The Philosophy of Radical Technology

In the original RT 1.0, one of the editors, Peter Harper, wrote much of the general material such as the introduction and the extended bibliographic review, attempting to capture and summarise the fundamental ideas. He was both a practitioner and a theorist, having coined the term ‘Alternative Technology’ in 1972 and published several critical analyses in the pages of Undercurrents.

Subsequently he worked at the Centre for Alternative Technology at Machynlleth in Wales attempting to test the ideas and put them into practice.

Over the years he has continued to explore these themes, sometimes as a cheerleader but equally often as a sceptic and critic. This section presents a sample relevant to RT 2.0. Many of his writings can be found on the web site www.peterharper.org.

• Alternative Technology 1972
• Principal Sources of Inspiration for RT 1.0
• The Critical-Alternative Perspective
• Bellamy and Morris
• A Basic Narrative for RT 2.0
• Probing the Limits of Local Provision
• Conversations among the organisers
• A critique of Alternatives