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Can't help but see the anti social backlash as another reincarnation of luddism. The tech is what it is. Hating the biggest companies behind it won't change it.

Can't help but see the anti social backlash as another reincarnation of luddism. The tech is what it is. Hating the biggest companies behind it won't change it. You not using it won't change the world either. Just like refusing to board a train wouldn't stop the changes its invention has brought about. The world is forever changed and looking at GDPs, it wasn't for the worse. Nothing short of a regressive global regulatory crackdown can change the new reality. I think it's worth for people to examine what it is and how it's different. But an alarmist and hostile tone isn't too conductive to that.

rexpop 6y ago
I don't think you understand the Luddites, to be frank. Theirs was a reasonable reaction to the evaporation of control, individual agency (as skilled workers) and political sovereignty of the laborer. They saw their livelihoods evaporating, their financial security being siphoned away. They worked their asses off for bosses who then built their automated replacements. It was a callous betrayal, and their response was to destroy the technology which enabled that betrayal. "Hating the biggest companies behind it" will change things. Hatred, skepticism, cynicism, and distrust will change things. In a world where "regulatory capture" is almost complete, only neo-Luddism (properly understood) can hope to change things. We should be raising alarms, and we should be hostile to those institutions which siphon away our agency.
- b_ocu 6y ago
  >They saw their livelihoods evaporating, their financial security being siphoned away. They worked their asses off for bosses who then built their automated replacements. It was a callous betrayal, and their response was to destroy the technology which enabled that betrayal. Just like old media.
  - rexpop 6y ago
    > Just like old media. The jury is still out on that one, I believe.
gkoberger 6y ago
You should watch the movie. You'll find that it's closer to your opinion than you're assuming here.

rexpop 6y ago

I don't think you understand the Luddites, to be frank. Theirs was a reasonable reaction to the evaporation of control, individual agency (as skilled workers) and political sovereignty of the laborer. They saw their livelihoods evaporating, their financial security being siphoned away. They worked their asses off for bosses who then built their automated replacements. It was a callous betrayal, and their response was to destroy the technology which enabled that betrayal. "Hating the biggest companies behind it" will change things. Hatred, skepticism, cynicism, and distrust will change things. In a world where "regulatory capture" is almost complete, only neo-Luddism (properly understood) can hope to change things. We should be raising alarms, and we should be hostile to those institutions which siphon away our agency.

b_ocu 6y ago
>They saw their livelihoods evaporating, their financial security being siphoned away. They worked their asses off for bosses who then built their automated replacements. It was a callous betrayal, and their response was to destroy the technology which enabled that betrayal. Just like old media.
- rexpop 6y ago
  > Just like old media. The jury is still out on that one, I believe.

gkoberger 6y ago

You should watch the movie. You'll find that it's closer to your opinion than you're assuming here.