{{Short description|Simple technology}} thumb|400x400px|Infographic "Low-techs: Sustainably securing the essentials for all" gathering the criteria for any low-tech innovation approach {{distinguish|Low-cost|Frugal Innovation|Do it yourself|Jugaad|Green tech|Deep tech}} alt=Low-tech innovation|thumb|253x253px|The Shahed-136 is an Iranian low-tech drone<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-03-15 |title=Iran's cheap drones are a drain on the U.S. weapons stockpile. Could lasers help fend them off? - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/irans-drones-a-drain-on-us-weapons-stockpile-could-lasers-help-fend-them-off-60-minutes-transcript/ |access-date=2026-03-22 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref> '''Low technology''' ('''low tech'''; adjective forms: '''low-technology''', '''low-tech''', '''lo-tech''') is simple technology, as opposed to ''high technology''.<ref name="climateforesight">{{cite web|first=Alexis|last=Bernigaud|title=Low-Tech is the new High-Tech|url=https://www.climateforesight.eu/energy/low-tech-is-the-new-high-tech/|access-date=2020-04-16|website=climateforesight.eu|date=15 July 2018 }}</ref> In addition, low tech is related to the concept of mid-tech, that is a balance between low-tech and high-tech, which combines the efficiency and versatility of high tech with low tech's potential for autonomy and resilience.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kostakis|first1=Vasilis|last2=Pazaitis|first2=Alex|last3=Liarokapis|first3=Minas|date=2023-06-20|title=Beyond high-tech versus low-tech: A tentative framework for sustainable urban data governance|journal=BigData&Society|volume=10 |article-number=20539517231180583 |language=en|doi=10.1177/20539517231180583 |issn=2053-9517 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
== History == === Historical origin === Primitive technologies such as bushcraft, tools that use wood, stone, wool, etc. can be seen as ''low-tech'', as can pre–Industrial Revolution machines such as windmills or sailboats.<ref name="nolowhigh">{{cite book|title= High tech, low tech, no tech: recent industrial and occupational change in the South |last1= Falk |first1= William W. |last2= Lyson |first2= Thomas A.| year=1988|isbn=978-0-88706-729-7|publisher=SUNY Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hJPV8kFKSZgC&q=%22low+tech%22&pg=PR9}}</ref>
=== In the 1970s ===
The economic boom after the Vietnam War resulted in a doubt on progress, technology and growth at the beginning of the 70s, notably with through the report ''The Limits to Growth'' (1972). Many have sought to define what soft technologies are, leading to a "low-tech movement". Such technologies have been described as "intermediaries" (E. F. Schumacher),<ref name="schumacher">{{cite book|author1=Ernst Friedrich Schumacher|title=Small is beautiful : economics as if people mattered|publisher=HarperPerennia|date=2010|pages =324|isbn=978-0-06-199776-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IKo3ALhVFKcC&q=Small+is+beautiful}}.</ref> "liberating" (M. Bookchin),<ref name="bookchin">{{cite book|language=en|first1=Murray|last1=Bookchin|title=Post-Scarcity Anarchism|publisher=Ramparts Press|date=1971|pages=288|url=https://libcom.org/files/Post-Scarcity%20Anarchism%20-%20Murray%20Bookchin.pdf}}</ref> or even democratic. Thus, a philosophy of advocating a widespread use of soft technologies was developed in the United States, and many studies were carried out in those years, in particular by researchers like Langdon Winner.<ref name="Winner2016">{{cite journal|last1=Winner|first1=Langdon|title=Mythinformation in the high-tech era|journal=Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society|volume=4|issue=6|year=2016|pages=582–596|issn=0270-4676|doi=10.1177/027046768400400609|s2cid=151175845}}</ref>
=== 2000s and later === alt=Low-tech Mobility|thumb|Skateboarding in Mexico City "Low-tech" has been more and more employed in the scientific writings, in particular in the analyzes of the work from some authors of the 1970s: see for example Hirsch ‐ Kreinsen,<ref name="Hirsch‐Kreinsen2008">{{cite journal|last1=Hirsch-Kreinsen|first1=Hartmut|title="Low-Tech" Innovations|journal=Industry and Innovation|volume=15|issue=1|year=2008|pages=19–43|issn=1366-2716|doi=10.1080/13662710701850691|s2cid=154429255}}</ref> the book "High tech, low tech, no tech" <ref name="nolowhigh" /> or Gordon.<ref name="Gordon2009">{{cite journal|last1=Gordon|first1=Uri|title=Anarchism and the Politics of Technology|journal=WorkingUSA|volume=12|issue=3|year=2009|pages=489–503|issn=1089-7011|doi=10.1111/j.1743-4580.2009.00250.x|s2cid=145449806 }}</ref>
More recently, the perspective of resource scarcity <ref name="heinberg">{{cite book|language=en|first1=Richard|last1=Heinberg|title=Peak Everything – Waking Up in the Century of Decline |publisher=Ramparts Press|date=2007|isbn=978-0-86571-598-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4uHXSxynE0sC&q=Peak+Everything+-+Waking+Up+in+the+Century+of+Decline}}</ref> – especially minerals – lead to an increasingly severe criticism on high-techs and technology.
