ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how individuals throughout the ages have endowed technology with a kind of power that in some cases verges on a religious fascination. One characteristic of utopianism is the importance that is given to the capabilities of human products and utility to improve society. The mastery of the environment by humans through technological development is something that sociologists Joel Nelson and David Cooperman recognized as well in the technology revolution and dotcom boom in the 1990s, stating that there was and remains the assumption that “the revolution in information technology will provide greater control over society. In 2002, the Department of Homeland Security, which was established after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Washington, D.C., in 2001, declared schools potential sites for terrorist attacks and provided money for schools to expand their security systems and plans.
