This paper examines the public conversation surrounding two failed technology businesses in rural Vermont communities, documenting a particular techno‐development discourse. Engaging with the literatures of rural development and science and technology studies (STS), the paper frames this discourse as a mechanism of power exercised by private capital. It analyzes how perspectives shared in news and social media functioned to attribute financial, technological, and moral authority to developers while dividing communities and scapegoating the state. Our work highlights the need for scholars to be conscious of techno‐development discourses that prioritize capital interests over community interests. Rather than using hegemonic conceptualizations of technology, we advocate for development that advances more flexible, local understandings of technology. And rather than centering high‐tech development as a vehicle for extending prosperity across space, we propose that greater attention be paid to extending high wages across industrial sectors.

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作为蛇油的科学：佛蒙特州的农村发展，话语权和技术工作的破烂承诺

本文研究了佛蒙特州农村社区中两家失败的技术企业的公开对话，并记录了特定的技术发展话语。结合农村发展和科学技术研究（STS）的文献，本文将这一论述构架为私人资本行使权力的机制。它分析了新闻和社交媒体中共享的观点如何发挥作用，将金融，技术和道德权威归属于开发商，同时划分了社区并为国家提供了替罪羊。我们的工作突显了学者们必须意识到技术发展的话语，即优先考虑资本利益而不是社区利益。我们提倡的发展不是使用技术的霸权主义概念，而是要推进对技术更加灵活的本地理解。