Technological Renunciation
Technological renunciation, or technological limitation, is the practice of a group, ranging in size from a small community to an entire nation or civilization, not employing, or abandoning the employment of, a technology or technologies which they nevertheless have the ability to acquire and use. It is distinct from technological regression, an involuntary process of technological loss often brought on by civilizational catastrophe and isolation, as seen on lost worlds from the Interstellar Dark Ages, and which the victims of often want to recover from as fast as possible.
This practice was seen all the way back on Old Terra, when groups such as the Amish Christians refused to adopt certain advances such as computers or automobiles. It continued to be seen throughout the Wormhole Rush, Terran Renewal, and Second Interstellar Period, but never caught on since any large group attempting to practice it would soon face out-competition or even military conquest by neighbors who did not hold themselves to such restrictions. However, some small renunciate communities did fare better than advanced societies when the Interstellar Dark Ages kicked off, as they were already accustomed to living without technologies which quickly became lost or unsustainable amidst grinding warfare and a lack of offworld trade.
In the modern day, the Stellar Compact has changed the previous dynamic somewhat. With its authority over international relations, it can forbid war against renunciate polities and protect them from unjust interference by outsiders. This has allowed technological-limitation policies to be implemented successfully by a small number of member states, often with the stated rationale of preserving a desired socio-cultural order from forces which might otherwise disrupt it. The Guadalupe Commonwealth, for instance, restricts mass communications technology from most of its citizens and has experimented in operating spaceships with minimal computer technology, to reduce vulnerability to feral malware and electronic attacks.
The Starweb as a whole could be said to be practicing a form of technological renunciation in the modern era, since the Stellar Compact forbids the possession of many types of weapons of mass destruction.
This practice was seen all the way back on Old Terra, when groups such as the Amish Christians refused to adopt certain advances such as computers or automobiles. It continued to be seen throughout the Wormhole Rush, Terran Renewal, and Second Interstellar Period, but never caught on since any large group attempting to practice it would soon face out-competition or even military conquest by neighbors who did not hold themselves to such restrictions. However, some small renunciate communities did fare better than advanced societies when the Interstellar Dark Ages kicked off, as they were already accustomed to living without technologies which quickly became lost or unsustainable amidst grinding warfare and a lack of offworld trade.
In the modern day, the Stellar Compact has changed the previous dynamic somewhat. With its authority over international relations, it can forbid war against renunciate polities and protect them from unjust interference by outsiders. This has allowed technological-limitation policies to be implemented successfully by a small number of member states, often with the stated rationale of preserving a desired socio-cultural order from forces which might otherwise disrupt it. The Guadalupe Commonwealth, for instance, restricts mass communications technology from most of its citizens and has experimented in operating spaceships with minimal computer technology, to reduce vulnerability to feral malware and electronic attacks.
The Starweb as a whole could be said to be practicing a form of technological renunciation in the modern era, since the Stellar Compact forbids the possession of many types of weapons of mass destruction.
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