In 2014, the French engineer Philippe Bihouix published "L'âge des low tech" (The age of low-techs) where he presents how a European nation like France, with little mineral and energy resources, could become a "low-tech" nation (instead of a "start-up" nation) to better correspond to the sustainable development goals of such nation.<ref name="bihouix2014">{{cite book|language=fr|first1=Philippe|last1=Bihouix|title=L'âge des low tech|publisher=Editions du Seuil|date=2014|pages=330|isbn=978-2-02-116072-7|url=https://www.seuil.com/ouvrage/l-age-des-low-tech-philippe-bihouix/9782021160727}}</ref>
=== Recently === Numerous new definitions have come to supplement or qualify the term "low-tech", intended to be more precise because they are restricted to a particular characteristic:
* '''retro-tech''': more oriented toward old but smart inventions (not necessarily useful, durable and accessible), parallels can nevertheless be found with low-tech, because these innovations often are decentralized and simpler technologies (because manufactured by individuals) ".<ref name="retro">{{cite web|title=Retrotech and Lowtech – How forgotten patents can shake the future|url=https://paleo-energetique.org/retrotech-and-lowtech/ |access-date=2020-11-16| website = paleo-energetique.org}}</ref> * '''Wild-tech''': beyond the high-tech / low-tech opposition, it intends to give "tools to better think these ways of manufacturing which escape any classification".<ref name="GrimaudTastevin2017" /> The unclassifiable techs. Can also be linked to "tech rebel", a movement whose goal is to hack and to re-appropriate any type of technology.right|thumb|Traditional ploughing: a farmer works the land with horses and plough. * '''small-tech''': opposed to "Big Tech", which includes the GAFAM. It thus referred to digital questions, "in the perspective of maintaining a high level of technological complexity but on the basis of the notions of commons, collaborative work and the principles of democracy and social justice"<ref name="fabecol">{{cite web|language=fr|title=Passerelle #21 – Low tech : face au tout-numérique, se réapproprier les technologies|url=https://www.coredem.info/IMG/pdf/passerelle21-online-final.pdf|date=2020|access-date=2020-04-06}}</ref> * '''(s)lowtech''', or '''slow-tech''': uses the play-on-words (s)low / slow. Aims at: "exploring the drawbacks of technology and its effects on human health and development".<ref>{{cite web|language=en|title=SlowTech – It is about finding the OFF switch.|url=http://slowtech.org/about/|access-date=2020-04-06}}</ref> Also indicates a movement aimed at reducing addiction to technology, especially among the youth.<ref>{{cite web|language=en|title=The Slow Tech Movement.|date=6 May 2014 |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-slow-tech-movement_b_5267326 |access-date=2020-04-06}}</ref> However, its highest similarity with the definition of low-techs is that it is restricted to technologies (of all kinds) that promote a slow lifestyle.<ref name="slowtech">{{cite book|title= Slow Tech: The Perfect Antidote to Today's Digital World |first1= Peter|last1= Ginn| year=2019|isbn=978-1-78521-616-9|publisher=Haynes UK |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5JXuwgEACAAJ&q=Slow+Tech}}</ref> * '''easy-tech''': technology easy to implement, to use, and accessible to all.<ref name="chatelperron2018">{{cite book|language=fr|author1=Corentin de Chatelperron|title= Nomade des mers : le tour du monde des innovations |publisher=E/P/A| year=2018|pages =240|isbn=978-2-37671-022-6|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zXHKvAEACAAJ&q=Nomade+des+mers+:+le+tour+du+monde+des+innovations}}</ref> At the heart of the commonly accepted definition of low-tech. * '''no-tech''': promotes a lifestyle avoiding the use of technology, when possible. It joins some technocritical writings on the negative and time-consuming aspect of most "modern" technologies.<ref>{{cite web|language=en|title= No tech reader #7|url= https://www.notechmagazine.com/2016/07/no-tech-reader-7.html |access-date=2020-04-06}}</ref> * '''Lo-Tek''' (or '''LoTek'''): name introduced by Julia Watson for her book "The Power of Lo — TEK – A global exploration of nature-based technology".<ref name="watsonbook">{{cite book|language=en|title= Lo—TEK. Design by Radical Indigenism |last1= Watson |first1= Julia| year=2020|isbn=978-3-8365-7818-9|publisher=Taschen |url=https://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/architecture/all/04698/facts.julia_watson_lotek_design_by_radical_indigenism.htm}}</ref> [[File:Clothes line.JPG|thumb|Rotary clothesline]]
