Against Technology

From the Luddites to Neo-Luddism

By: Steven E. Jones

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Paperback | 14 April 2006 | Edition Number 1

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288 Pages

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22.86 x 15.24 x 1.52

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When the World Trade Center was attacked, George Gilder referred to the terrorists as "Osama Bin Luddites," suggesting that it was American technology that was under attack. Even--and especially in the digital age--the turn against technology is powerful, and the Luddite cause does not disappear.
This book addresses the question of what it might mean today to be a Luddite--that is, to take a stand against technology. Steven Jones here explains the history of the Luddites, British textile works who, from around 1811, proclaimed themselves followers of "Ned Ludd" and smashed machinery they saw as threatening trade.Against Technology is not a history of the Luddites, but a history of an idea: how the activities of a group of British workers in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire came to stand for a global anti--technology philosophy, and how an anonymous collective movement came to be identified with an individualistic personal conviction. Angry textile workers in the early nineteenth century became symbols of a desire for a simple life--certainly not the goal of the actions for which they became famous. Against Technology is, in other words, a book about representations, about the image and the myth of the Luddites and how that myth was transformed over time into modern neo-Luddism.

Industry Reviews

"In Against Technology, Jones has opened up a rich field of study that cries out for more examination. The unintended consequences of technology, such as global warming, should not be seen as a call to retreat to a simpler time." - Robert L. Park, Physics Today

'The book is accessibly written and well informed, with technology discussions avoiding naivete and literary analyses resisting theoretical quagmires. As such, it appeals not only to general readers but scholars from a variety of disciplines.' - International Journal of Communication

Against Technology critically interrogates the supposed continuity between neo-Luddism and its alleged precursor, the original Luddite movement of 1811-16. Along the way, the book provides fascinating insights into the development of this unruly working-class movement and demonstrates its continuing relevance to twenty-first-century culture. Against Technology is a magisterial scholarly work of compelling interest to readers of British Romantic literature. -James McKusick, The Wordsworth Circle

"Against Technology critically interrogates the supposed continuity between neo-Luddism and its alleged precursor, the original Luddite movement of 1811-16. Along the way, the book provides fascinating insights into the development of this unruly working-class movement and demonstrates its continuing relevance to twenty-first-century culture. Against Technology is a magisterial scholarly work of compelling interest to readers of British Romantic literature." -James McKusick, The Wordsworth Circle

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