Inventing air would’ve been quite the feat. Joseph Priestly discovered air which led to the reasoning how and why combustion takes place. Priestly was an individual who was able to create and use chemical compounds His ability to contain compounds and his unorthodox religious views did not sit with with the people of England. Government and religious groups use fear to consolidate power within their people and followers. The internal chemistry of a mob ( Johnson pg. 184) from what I understood is intense built up energy within a group of likeminded people in a society. Mobs instill fear into peoples minds. Air pumps and electrical machine have potential to bring fear to governments and religions because they were a new scientific invention that had a lot of unknowns. Governments and religions strive off of the image of knowing everything. These new inventions could make groups feel uneasy. This is an awkward comparison between mobs, air pumps, and electrical machines.
A current example of a technological advancement that has social and political consequences is robotics in the workplace. Robots working alongside and in place of humans is controversial topic. It makes sense for robots to do dangerous jobs in place of humans, but what about jobs that humans are perfectly capable of doing? Thats were the social and political problems arise. Many politicians intend to create more American jobs, especially in factories. Assembly line work is one of the main industries robots are being utilized in.
Mr. Arnold,
Your assessment and summation of Priestly is an excellent one, you categorize all of the necessary points about his work and character. I also like your explanation of the reasons why Priestly suggested that governments should fear innovation, and you make an excellent point about the mob mentality and what established government has to fear from it. Indeed, one could say that the mob is the only thing that truly threatens entrenched government, so your point is particularly apt.