Prof. Emily M. Bender(she/her)Sep 29, 2023

As a linguist, I'm really curious to watch how a better understanding of history might change the modern use of the word Luddite. As someone concerned about how tech is being used to concentrate power, I want everyone to learn from this, stat.

https://mastodon.online/@parismarx/111143843762357039

Paris Marx (@[email protected])

The Luddites weren’t backward technophobes. They saw factory owners using tech to degrade their livelihoods and they fought back — first by trying to negotiate, then writing to Parliament, and finally smashing the machines. As workers today organize and strike over bosses using digital tech to upend their industries, there’s a lot we can learn from the Luddites’ story. I was thrilled to dig into it with @[email protected]! https://www.buzzsprout.com/1004689/13638517-the-real-history-of-the-luddites-w-brian-merchant #tech #history #luddite #workers

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@emilymbender
It is nice to see this re-enter the parlance in the framework of the workers, rather than the framework of the business owners. I was just looking up the famous Homestead strike in Pennsylvania, which was leveraged to a general dislike of unions, and the parallels with the original Luddites about 80 years prior are stark. In each case, it was the business owners who framed the word as 'a hatred of machinery' or 'a hatred of progress' or even un-American (in the latter), such that 'Luddite' became the snarl word it is today.

Seeing it more positively phrased, as someone who believes that a system to simplify tasks should not justify lowering the value of those tasks, is a step forward.

Sep 29, 2023 at 4:46pmWeb