Question

Gandhi on Machinery, in Hind Swaraj 1924: “What I object to is the craze for machinery, not machinery as such. The craze is for what they call labour-saving machinery. Men go on ‘saving labour’ till thousands are without work and thrown on the open streets to die of starvation. I want to save time and labour, not for a fraction of mankind, but for all. I want the concentration of wealth, not in the hands of the few, but in the hands of all.”

1934: “When as a nation we adopt the spinning wheel, we not only solve the question of unemployment but we declare that we have no intention of exploiting any nation, and we also end the exploitation of the poor by the rich.”

Give an example of how machinery creates a problem for workers. What alternative did Gandhi have in mind? How does adopting the spinning wheel prevent exploitation?

Answer 1

1. How Machinery Creates a Problem for Workers:
   1. Job Displacement: Large-scale “labour-saving” machinery replaces human hands with automated systems.
   2. Mass Unemployment: It throws thousands of working-class citizens out of employment.
   3. Economic Inequality: Wealth gets concentrated among a few rich factory owners who own the tech.
   4. Worker Exploitation: It turns human workers into mere cogs, driving down their wages and bargaining power.
2. The Alternative Gandhi Had in Mind:
   1. Decentralised Production: Production by the masses, rather than mass production in giant centralised factories.
   2. Labour-Intensive Work: Promoting small-scale, cottage, and village industries that prioritise employing people over cutting costs.
   3. Human-Centric Technology: Technology should act as a helpful tool to ease human effort, not as a replacement for human livelihood.
3. How Adopting the Spinning Wheel (Charkha) Prevents Exploitation:
   1. Self-Reliance (Swaraj): It allows poor rural households to produce their own cloth, making them independent of big corporate monopolies.
   2. Ends Imperialist Exploitation: By weaving local cotton, it stops the drain of wealth to foreign nations or mega-corporations.
   3. Democratic Wealth Distribution: It ensures the money and means of production remain directly in the hands of the working masses.