I find it upsetting that the word, Luddite, is considered to be deragatory. Someone who is against change because they are too dim to believe in progess. Honestly, I think it should be the opposite. A Luddite should be proud!
Too start, I have been reading a book called, Blood in the Machine: The Orgins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech. And so far, as I'm only 70 so pages in, I've been learning a lot. There is so much in this book already that's validated and challenged my beliefs against technology. The history of the Luddite movement begins in the 18th century. Admist the Industrial Revolution happening in England, with it now being in full swing, automation became increasingly worrisome. It caused anxiety for weavers, artisans, farmers, and those in trade, fore the possiblity of being replaced (sound familiar?) With widespread autimation, there was a displacment of, "human agency altogether," Merchant (45) Men and Women were losing their jobs at astounding rates to water frames and other automative machines. Hunger was rampid within England. And during this all, the prince regenent, was throwing a massive party, akin to what you see in Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility. It's where celebrities of the time and polticians melded together in one place. It is estimated that the entertainment cost £120,000. In today value, that's ten million dollars! While people died of malnutrition, the upper class were having a jolly good time. And by doing this, The goverment ignored the cries and had refused to step in and help ban rapid automation getting rid of human jobs (once again, sound familiar?)
With tension put on top a stove to boil, the working class got fed up. They rallied under one pseudonym, General Ludd. The legend goes, there was a boy named Edward Ludd who became a hero after he demolished a machine with a great hammer. He was ficticious, but the people used the legend to form an idenity. One that was faceless but had a common name. With men grouped together, they would go to factories under the leadership of a, "General Ludd" and smash machines to bits. During night or day, not one machine was safe from the Luddite movement. Whilst some manufactorers raised or kept stable wages for workers out of the fear that their machines would be smashed to bits, some did not. Some manufactorers took up arms, hiring local militias and workers to defend their factories. This led to the first Luddite death of this battle, the death of John Westley.
This led to the goverment sending their own troops to combat the Luddites and their protests (Man, sounds too familiar?) This is where I am in the book and can't wait to keep reading more! But all this to say, why is the word, Luddite, considered harmful?
For one, it's not. This is just a result of technological capitalism when it meets a barrier for continue growth. It is because big convenience companies like Amazon, Netflix, and Uber - companies doing massive damage in their own respective fields – have convinced the public that growth is good. That continuous growth in technology will make life more plentiful and that it will benifit society in the long run. Anyone against such advancements are deemed dim and afraid of everything. But when we have workers fearing termination until they are forced to pee in bottles, when does growth start to become cancerous? When does the idea that we are all future millionaries in the making become ficitious and far reaching? When does the idea of captalism being unfair and one big farce, hiding behind a smiling mask become apparent? It starts with the removal of human agency. Where the will to speak up and make change is gone, instead bathing in the 'luxury' of convenience, whilst so many suffer. Gen Z and in the future, Gen alpha, will be met with an unparalleled job market. The same job market that the orginal luddites saw. When AI is being used to get rid of entry level jobs just so the higher ups can see green on their GDP, it only reflects the 18th century fears. But there is also another problem, one that starts with 'us'.
We can start by reconnecting with the feeling of inconvenience. Instead of ordering that same day package from Amazon, one could instead wait longer, or go buy what goods you desire from local buisnesses. Those poor Amazon workers need a break! Remember when shipping took two weeks! One can opt to remove multiple streaming services, and instead go to a movie theater, or your local library to rent. One could opt to read more, instead of endesley scrolling on their phone. Get that screentime down, mister! Go camping, live life, not inside! Get a flip phone, a film camera, a small ipod mini (if you can still find one). Remove straining digitality from your life! There is so much one can do to reconnect with that feeling of inconvenience. And it all starts with you.
And finally, we need to fight back. Am I saying we need to go smash waymos in the streets? No, well, it's kinda a funny idea... but no. We need to unionize agaisnt the big tech companies. They keep us seperated with their algorathims. We must say no when we see massive layoffs, we must say no when they make a conjoling public statement that they are invensting into AI the next day, we must say no when subscription prices are jacked up way too high, and we must say no when another merger happens, creating a monopoly. We have seen when your make a buissness man the president, they will milk it all for their own profits. It just starts with saying no and pushing back against their invasive ways.