16 Amish Technology: Reinforcing Values and Building Community

Even when we recognize that technologies are value-laden, it is difficult to intentionally choose technologies that promote specific values. Typically, a single technology represents a number of different values, making it impossible to choose a technology without making compromises. But one group that has done an impressive job of taking on this task is the Old Order Amish. This article is especially important because the Amish do not share the mainstream Western belief in technological or economic progress. In this piece Wetmore explains how the Amish evaluate technologies. Twice a year the members of each Amish district reflect on whether integrating new technologies into their society will help to promote, preserve, or dissipate the values they hold most dear. They try to choose technologies they believe will ultimately benefit their society and avoid those they believe will undermine it. As they develop new needs, they do not simply take existing technologies off the shelf; they actively design their own artifacts, regulations, and systems of use in an effort to minimize disruptions to their community caused by the values others have inscribed into technology. The process may not be a perfect democratic way of directing technology, but it is an example of a conscious attempt to reflect on the relationship between technology and values in order to build a more desirable society. The Amish create their own sophisticated sociotechnical systems so that they are not controlled by sociotechnical systems created by others.