The Mechanic and the Luddite

Søren Mau explains in Mute Compulsion

— look into this book

The purpose of a system is what it does. There is after all, no point in claiming that the purpose of a system is to do what it constantly fails to do.

— quote from beer

writes Gavin Mueller in his book, Breaking Things at Work, which examines Luddism as a labor struggle that has persisted, in various ways, over the last two hundred years. ²⁷

In his book How Our Days Became Numbered, Dan Bouk details how the insurance industry not only created methods for statistical analysis but also was instrumental in creating a culture in which it made sense to conceive of individuals and societies in terms of numbers that needed to be tracked, analyzed, predicted, and managed for the sake of securing against (un)certain hazards

Technology is the American theology, writes cultural studies scholar Joel Dinerstein.

In his book, Envisioning Real Utopias, Erik Olin Wright makes a vigorous argument for emancipatory alternatives to the failures of capitalism that are eminently achievable. ²⁷ Wright was a founding figure of analytical Marxist sociology—a school of thought that emphasized high degrees of clarity, rigor, and concrete specificity in its analysis of areas like social stratification, egalitarian justice, socialist policies, and theories of transformation.

We are assailed by a relentless campaign against the human imagination, writes David Graeber in his profound reflections on utopia, revolution, and collapse. He continues: We are talking about the murdering of dreams, the imposition of an apparatus of hopelessness, designed to squelch any sense of an alternative future. Yet as a result of putting virtually all their efforts in one political basket, we are left in the bizarre situation of watching the capitalist system crumbling before our very eyes, at just the moment everyone had finally concluded no other system would be possible. ³⁵

If we recall what Marx said, the point of ruthless criticism is to be ruthless in that it will shrink neither from its own discoveries, nor from conflict with the powers that be. ⁴⁰ That second part is the most important part to uphold. In the fights ahead, we must embody both mechanics and Luddites, able to wield wrenches and hammers according to the needs at hand. Writing in defense of the original Luddites and their ongoing relevance, Brian Merchant points out, They were not opposed to progress, and certainly not to technology; most were skilled technicians themselves, who spent their days working on machines at home or in small shops. ⁴¹ What turned these mechanics into Luddites was knowing when it was time to stop tinkering at home and take to the streets, factories, and wherever else capital was imposing its future upon them. This is the same wisdom that must galvanize us today. Only then can we put the pieces together in ways that work for us, not against us.