The term “luddite” generally functions as an insult these days. It is something people are accused of, and a term that no one would claim for themselves. To adopt and adapt to new technologies is part of what it means to be progressive and modern, not to mention hip. However, the history of actually existing technologies paints a different picture, technologies from the laptop to the cellphone have been used to extend the working day and insert consumption into the pores of social life.

Is it time to reconsider what it means to be luddite? Joining us to discuss Luddism is Gavin Mueller, author of Breaking Things at Work: The Luddites were Right About Why You Hate Your Job.

In this episode, we discuss the following thinkers/ideas/texts/etc.:

• Northern Exposure
• Jeff Schmidt, Disciplined Minds: A Critical Look at Salaries Professionals and the Soul-Battering Systems that Shapes their Lives  
• Salar Mohandesi, Red Internationalism: Anti Imperialism and Human Rights in the Global Sixties and Seventies
• Urban Tandor (Bristol, UK)
• The Luddites 
• Open Source Software
• Frederick Winslow Taylor 
• Harry Braverman,  Labor and Monopoly Capitalism 
• AFL-CIO
• Amy Wendling,  Karl Marx on Technology and Alienation
• Right to Repair 
• Right to Repair legislation in Maine
• Neo-Luddites and smartphones  

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