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Echoes of Plato: Neo-Luddism — reclaiming the human in the digital age
Making room for humanity in the march of technology
“The machines were their enemies, for the machines were the means by which greedy masters enforced their will.” — – E.P. Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class (1963)
Today, digital connectivity permeates every aspect of daily life. At the same time, a growing number of people — overwhelmed by the cacophony of the information age — are seeking refuge in the simplicity of technology-free interactions. This has sparked renewed interest in events broadly labeled “no-tech meetups,” reflecting a contemporary embrace of neo-Luddism — a movement that questions the relentless integration of technology into human experience.
But first what is Luddsim and why does it resonate so much today?
Luddism traces its origins to the early 19th century during the Industrial Revolution, when textile workers, known as Luddites, protested against the mechanization of their industry. Believing that machines threatened their livelihoods, these workers sabotaged textile machinery in an effort to resist the sweeping technological changes imposed by factory owners.