[ColemanF]

Technology is certainly necessary. Technology is the only way to increase production. Increasing production is they only way to get wealthier, by definition. Not only is it necessary, but technology is also sufficient for development. I'll take development to mean progress on indicators such as GDP as well as life expectancy, literacy rate, and freedom of expression. As I said in the first paragraph, technology is THE way to increase production. But increasing wealth also improves things that seem unrelated to the economy, like freedom of speech, the right to vote, and more. When people are starving, they are desperate for money and will do crazy things to get it. Once they pile up enough money to relax and feel like they have an interest in keeping society stable, they demand (and get) more human rights. South Korea, for example, went from a third-world nation of unproductive farms to a super-productive industrial nation, and, at the same time, became a democracy and a civilized place to live. South Korea just adopted new technologies and the rest followed.