Against Technology

Jones, Steven E.

£34.99

Steven Jones addresses the question of what it might mean to be a Luddite, that is, to take a stand against technology. This book explains the history of the Luddites, British textile workers who, from around 1811, proclaimed themselves followers of ‘Ned Ludd’ and smashed machinery they saw as threatening trade.

Available on backorder

Publish Date: 09/06/2006
ISBN: 9780415978682 Category: Tag:

Description

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 their 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 romantic symbols of a desire for a simple life–certainly not the original 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.

Additional information

Weight 408 g
Dimensions 229 × 152 × 16 mm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Paperback

Pages

277

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

303.483 (edition:22)

Readership

College – higher education / Code: F