Friday, September 24, 2010

Ludditism as Satyagraha

I'm still collecting bits and pieces on popular interwar economics, particularly those on the same wave-length as Lovecraft... this is an interesting anecdote about Ghandi and Charlie Chaplin, from Edward Corwin's article "Social Planning Under the Constitution" (1932):

When Charlie Chaplin met Mahatma Ghandi in London, he told him that he did not understand the reason for using such a crude device as Mr. Ghandi's hand spinning wheel when modern machinery seemed better for the purpose. Mr. Ghandi explained that it was necessary to provide occupation for India's millions and that modern machinery would leave them with too much leisure. "We might install modern looms like they have in Lancashire," he said, "but then we would produce more than we need and enforce idleness upon some other part of the world as a result of our overproduction."

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