Karel Capek’s play
Rossum’s Universal Robots (RUR) is about the creation of
robots, who eventually take over the world. From a sociological viewpoint, the play presents ideas about the effects of technological progress on
society and man’s initial and final relationships with
machines.
To begin with, progress is the solution that
Capek’s
society is looking for to make their lives easier. This progress comes in the form of
robots. The word “robot,” first coined in
RUR, comes from a Czech word meaning “worker.”
Capek used this word because these
robots are designed to do the work of this futuristic
society. The work of the
robots frees the people from their greatest hardship, hard
labor. This is what one critic calls progress, an issue which was definitely popular right after WWI, which was when
Capek wrote
RUR. The technological progress in this play does appear to be beneficial to
society at this early stage.
In this stage of progress,
society and
machines have a mutually beneficial relationship. The
robots, who have been created to follow orders, do what they’re told, and
society takes care of them. The
robots, although created as flesh and blood, do not have souls or feelings like mankind does, so they do not know anything beyond intellectual knowledge. This helps to preserve the relationship between
society and
robots.
However,
society’s relationship with
robots soon changes. New
robots are created with emotions, which makes them real human beings. This is a change which is not entirely for the better, as these new workers are inclined to rebel. They do not accept their role as
society’s
laborers and soon form their own
society, starting a war against the rest of human
society. They revolt as centuries of oppressed humans have, throwing their
society into turmoil as they attack human ambition for the sake of simple humanity.
Society can’t deal with the other
society they’ve created, which eventually breaks the bond of man’s relationship with
robots. Man’s relationship with
machines is another issue that dealt with
Capek’s times. He created rebellious
robots in his play to warn against the dangers of
machines to
society.
Society plays an important role in
Capek’s play, which goes into many sociological issues.
Capek deals with
society throughout
RUR, dealing with issues of his time and applying them to all of
society.