The risks of restricting technology.The risk of restricting technologies and the potential benefits they could provide in the future was highlighted by Frances Smith in a letter to the editor, published in the Financial Times, July 27. Referring to an article on the influence and policies of international so-called non-governmental organizations “NGO” redirects here. For other uses, see NGO (disambiguation). A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a legally constituted organization created by private persons or organizations with no participation or representation of any government. (NGOs), Smith criticized the simplistic sim·plism n. The tendency to oversimplify an issue or a problem by ignoring complexities or complications. [French simplisme, from simple, simple, from Old French; see simple "anti-technology" stand of some NGOs, arguing that "their focus is on the risk of technology or innovation and not on the risk of stagnation Stagnation A period of little or no growth in the economy. Economic growth of less than 2-3% is considered stagnation. Sometimes used to describe low trading volume or inactive trading in securities. Notes: A good example of stagnation was the U.S. economy in the 1970s. -- that by restricting or banning some technological advances, they may be creating greater human or environmental risks." In her letter, Smith also points to the problems that such a one-sided view of risk can cause and attributes this view to an increased adherence to the "precautionary principle The precautionary principle is a moral and political principle which states that if an action or policy might cause severe or irreversible harm to the public, in the absence of a scientific consensus that harm would not ensue, the burden of proof falls on those who would advocate " not only by NGOs but also by governments. Smith noted that such restrictive approaches when applied globally were referred to negatively in the recent UN Human Development Report ("Managing the Risks of Technological Change") in its section on agricultural biotechnology and its potential for developing countries. It said, "A full risk assessment needs to weigh the expected harms of a new technology against its expected benefits" and "opponents of new technologies often ignore the harms of the status quo [Latin, The existing state of things at any given date.] Status quo ante bellum means the state of things before the war. The status quo to be preserved by a preliminary injunction is the last actual, peaceable, uncontested status which preceded the pending controversy. ." |
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