>Moronic. Any change that abbreviates the labour time necessary for the
>production of men's means of existence is plainly progressive, however
>limited its application.
This doesn't necessarily follow. If a new technology increases productivity, but requires tedious rote labor in isolation, it would make perfect sense to stick with methods that are less productive, but more personally gratifying and performed socially.
Secondly, more doesn't always mean better, at least for society at large. If a society becomes more productive, but the same technology that enhances productivity also aggravates distributive inequality, such that a few have a lot more and most have less, this is also regressive.
It is perfectly reasonable to assess new methods/ideas/technologies from a variety of angles before making a final judgement.
Brett