Lenski on tech as the major factor in social change

Ken Wilber used Gerhard Lenski in Excerpt A and elsewhere to advance his own cultural evolutionary theory. In this 1996 paper Lenski briefly outlines his ecological-evolutionary theory, which he later turned into book form in 2015. He outlines three material forces as the primary generators of culture: genetics, the environment and societal technology. Ideologies also play a role, albeit subsidiary. He said:

"This is not to suggest that ideologies are unimportant in the process of social change. On the contrary, ecological-evolutionary theory assumes that as technology advances, societal wealth increases, and that this provides societies with a wider range of options than previously, thereby increasing the potential for ideologically motivated change. Nevertheless, the range of options within which ideologies and their advocates are able to choose continues to be limited by the technologies available at the time. Furthermore, technological innovation does not merely increase the range of options available, it also alters the structure of rewards and costs of all the options and thus alters the preferences and choices made by individuals and groups. For these reasons, then, ecological-evolutionary theory regards technology as still the dominant force in social change--even in technologically advanced societies" (152).