The politics and policy of the Third Wave: new technologies and society

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Abstract
We outline the political implications of the program known as the ‘Third Wave of Science Studies’. Here we develop the politics of the Third Wave showing how it bears on technological decision-making in the public domain. The main concern is to combat ‘technological populism’. The prescriptions that emerge include asking and answering as many technical questions as is reasonable and giving these questions and answers the maximum exposure before making what is always a political decision. The implication is a preference for democracies which actively promote discussion and debate of technical matters yet which reject populism of all kinds while still rejecting technocracy. Central to the overt politics of the Third Wave is ‘elective modernism’ which includes scientific values among those which should be at the heart of a good society.

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