51 lines
2.9 KiB
Plaintext
51 lines
2.9 KiB
Plaintext
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TECHNOPHOBIA -by Bernadette le Goullon ------------
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It's not the computers, it's the capitalists that claim that they
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own the bulk of our capital equipment and the resources used to
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manufacture them. It's not the computers, it's the bourgeoisie
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that set up large labour exploitative factories that manufacture
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a machine that you could build in your own backyard if provided
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with the technical education. It's the Patriarchs that create an
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elite male dominated hierarchy based on the computer language.
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It's the schools that tell women they cannot understand logic and
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thus bar them from the possibility of an unlimited communication
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network. It's computer phobic governments like the U.S. that
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employ companies like IBM to standardise encryption, so the world
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cop can listen in on what is happening. It's capitalists that
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take computers out of the hands of ordinary people by making them
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prohibitively expensive. Children that are not exposed to
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computers will be amongst the socially disadvantaged. They will
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be known as the computer illiterate and this will help to
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entrench the class system. It's poor public and private sector
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management that disempowers employees with mindless repetitive
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work and unhealthy working conditions.Computers speed up
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functional processes which should be used to make life easier.
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Occupational health should always be considered regardless of
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whether computers or bone thumping typewriters are used. Remember
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computers are simply a tool. Tools can be used for good or ill.
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Some of us don't drive cars but very few of us can say that they
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have never used a car. Cars cause a lot more pollution. Computers
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can even be used to monitor environmental safeguards. Many of the
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arguments presented against computers could be used against
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photocopy machines which at present are not even recyclable and
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yet I see anticomputer propaganda produced using one. Photocopy
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machines have CPU chips. There is an argument that computers have
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created an information hierarchy. This gives me hope because we
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are still at the stage where we can get hold of these information
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resources. If we fail to emancipate ourselves, we remain the
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ignorant victims of the computer age. We will become its slaves.
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The luddites learnt about the technology which was being abused
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in their time. They worked on the cotton gin machines and were
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skilled technicians. They understood that it was the power of a
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useful machine but the power of thosewho mismanaged it that they
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were fighting. One more point why bother attacking the petty
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bourgeoisie companies for providing parts for the proletariat to
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fix their own computers? Why not go for the right-wing big boys
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like Ross Perot who have made their fortunes developing military
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technology. Go straight for the source of the information
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monopoly - boycott IBM.
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