Luddites are BACK: This Time They’re Spoiled Rich Kids with Artisan Websites

In this Based Camp episode, Malcolm and Simone Collins dive deep into the modern Luddite movement — from NYC’s “Summer of Ludd” festival (complete with puppet spokesfrogs, offline flirting workshops, saddle-stitching classes, and panels that somehow turned into “how to build your own website” tutorials) to the surprising privilege, aesthetics, and contradictions behind today’s anti-tech trend.We compare Gen Z and millennial “Luddites” (flip phones, Moleskine notebooks, and performative offline living) with the original violent 19th-century machine-breakers, explore why deep, hours-long online friendships often feel more meaningful than awkward park conversations, and critique the expensive ecosystem of minimalist phones and typewriters. We also highlight more practical approaches from Mennonite communities and make the case for Solar Punk — using AI and technology intentionally to reclaim traditional skills, build sustainable futures, and live better rather than rejecting progress altogether.

Show Notes

“The Summer of Ludd”

* A cultural high point for the movement’s analog/anti-alienation wing.

* An eight-day (June 28–July 5, 2026), mostly offline festival and series of events in New York City

* Centered on Tompkins Square Park and Lower Manhattan

* It features over 120 free, public, participatory activities like:

* Workshops (e.g., saddle stitching, shortwave radio, mending, flirting/dating offline).

* Talks and panels (e.g., on indie web alternatives, privately owned public spaces, fighting data centers, “Google in Real Life” human Q&A).

* Gothamist: “At a Monday panel discussion on NYC event calendars, an array of neighborhood characters, older punks, fresh-faced flip phone users and various others packed the stone steps of East Village community garden La Plaza Cultural to discuss ways to learn of IRL happenings without social media.”

* “Overall, the evening was largely a technical discussion on how to build and maintain your own website or newsletter. It never got particularly ideological.”

* ““It’s not a digital versus analog thing. It’s a question of who controls how your community operates itself. Is it Mark Zuckerberg or you?” explained Thomas. “You are not an idle passenger of history. You get to control the impact that technology has on you and your society.””

* Cultural events: Plays recreating Luddite history, concerts, film screenings (analog/16mm), zine-making, rituals, and phone-free dance parties or jam sessions.

* Orgs represented:

* NYC Off Tech NYC events to connect outside of big tech

* Unplatform: The definitive guide for escaping social media (and joining the indie web.)

* Red Cal: Posters of offline events

* Nonsense NYC: Nonsense NYC is a discriminating resource for independent art, weird events, strange happenings, unique parties, and senseless culture in New York City.

* Technoqueers: Technoqueers.com is the home of “Techno Queers,” a weekly email newsletter and community focused on techno/club events, culture, and queer nightlife, primarily in New York City.

* Moon Bulletin: events and happenings in (mostly) nyc, according to moon cycle

* The People’s Circuit: and an encrypted, Proton Mail-based email newsletter

Organizers (anonymous or using puppets like “Gowanus” for media) promote it as a “movable feast” to encourage IRL community, reject algorithmic control, and build alternatives to Big Tech monopolies.

Marketing relies on wheatpastes, printed guides, and word-of-mouth—no heavy social media presence.

Reports as of early July indicate strong turnout, energetic crowds (including Gen Z, locals, families, and older activists), and success beyond expectations despite minimal online promo.

It’s tied to broader “Luddite Renaissance” efforts and overlaps with events like the Luddite Conference on Participatory Futures at The New School.

The New Luddite Movement

The forms it takes:

* Anti data center activism (we did a whole episode on this)

* Protests

* Mostly peaceful (rallies, marches, “Luddite tribunals,” app-deletion events, coning self-driving cars).

* There are reports of escalating tensions (archived), vandalism, sabotage threats, or isolated violence (e.g., attacks on data center supporters, self-driving vehicles, or symbolic targets like OpenAI exec homes), though the core movement distances itself from outright destruction. Insurance and security discussions highlight rising risks to AI infrastructure in 2026.

* E.g. “an Indianapolis city council member who supported a data center development told local outlets someone fired 13 shots at his home and left behind a note reading, “No data centers.””

* School clubs (high school andcollege):

* NY Times: Now in College, Luddite Teens Still Don’t Want Your Likes (archive link)

* Members use flip phone and advertise human connection

* One teenage luddite club in Brooklyn that the NY Times profiled in 2022: “they sketched and painted side by side. They read quietly, favoring works by Dostoyevsky, Kerouac and Vonnegut. They sat on logs and groused about how TikTok was dumbing down their generation. Their flip phones were decorated with stickers and nail polish.”

* Years later, most former members maintained their relatively offline ways and were turning their club into a nonprofit

* One detracted: ““It’s constant access again,” Ms. Shub said. “It’s the relief of knowing I can do things easier. I got Instagram, too, and it’s been nice reconnecting with people on it.”

* ““We’ve even got a mission statement now,” said Ms. Lane, who is studying Russian literature at Oberlin College. “We like to say we’re a team of former screenagers connecting young people to the communities and knowledge to conquer big tech’s addictive agendas.””

* There’s a weird undertone of privilege in the article:

* “Winter Jacobson, who was in town from Colorado to visit Ms. Butler [one of the former Luddite Club members], was sitting next to her. He started a Luddite Club at Telluride High School last year. He said it has a dozen members.

* “Colorado is very different from New York,” Mr. Jacobson, 17, said. “There’s not as much to do in Telluride. People are reliant on their phones as their connection to the world, so some of my friends think the club is a joke. I’m still trying to spread the message, though.””

The Capitalization

* Light phone: The flagship minimalist device. E-ink or simple touchscreen, limited tools (calls, notes, music, basic maps, camera on III), no browser/apps/social media/email feeds by design. Premium build, expensive (~$300–$700 range). Widely seen as the gold standard for “