Friday 2nd May to Sunday 5th May 2014
Breaking the Frame: a gathering on the politics of technology
Our system of industrial capitalism is in both economic and environmental crisis. Part of the cause of these crises is the technologies that we use – although they do of course bring benefits, technologies are largely designed and controlled by corporate, military and technocratic elites to serve their interests and exert their power. So, in order to really face up to those crises we need a new politics of technology, a politics that goes beyond the myths that technology is just a neutral tool, or that technological advances necessarily bring progress.
The Breaking the Frame gathering is a step towards creating the new politics of technology. We will be bringing together campaigns on the technology politics of food, energy/climate/ environment, work/economics/austerity, the military, the internet, surveillance health and gender, as well as trade unionists, radical scientists, artists and developers of alternative technologies. The aim is to learn from each other and to build a new network, to strengthen campaigns and make issues about technology more central in radical movements.
Some of the issues we’ll discuss include:
- What does a critical politics of technology mean in the 21st century: democratic control or ‘low technology’?
- History of industrial society and environmental crisis; challenging the concept of progress through technology
- Experiences in different campaigns and struggles
- Alternative visions of social and technological development, and the transition to a sustainable and socially just society.
Confirmed speakers include Simon Fairlie (editor of The Land magazine), Jerry Mander (International Forum on Globalisation), Hilary Wainwright (editor, Red Pepper), Theo Simon (Stop Hinkley), Danny Chivers (No Dash for Gas).
There will be demonstrations and workshops on craft-based production, poetry, music, walking etc.
Venue: Unstone Grange, Derbyshire (nr. Dronfield/Eckington)
Visit the Breaking the Frame website for further information regarding this event, including costs and how to book. If you are interested in the gathering please email us at luddites200@yahoo.co.uk. There will shortly be an online booking system for the gathering.
