The Luddites weren’t anti-technology—they opposed machines that destroyed their livelihoods and benefited factory owners at workers’ expense. Their resistance was a critique of the social and economic chaos caused by the Industrial Revolution. Over time, “Luddite” became an insult due to capitalist propaganda, dismissing their valid concerns about inequality and exploitation. Seen in context, they were early critics of unchecked capitalism and harmful technological change—issues still relevant today.
They were both actually: tech haters and system critics.
When huge majority of technology at the time industrial technology was designed to drive wages down, yeah, people are going to become industrial “tech haters.”
Not many realize how new this tech and type of mechanical exploitation was to those people, and how it was concentrated on simply extracting value from them.
Not many realize how new this tech and type of mechanical exploitation was to those people, and how it was concentrated on simply extracting value from them.
… you do realize that the entire textile industry which the Luddites’ cottage-style industry was based on was, itself, formed on ‘mechanical exploitation’ almost a century old at that point, right?
… right…?
Yeah, exactly! The early mechanization wasn’t focused on exploiting workers—it was about improving productivity alongside them. This contrasts sharply with the mechanized exploitation of the Industrial Revolution, where the focus shifted to reducing labor costs and extracting value from workers.
