The Amish and New Technology

[alanjjohnstone]

We are often quizzed about or attitudes to the means of production in socialism, whether they will be sustainable or desirable. Even on this forum, we have had our slight differences about various agricultural methods or industrial processes.

This article suggests one approach to the problem

Quote:

What distinguishes the Amish stance toward any given invention isn’t that they reject it outright; it’s that they start by assuming they don’t want or need it, then adopt it only if they decide it’s in line with their values. Generally, these days, “our default is set to say ‘yes’ to new things,” Kelly notes, whereas for the Amish “the default is set to ‘no’”… isn’t it alarming that the basic Amish logic – adopt a new technology only if it helps you do what you deem important – feels so alien to us? “The Amish are clear about what they value,” he writes, “and new technologies are evaluated by their impact on these values.”

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/nov/03/are-the-amish-right-about-new-technology-oliver-burkeman

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