“Harmful to the commonality”: the Luddites, the distributional effects of systems change and the challenge of building a just society (original) (raw)
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The theory of social movements and the British labour movement, circa 1790-1920.
2000
The following study aims to apply concepts drawn from the sociology of social movements to the history of the labour movement in Britain, from the late eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. It proceeds from a definition of the social movement as a logic of action, which tends to overcome domination, by envisaging an alternative project for society. The key features of the logic of social movement are its principles of Identity’, ’opposition’ and totality’, which develop co-jointly and coherently. This logic can only be retrieved analytically, since it is argued that collective action is complex, and also contains a different logic, tending towards the pursuit of interests, which as such does not criticise social power in general terms. These concepts are applied to labour action and discussed through a comparison with pluralist and Marxist approaches in the sociology of the labour movement. Both perspectives are criticised for the dichotomy that they impose between social antagonism and institutional action. However, the proposed definition of social movements is indebted to Marx’s insight that social conflict cannot be reabsorbed by collective bargaining procedures and parliamentary politics; and to the pluralist argument that the openness of the political system conditions the debate, within the labour movement, about the possibility of a reformist path of political action. Labour action in Britain is investigated in relation to the development of two popular movements: the first emerged in the late eighteenth century and culminated with Chartism; the second started with the unionisation of the unskilled in the late 1880s and was consolidated in the early decades of the new century. Utilising the material provided by historiography, the inquiry reconstructs the diachronic formation of the different components, developing either in civil society or in the political system, of the two movements. The exposition alternates between narrative and analysis of the links between the logic of the social movement within labour action and processes of selforganisation, the articulation of critical discourses and the integration of popular strata in both movements.
Neo-Luddism in the Shadow of Luddism
PERSPECTIVES ON GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY, 2023
Technology is adopted regardless of its results; however, technology does not always result in absolute progress. The Luddites, the first movement to resist the effects of technology, made a series of uprisings in the nineteenth century, and even today they represent anxiety against technology. Neo-Luddism, as the successor of Luddism, peacefully opposes technology’s adverse effects with a distinct identity. This study evaluates the role Neo-Luddites can play in countering technology’s consequences. The study examines the Neo-Luddite perspective on technology, which seeks to find its own identity between the optimism of scientism in the technographic world and the pessimism of Luddism, considering the consequences of technology on employment and work. Neo-Luddites should emphasize technology’s political side, establish an identity, and determine their methods. Through these efforts, Neo-Luddites can raise awareness of technology’s adverse effects, build pressure on social policies and legal regulations, and shape society’s perspective of technology.
International Review of Social History
important, but significant changes in socialism occurred within a decade, not least the formation of the International's Secretariat in Brussels and the dramatic Revisionist schism within German social democracy. His "sociological morphology" generates "typologies" of socialist actors, but their durability amidst these changes remains uncertain. Moreover, the extensive work of prosopography and statistics for a single event also suggest some limits to the approach. In ongoing efforts to reconcile transnational and social histories, Alayrac might consider "upscaling" his framework to include not just multiple congresses, but also alternative stages of socialism, like party meetings, parliamentary debates, or public protests across several countries. Kevin Callahan's interest in the demonstrations that the International coordinated against the Balkan Wars, drawing , protesters onto the streets of Paris in , provides a good example of a potential way to extend the research from London to Europe. Finally, I would have liked to read more about how gender affected the "social profile" of international socialism and its events. Women played a leading role in creating liberal internationalist reform networks. One has the sense of a hugely missed opportunity on the part of the Second International in this respect. Taken together, Alayrac's multifaceted study is a concerted and thoughtful attempt to shift our focus on the Second International from questions of doctrine to participation and socioeconomic positionality. It is exciting reading for historians of socialism looking to find new answers to old questions and it showcases promising methodological innovations that may be pleasantly unfamiliar to those outside the French academic nexus of sociology and history. With the recent transnational turn, one hopes to see more of this research and perhaps a new golden age of scholarship on the Second International and fin-de-siècle social democracy.
Family & Community History, 2015
Between the wars in the UK there were a number of endeavours to bring together a broadly-based movement of like-minded progressive people. These were significantly influenced by H. G. Wells's vision of an 'Open Conspiracy', a self-selecting elite of creative, scientific and managerial individuals dedicated to bringing about a peaceful and rational global society. This article considers the desire of individuals inspired by Wells to find like minds to associate and work with, and the formation of organisations to advance this vision, in particular the Federation of Progressive Societies and Individuals, and Cosmopolis, both founded in the early 1930s. While these bodies may not have had any immediate practical impact, it is argued that they provided a source of community and of support for individuals striving in a range of other causes to bring about a new kind of social order. This consideration of efforts to create new forms of community in interwar Britain emerged from a wider interest in those lifestyle progressives who were the target of George Orwell's diatribe in The Road to Wigan Pier against 'every fruit-juice drinker, nudist, sandal-wearer, sex-maniac, Quaker, Nature-cure quack, pacifist and feminist in England', the 'vegetarians with wilting beards… earnest ladies in sandals… [and] birth control fanatics', who in his view were bringing socialism and communism into disrepute (Orwell 1989: 61, 201) This large and amorphous group was often subjected to rather adverse depiction in contemporary literature, fictional and non-fictional, although Douglas Goldring claimed that through their activities and the various works they wrote, 'A stream of new and iconoclastic ideas was disseminated among the educated and halfeducated masses' (Goldring 1945: 63). Rebecca West described them as a specific modern type she saw as not specifically British but observable in other European countries: They have a passion for cleanliness, a strong sense of duty, a tenderness for little children…, a distaste for violence, a courageous readiness to criticise authority if it is abusing its function…. They are apt to be doctrinaire, to believe that life is far simpler than it is, and that it can be immediately reduced to order by the application of certain liberal principles, which assume that man is really amenable to reason, even in matters relating to sex and race. They are also inclined to be sceptical about the past and credulous towards the present; they will believe any fool who
The Dominant Ideologies in the Nineteenth Century British Social and Political Life
İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi, 2021
In the nineteenth century, British social and political life bears witness to some leading movements such as conservatism, liberalism, feminism and socialism. The spirit of democratization and the dream of a better society and order triggered all these movements. The nineteenth-century British political and social thought has a deep influence on these central ideas of government in the light of industrial changes, their revolutionary consequences and democratic movements and thanks to the works of the representatives of these ideologies. Both Industrial Revolution and democratization are two significant developments that shaped the rise of these ideologies together with capitalist policies and rise of the British Empire. Radical changes and revolutions in British history deeply affect the role of the individual in the society and the role of government by forcing them to inevitable changes in their policies and roles. With the rise of industrial revolution and democratization (toget...