In what ways have modern systems of transport and

communication affected the life of your country?

The impact of new transport and communication systems has had a
more dramatic effect in the developing than in the old world. In the
Far East, this impact will vary marginally from country to country. In
the West, Britain provides some interesting changes, and it is with
Britain that this essay is concerned.

Many of the advances in Britain are due to post-Second World War

developments in technology. Most have been beneficial. Some have
been questionable in their effects on the life of the country. The old
steam train poured smoke and grime into the atmosphere. Pollution
and dirt disfigured towns and indeed whole areas close to the rail
network. Diesel and electricity now eliminate this effect. However, the
immense increase in road transport has brought even greater
problems. Catalytic converters are so far optional. Gases dangerous
both to humanity and to the protective ozone layer are freely emitted.
Traffic jams proliferate, resulting in loss of money and tempers.
Pollution also results from noise, as anyone living near the flight paths
of London's six major airports will testify. At one time, Britain was
covered by a valuable bus service network, but most of this has been
eliminated or privatized, leaving many isolated villages virtually
stranded, insofar as many people without private cars are concerned.

There is also a down side to the immense advances made in

electronics over the past few decades. Personal privacy may be
invaded by phone-tapping and the planting of bugs, which enable
conversations to be picked up easily. These devices are easily
obtainable. The privacy of computers can easily be picked up easily be
broken by hackers, and a whole body of new legislation has had to be
passed to counter these criminal offences.

Yet it would be unfair to deny the positive advantages of progress. The

post-war period has witnessed the building of a country-wide network
of motorways, the latest being the London orbital, the M25. Transport
of goods has largely moved from rail to road. Container lorries convey
goods both internally and to and from Europe. This has helped to
enhance trade within the European Community but, like many another
advance, has led to unemployment in the dock areas, since loading
and off-loading containers is largely a mechanical process.
Environmentalists criticize the proliferation of trunk and M roads,
though nowadays their objections are largely taken into account.
However, rail has not been discarded. Very heavy loads, such as coal
for electricity generation, must still be moved by rail. Existing
networks carry most commuters into London; inter-city services
compete with short aircraft runs; England is shortly to be linked with
the Continent by means of tunnels to France, now near completion;
some lines are capable or taking high-speed trains.

Air travel development has had a profoundeffect on both business

and pleasure. Air-freighting has opened up new markets, greatly
facilitating the import and export of all but the heaviest products.
Production of course is governed by demand, and the tendency is
towards increased sophistication if goods are to be competitive. So the
result is a shift from mechanics to technology, from labor-intensive
means of production to robotry, and from electricity to electronics.
This has meant significant unemployment, the need to establish a
state benefit system where this did not already exist, and the
relocating of many work-forces. A consequence has been urban sprawl
and the establishment of new centers of light industry. A further
consequence has been environmental damage.

Air travel for pleasure has opened up the world to holiday makers. The
popular venue for the British worker is no longer the seaside town; it
is the Mediterranean with its more or less guaranteed sunshine. This
loss of sterling is somewhat offset by overseas tourism in Britain.

And in the sphere of communications, speed and efficiency have been

greatly enhanced. Satellite telephone communication enables instant
world-wide dialing, together with faxing, on the same principle.
Television and radio today permit instantaneous news coverage. The
recent Barcelona Olympics were a wonderful example.

All these changes tend to move governments and peoples in the

direction of a one-world concept, though without having any effect on
the cause of peace and justice. The end result is merely a sharpening
of our perception of man's inhumanity to man.