Luddites were opposed to advances in the textile industry that were taking their jobs. They were an early, imperfect attempt at forming a labor union. Making t

Luddites were opposed to advances in the textile industry that were taking their jobs. They were an early, imperfect attempt at forming a labor union. Making textiles was a job that require a lot of investment (apprenticeship) in learning the necessary skills. Automated looms put a lot of skilled labor out of work, while concentrating wealth into the people that owned the automated looms, which only required much cheaper unskilled labor. Luddites were not opposed to technology! They were opposed to businesses using new technologies to destroy their livelihood. If they had been included in sharing the benefits of the new technologies, the Luddite movement wouldn't exist. > This does not strike me as a technology that made life worse in the long run. The luddites would have agreed. From [1]: >> As the Industrial Revolution began, workers naturally worried about being displaced by increasingly efficient machines. But the Luddites themselves “were totally fine with machines,” says Kevin Binfield, editor of the 2004 collection Writings of the Luddites. They confined their attacks to manufacturers who used machines in what they called “a fraudulent and deceitful manner” to get around standard labor practices. “They just wanted machines that made high-quality goods,” says Binfield, “and they wanted these machines to be run by workers who had gone through an apprenticeship and got paid decent wages. Those were their only concerns.” > Especially for women who were freed from The responsibilities of manufacturing clothing for their families and could later pursue careers. WTF? Luddites were highly skilled artisans that were being forced to abandon their careers. [1] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-the-luddites-really-fought-against-264412/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-the-luddites-rea...