Final answer:
Adoption of cleaner technology should be weighed against economic costs, social changes, and environmental impact. Governments often support technology investments, but their role is debated. Promotion of technologies must align with overall social and economic goals, and real-world conditions can affect the success of cleaner technologies.
Step-by-step explanation:
If cleaner technology exists, its adoption is not always straightforward from a social perspective. The decision to adopt such technology should be weighed against several factors, including the economic costs, potential social changes, and environmental impact. While cleaner technology does typically lead to positive environmental benefits, the economic and social costs can be substantial. For instance, converting to a cleaner technology might require a large initial investment or may lead to job losses in certain sectors. Thus, decisions need to be balanced, taking into consideration both the immediate costs and the long-term benefits.
From an economic perspective, pursuing a goal of zero pollution is not always practical. While environmentally ideal, zero pollution might not be achievable without significant trade-offs, such as stifled industrial growth or substantially higher costs for industries and consumers. These trade-offs can have widespread social impacts that may not be justified by the environmental benefits.
Governments often play a key role in supporting investments in new technology to encourage innovation and to overcome market failures. Government intervention can include incentives, subsidies, or regulations that increase the feasibility of cleaner technologies. However, it's debated whether government involvement should be inevitable or if market forces alone could suffice in encouraging technological advancements.
Technological innovations, like the adoption of clean technologies, can shift the production possibility curve outward, potentially leading to economic growth that is both environmentally sustainable and socially beneficial. However, countries must decide which types of technologies to promote and whether clean technologies should be prioritized over others. This involves assessing the broader social and economic goals and the potential for each technology to contribute toward those goals.
Throughout history, as shown during the Industrial Revolution, economic benefits have sometimes come at the cost of social and environmental degradation. The long-term sustainability of a country's development model requires careful consideration of how industrial and postindustrial societies can incorporate learnings from more environmentally friendly modes of subsistence.
Real-world conditions also play a significant role in the success of cleaner technologies. For example, efficient cookstoves designed to reduce indoor air pollution faced challenges in practice due to maintenance issues, high costs, and other barriers to ongoing use in the households.