It is not correct to conclude that Gandhi was against all the currents of modern civilisation and that he wanted to return to the past, essentially in India. Often he made an exaggerated attack on modern civilisation for its ills. As far as the social organisation was concerned, Gandhi was a religious and social reformer. He fought against such practices as hereditary priesthood, untouchability against the low castes and the denial of entry to temples to them. He conducted many campaigns, based on social equality and scientific spirit for the cause of these social reforms. The socio-economic changes that took place in Gandhi's times and later in India and the emergence of new social classes helped the popularisation of modern ideas which Gandhi tried to spread in his times. With regard to the negation of violence and the prospects of conducting social and political movement, Gandhi was ahead of his times and was referred as the Prophet of the Atomic Era. 

Read also to Gandhi's View on Structural Violence

 Gandhi was critical of pursuit of materialism, opposed machines and centralisation of production, and favoured, on the contrary, a life of labour for everyone in the society, concisely contained in his concept of bread-labour. He believed in the ideal of economic self-sufficiency of the villages. He describes his idea of an ideal socio-economic order. In these words, Independence must begin at the bottom, thus every village will be a republic or Panchayat having full powers. 

 Gandhi criticizes the industrialization, especially in India. He thought that, machines and factories are reducing the employment and eliminating the small and village industries, mostly in field of handiwork and handloom. He started swadeshi movement to reject the factory made articles/items and campaign for spinning yarn and knitting cloths by Indians for themselves.  He viewed that industries are meant for exploitation of innocent and poor Indians.  The produce of farmers is bought by factory owners at lower prices and finished goods are sold them at higher prices.  Farmers are forced to grow raw materials for factories. 

Read also to Gandhi's View on Structural Violence

 There were occasions when Gandhi remarked on modern western civilisation being yet a good idea. He was not against modern civilisation in total, but had a deep suspicion of the material progress in the West and in concept of modernity. It would be erroneous to think that Gandhi rejected ideas from the modern West and remained uninfluenced by it altogether. It may be pertinent to note that he viewed his life as experiments with truth, ostensibly a tribute to science, to which he was sufficiently exposed as a student. Of course, he was both selective and innovative when it came to borrowing from the West. He was aware that there were elements in modern civilisation, like democratic political philosophy, that could be useful to India. In the preface to the English edition of Hind Swaraj,he even urged his countrymen to adopt such positive aspects of modern civilisation to drive out the English.