== Definitions == === Binary definition === According to the ''Cambridge International Dictionary of English'', the concept of low-tech is simply defined as a technique that is not recent, or using old materials.<ref name="dico">{{cite web|title=Low tech definition|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/fr/dictionnaire/anglais/low-tech|access-date=2018-04-01|website=Cambridge International Dictionary|language=en}}</ref>
=== Recently: a wider and more balanced approach === thumb|Handmade broomA second, more nuanced definition of low-tech may appear. This definition takes into account the philosophical, environmental and social aspects. Low-tech are no longer restricted to old techniques, but also extended to new, future-oriented techniques, more ecological and intended to recreate social bounds. A low-tech innovation is then possible.<ref name="bihouix2014" />
Contrary to the first definition, this one is much more optimistic and has a positive connotation. It would then oppose the planned obsolescence of objects (often "high-tech") and question the consumer society, as well as the materialist principles underneath. With this definition, the concept of ''low-tech'' thus implies that anyone could make objects using their intelligence, and share their know-how to popularize their creations. A low-tech must therefore be accessible to all, and could therefore help in reduction of inequalities.<ref name="bihouix2014" />
Furthermore, some reduce the definition of low-tech to meet basic needs (eating, drinking, housing, heating ...), which disqualifies many technologies from the definition of low-techs, but this definition does not is not always accepted.<ref name="GrimaudTastevin2017">{{cite journal|last1=Grimaud|first1=Emmanuel|last2=Tastevin|first2=Yann Philippe|last3=Vidal|first3=Denis|author3-link=Denis Vidal|journal=Techniques & Culture|language=fr|issue=67|year=2017|title=Low-tech ? Wild-Tech !|issn=0248-6016|doi=10.4000/tc.8260}}</ref> Finally, considering that the definition of low-tech is relative, some prefer to use ''lower tech.''<ref name="bihouix2014" /> == Philosophy == In his book ''Small is beautiful'' (1973), Schumacher uses the concept of "intermediate technology",<ref name="schumacher" /> which corresponds fairly precisely to what "low tech" means. He also founded the Intermediate Technology Development Group, today known as Practical Action, in 1966.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Who we are |url=https://practicalaction.org/who-we-are/ |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=Practical Action |language=en-GB}}</ref> == See also == * Obsolescence * Do it yourself * Anti-consumerism * Degrowth * Simple living * Embodied energy * Intermediate technology – sometimes used to mean technology between low and high technology * Pre-industrial society
== Sources ==
* {{cite book|title= High tech, low tech, no tech: recent industrial and occupational change in the South |last1= Falk |first1= William W. |last2= Lyson |first2= Thomas A.| year=1988|isbn=978-0-88706-729-7|publisher=SUNY Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hJPV8kFKSZgC&q=%22low+tech%22&pg=PR9}} * {{cite book|language=en|title= Low-tech magazine (tome 1 and 2) |first1= Kris |last1= De Decker | year=2012 |publisher= Low-tech Magazine |isbn=978-1-79471-152-5|url=https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2019/12/the-printed-website-is-complete.html}} *{{cite book|language=en|title= Sacred Ecology (first ed.).|last1= Berkes|first1= Fikret| year= 1999|isbn=1138071498|publisher=Taylor & Francis Ltd }} * {{cite book|language=en|title= Lo—TEK. Design by Radical Indigenism |last1= Watson |first1= Julia| year=2020|isbn=978-3-8365-7818-9|publisher=Taschen |url=https://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/architecture/all/04698/facts.julia_watson_lotek_design_by_radical_indigenism.htm}} * {{cite book|title= Slow Tech: The Perfect Antidote to Today's Digital World |first1= Peter|last1= Ginn| year=2019|isbn=978-1-78521-616-9|publisher=Haynes UK |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5JXuwgEACAAJ&q=Slow+Tech}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
;General * [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/low-tech Merriam webster dictionary]
== External links == * [https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/ Low-Tech Magazine – Doubts on progress and technology] * [https://lowtechlab.org/en Low-tech lab (english version)]
{{History of technology}}
Category:Technology by type Category:Design Category:Simple living