sense anymore.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBut unlike in East Germany, mass automation has moved beyond the theoretical today. So, we should be careful not to treat it as such, he cautioned. \u0026ldquo;Part of the reason why 5G was pushed so hard is because it has the frequency and speed that automation needs to exist,\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;Bianchini\u0026nbsp;said. \u0026ldquo;We actually have to grapple with this stuff because it is coming. Maybe it won\u0026rsquo;t happen, but you\u0026nbsp;have to\u0026nbsp;treat it as if it would because otherwise, you will be completely unprepared.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EExploring the past to define the future\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hsoc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of History and Sociology\u003C\/a\u003E seeks to explore the past, engage the present, and define the future, something\u0026nbsp;Bianchini\u0026nbsp;does succinctly in his work. Looking at the way East Germany answered, or attempted to answer, the same questions we\u0026rsquo;re grappling with today on mass automation and environmentalism can help us chart a course for a better future \u0026mdash; if we learn from them, that is.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;One of the things people have described as the grand tragedy of the Soviet Union is, whatever you feel about it, good, bad, whatever, the fall is a tragedy in the sense that it acted as an alternative to capitalism, and now that\u0026#39;s gone,\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;Bianchini\u0026nbsp;said. \u0026ldquo;As [science fiction author] Ursula K. Le\u0026nbsp;Guin\u0026nbsp;described it, utopia is impossible, but we\u0026#39;d be stupid not to strive for it. We need to get back to this concept of a better future.\u0026nbsp;Otherwise, we are as doomed as everyone says, because nothing will ever get better because no one believes that it\u0026nbsp;can.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBianchini\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;dissertation is titled \u0026ldquo;\u0026lsquo;Real-Existing\u0026#39; Utopia: Creating East German Technological Culture 1945-1989.\u0026rdquo; His work has also been published in \u0026ldquo;Technology\u0026rsquo;s Stories\u0026rdquo; (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.technologystories.org\/women-on-the-right-track\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EWomen on the Right Track: Integrating Women Into the Communist Technological Utopia\u003C\/a\u003E), \u0026ldquo;German Studies Review\u0026rdquo; (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/muse.jhu.edu\/article\/749889\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ETheoretical Soldiers: German Economists in the Cold War\u003C\/a\u003E), and the \u0026ldquo;Yearbook for Historical Research on Communism 2021\u0026rdquo; (German-language).\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003ELet\u0026#39;s connect! Follow us on\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/History-and-Sociology-at-Georgia-Tech-271067704485\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 tabindex=\u0022-1\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EFacebook\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/techhsoc\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 tabindex=\u0022-1\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ETwitter\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/techhsoc\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 tabindex=\u0022-1\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EInstagram\u003C\/a\u003E, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/hsoc-gatech\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 tabindex=\u0022-1\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ELinkedIn\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;to keep up with our students, school news, and upcoming events.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Ph.D. student Mario Bianchini\u00a0is finishing up his dissertation on the history of science and technology in East Germany, where he explored \u201cthe state\u0027s efforts to build a socialist technological utopia.\u201d"}],"uid":"35766","created_gmt":"2021-12-10 13:48:23","changed_gmt":"2021-12-10 14:11:41","author":"dminardi3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-12-10T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2021-12-10T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"653585":{"id":"653585","type":"image","title":"Pikotron instruction manual for a children\u0027s construction kit in East Germany","body":null,"created":"1639144852","gmt_created":"2021-12-10 14:00:52","changed":"1639144945","gmt_changed":"2021-12-10 14:02:25","alt":"Pikotron instruction manual for a children\u0027s construction kit in East Germany","file":{"fid":"247897","name":"16 x 9 Aspect Ratio (66).png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/16%20x%209%20Aspect%20Ratio%20%2866%29.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/16%20x%209%20Aspect%20Ratio%20%2866%29.png","mime":"image\/png","size":941772,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/16%20x%209%20Aspect%20Ratio%20%2866%29.png?itok=h2WzvKvB"}}},"media_ids":["653585"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1288","name":"School of History and Sociology"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"365","name":"Research"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDi Minardi\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Edi.minardi@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["dminardi3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}