Who Needs Politics When You Have Sociology...

When I was an undergrad, I took a lot of sociology classes that talked about this new age of technology (modernity) and how it has brought a whole new host of problems into society. There are many sociological theorists who that that modernity has made our society efficient to a fault and that our lives have been made more complex by things that are meant to make life simpler. When I read this article, I immediately thought about this concept. Credit cards are just one way in which financial transactions easier and less cumbersome for people who want to buy things. With this enhancement to technology, however, have come a host of security and privacy issues, particularly with the internet making information more accessible to the public at large.

This concept of modernity can also be applied to political campaigns. With the professionalization of the political management industry as well as enhancements to campaigning technologies has come a host of new problems. Many campaigns are not able to afford sites, blogs and other new campaign tools. The ones that do use technology don’t always know how to use it properly, (see my blog about the Kerry campaign) which in the end may end up alienating some voters. While I think that technology has made life easier for political professionals, I think much of the technology is still too new to have many of the kinks worked out. Spoken like a true sociologists, I believe that technology has made life better and more complex all at the same time.