The Mouse and the Tiger

A story of our collective action:

After recently watching a lecture given by Matt Ridley, titled When ideas have sex, I have been thinking about the amazing power we possess as a society to create things that are beyond any individual’s innovative capability. By this I mean that as a global community we have produced both objects and systems which require a huge pooling of knowledge. Matt Ridley focuses on the way this is manifested in producing new technology but it can easily be adapted to our creation of other non-physical social structures.

Ridley tells us about the wealth of information which is required to manufacture a humble computer mouse. He points out that there is not one individual in the world who has the capability to build a mouse from scratch. That person would not only need to understand the wiring of the electronics but also how to make plastic; and hence, even how to drill for the oil needed to make the plastic. His point is that through global communication and trade we have created objects which no individual (or even small population) could make on their own. His lecture is a positive appreciation of the wonderful ability of man, but whilst insightful he does not recognise that the same process that allows us to use technology to make our lives easier, also brings interesting ethical questions.


If you own a computer mouse and want to thank somebody for creating it for you, to whom do you show your gratitude? There is no individual responsible: literally thousands of different people through history have been responsible for both the invention of the techniques used and for the actual production of the object in a factory. We can find no one person to thank but are forced to thank that ubiquitous presence, humanity. This means that I should be grateful to everyone who exists now and in history for the technology that I have, I must even thank myself a little bit; as part of the species who created comfortable living I am party responsible for my own situation.


Before we get ahead of ourselves and start cheering for the great innovation of our species and partying in the streets in respect of our brilliant co-operation, we must recognise that the same traits that have brought about an exponential rise in easy living have also had their side-effects. In London Zoo the other day I saw a sign that read, “The future of the tiger is all of our responsibility.” It was saying that if the imminent extinction of this animal finally takes place, we have no one to blame but ourselves. There was no individual who killed the tigers and even the few who did go out and poach did not also make their own rifles; they most certainly did not create the demand which gave them the incentive to kill the tigers. In short, the downfall of the tiger, much like the invention of the computer mouse, is a shared responsibility. I must thank everyone for the amazing technology which allows me to live my life in relative comfort but similarly I must blame everyone for the death of our wildlife; everyone including myself.


The overpowering globalisation that has occurred in relatively recent history is in danger of disconnecting us from our moral obligations. We do not recognise either our part in the creation of brilliant new innovation, which can raise human living standards, or our part in the slow destruction of our planet. It is right that the mouse should make us proud and we should congratulate ourselves on our productivity, but the story of the tiger is an example of a wider problem that should frighten us and remind us of our responsibility. The mouse may be nice, but the tiger will always be scary.

Ed Thornton