The Luddites were members of a 19th-century movement of English textile workers who protested the usage of certain types of automated machinery owing to their concerns relating to worker pay, labour savings, child labour, working conditions, and output quality. They often destroyed said machines in organised raids. Members of the group referred to themselves as Luddites, self-described followers of “Ned Ludd”, a legendary weaver whose name was used as a pseudonym in threatening letters to mill owners and government officials.
History is written by the victors, and the luddites lost. That’s why they’re maligned as backwards idiots who didn’t want tech to succeed.
They weren’t stupid. They knew precisely what was going to happen, and did their best to stop it. Generally they took care to target only machines as their goal wasn’t to harm people but to remain employed, and have money to survive with. Naturally there were exceptions, and sometimes people did get hurt.
The act, as passed, made the destruction of mechanised looms […] a capital felony (and hence a crime punishable by death).
Right! Death! Destruction of company property became punishable by death.
And people did die. Children died. Mind you, back then workers were anyone capable of working, and they had no rights. They didn’t vote for the people who passed this act; workers weren’t supposed to have a voice, and so the only recourse was rebellion.
This didn’t stop things immediately, there’s quite a lot of really cool worker history here, but eventually the government sent in the military and couple that with nothing really changing despite widespread rebellion, the luddite movement fizzled out.
Less of “you’re a person who doesn’t like tech” and more “you’re not with the times/are scared of the future”… which is pretty close to some messaging from clankers.
We’ve been told historical lies. People who have an issue with this are like Luddites, but that’s because the Luddites were justified too!
They weren’t against technology; they were against it being used to abuse and exploit them as workers.
I’ve only heard that term being used to insult, that’s actually a real thing?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddites
History is written by the victors, and the luddites lost. That’s why they’re maligned as backwards idiots who didn’t want tech to succeed.
They weren’t stupid. They knew precisely what was going to happen, and did their best to stop it. Generally they took care to target only machines as their goal wasn’t to harm people but to remain employed, and have money to survive with. Naturally there were exceptions, and sometimes people did get hurt.
But then, the bourgeoisie enacted law to prevent this where destroying mechanical looms became punishable by… oh let’s see…
Right! Death! Destruction of company property became punishable by death.
And people did die. Children died. Mind you, back then workers were anyone capable of working, and they had no rights. They didn’t vote for the people who passed this act; workers weren’t supposed to have a voice, and so the only recourse was rebellion.
This didn’t stop things immediately, there’s quite a lot of really cool worker history here, but eventually the government sent in the military and couple that with nothing really changing despite widespread rebellion, the luddite movement fizzled out.
I’ve never heard it used as an insult. How is it even supposed to be offensive? “Har har you’re a person who doesn’t like tech”?
Less of “you’re a person who doesn’t like tech” and more “you’re not with the times/are scared of the future”… which is pretty close to some messaging from clankers.
I am scared of the future, you know why? Because everything feels so unbearably bleak and I wish I had something to feel actually hopeful for.
But I guess we’ll own nothing and be forced to live with it.
I see, thank you!
Gotta warp the truth to misdirect from the real problems.