Chellis Glendinning

Chellis Glendinning is a New Mexico psychologist and author of When Technology Wounds: The Human Consequences of Progress.In the following viewpoint, Glendinning describes how the Luddites of nineteenth-century England opposed the introduction of new technologies by destroying machinery. The Luddites, Glendinning notes, believed these technologies threatened the bonds of family and community. Aligning herself with an emerging neo-Luddite movement instigated by scientists, thinkers, and activists, she warns that technological progress is “out of control and desecrating the fragile fabric of life on Earth.” Glendinning argues that dangerous technologies—nuclear, chemical, television, and others—should be dismantled and replaced with technologies that have a benign effect on the earth.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Glendinning, what does technology consist of?
2. What do technologies tend to...