Introduction

Netherlands Chamber of Commerce, London Annual Report, 1914

In the previous chapter, we saw how engineers like Chevalier shared a dream of peace and progress through technology. These engineers worked on technological promises with governments, businesses, and user communities, and they developed the engineering profession itself. This produced a wealth of technological innovations, which addressed many of humanity's greatest challenges: more food, clothing, and shelter; greater, more sustainable supplies of energy; more—and more efficient—forms of mobility, at least for the majority in Western countries. Technology managed to invigorate business dynamics and to alter users’ lives; technology lent credibility to the booming profession of engineering. Many Europeans and Americans felt that they lived in extraordinary times of rapid progress.

The Age of Promise also saw a great number of small but significant wars; severe class conflicts; and deep concern over foreign competition. The Age of Promise also presented serious colonial exploitation and miserable technological failures. In 1912, the supposedly “unsinkable” ocean liner, Titanic, struck an iceberg and sank, killing more than 1,500 people. In this era, technology met its critics, too. And yet, as the quote demonstrates, the general optimism about technology's promises and societal progress had endured. This changed during the Age of Crisis.