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Lewis Mumford's contribution to the history of technology is his classic Technics and Civilization (1934). Mumford divided technology into two camps: polytechnic and monotechnic. The first is in accord with human nature, while the latter is not (Mitcham, 1994, p. 43). Mumford also introduced the concept of the megamachine, which is defined as "rigid, hierarchical social organization" (p. 43). As examples of the megamachine, Mumford (1986) offers the Great Pyramid and the World Wars. Both were enabled by the organization of vast numbers of men, creating a "human" machine with great precision.
In Technics and Civilization, Mumford traced the development of technology diving history into three epochs: eotechnic (middle ages), paleotechnic (industrial revolution), neotechnic (present day with emphasis on science). His philosophy is evolutionary (note prefixes), and optimistic, leading to a "kind of superior machina sapiens" (Rybczynski, 1983, p. 16). Mumford's belief in the qualitative advantages provided by electricity would lead to improvements in environmental, social, and economic spheres. Mumford was also optimistic about the future of democracy in a society that had radio and "person-to-person" electronic communication at its disposal (Carey, 1989, p. 186).
Mumford's later work, The Myth of the Machine (1970), reaches a different conclusion. A much more sinister view of technology is taken, with the megamachine as the guilty party.
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