 | The Impact of Technology on Human Rights: Global Case-studies (UNU, 1993, 322 pages) |
 |  | (introductory text...) |
| | Note to the reader from the UNU |
| | Foreword |
|  | Introduction |
| | (introductory text...) |
| | Notes |
| | 1. Technological impacts on human rights: Models of development, science and technology, and human rights |
| | (introductory text...) |
| | Introduction |
| | The definition of the concept of technology |
| | The origins of the western technological culture |
| | Enlightenment, the open industrial society, and human rights |
| | The enlightenment model of industrial development |
| | A critical analysis of the enlightenment model of industrial development (technological imperialism) |
| | Models of development and the technological factor |
| | Development, choice, and human rights |
| | The ''deconstruction'' of deterministic models of development |
| | Notes |
| | 2. Democracy, human rights and the impact of scientifc and technological development in Venezuela |
| | (introductory text...) |
| | Theoretical and political implications of the definition of human rights in relation to scientific and technological development |
| | The Latin American experience |
| | Model of development, basic needs, and human rights in an oil economy: the case of Venezuela |
| | Science, technology, and the Venezuelan political system |
| | Notes |
| | 3. Technology and human rights: critical implications for Thailand |
| | (introductory text...) |
| | Introduction |
| | Human rights |
| | Technology |
| | Implications |
| | Rural development |
| | Agriculture |
| | Industrialization |
| | Urbanization |
| | Environmental concerns |
| | The socialization process |
| | Assessment |
| | Appendix 1 |
| | Notes |
| | 4. Human rights and technological development: Eastern Europe and Poland |
| | (introductory text...) |
| | Preface: objective and methodology of the project |
| | General evaluation of Eastern Europe as a political region |
| | The special nature of the polish empirical approach to human rights |
| | Interaction between human rights and technological development in Poland |
| | Interrelationship between the basic character of human rights and development of traditional technologies |
| | Interrelationship between human rights and advanced technologies |
| | Conclusions |
| | Notes |
| | Bibliography |
| | 5. The impact of modern science and technology on human rights in Ethiopia |
| | (introductory text...) |
| | Background information |
| | Firearms in rural and traditional ethiopia and human rights |
| | Traditional work of women, science and technology, and human rights |
| | Notes |
| | 6. Western European case-study: The impact of advanced methods of medical treatment on human rights |
| | (introductory text...) |
| | Introduction |
| | Artificial methods of procreation |
| | Medical genetics |
| | Compulsory and mandatory medical examinations |
| | Conclusions |
| | Acronyms |
| | Notes |
| | 7. Conclusions |
| | (introductory text...) |
| | Notes |
| | Appendices |
| | Contributors |
| | Other titles of interest |
Introduction
The expansion of the local economy is estimated at between 9.5 per cent and 10 per cent this year... a great deal of momentum was created in the past two years of superstrong growth and this is propelling the economy along in the current year.2
This headline from a local newspaper in Thailand in mid-1990 illustrates the buoyancy of the national economy and the positive trend of economic development, as seen in figure 1. Thailand has currently one of the fastest growing economies in the world. One of the pervasive preoccupations of Thai policy makers is to estimate if and when Thailand will be classified as a newly industrialized country (NIC), in view of the 10 per cent average GDP growth of the past three years.
How does this position reflect the situation with regard to human rights in the country and to its nexus with technology?
On scrutiny, the situation is more ambivalent than an initial impression would reveal. The incidence of poverty is high in the country, particularly in the north-east, while income distribution leaves much to be desired. This is elaborated in table 1. The cynic may well point out that the glowing statistics, as well as the technological inputs into the growing economy, neglect the underlying social issues involved. If wealth has really increased, it has tended to accumulate in urban areas, in the hands of the few, rather than to be dispersed in rural areas where the majority of people live.
It is precisely this ambiguous situation that calls for an appraisal of the linkage between human rights and technology in developing Thailand. It is closely interrelated with issues of rural and agricultural development, industrialization, urbanization, environmental concerns, and the socialization process - matters of concern to the ordinary people who are at the core of this study.
Fig. 1. GDP growth, Thailand (after Bangkok Post Mid-year Economic Review, 1990, p. 11).
Table 1. Income share by quintile group of population (percentage of total income)
|
Quintile |
1975/76 |
1980/81 |
1985/86 |
|
1 |
49.26 |
51.47 |
55.63 |
|
Top 10% |
33.40 |
35.44 |
39.15 |
|
2nd 10% |
15.86 |
16.04 |
16.48 |
|
2 |
20.96 |
20.64 |
19.86 |
|
3 |
14.00 |
13.38 |
12.09 |
|
4 |
9.73 |
9.10 |
7.87 |
|
5 |
6.05 |
5.41 |
4.55 |
|
2nd bottom 10% |
3.62 |
3.28 |
2.75 |
|
Bottom 10% |
2.43 |
2.13 |
1.80 |
|
Total share |
100.00 |
100.00 |
100.00 |
|
Gini coefficient |
0.426 |
0.453 |
0.500 |
|
Variance of logarithm of income |
0.530 |
0.602 |
0.737 |
Source: Suganya Hutaserani and Somchai Jitsuchon, Thailand's Income Distribution and Poverty Profile and Their Current Situations (Thailand Development Research Institute, Bangkok, 1988), p. 17.
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