Authenticity and neo-primitivism

This article from a Canadian newspaper makes some interesting arguments, comparing some of the more precious attitudes of bourgeois liberal Westerners (of which the hand-tool movement is certainly a part) to the anti-vaccine movements and other technophobic tendencies in modern society. I certainly have my Luddite leanings, and believe we have much to learn from the past, but enjoy the comforts of a modern lifestyle as much as anyone. Hand-tool use in an apartment setting is as much about lack of space and dust and noise control as anything. I admire folks who insist upon complete authenticity in their approach to craft, but am not myself above the occasional technological shortcut (see my recent post fabricating drawer stock).