The ignorance of history continues. The Luddites were not naive, but less successful in labor organizing than, say, their French counterparts, who quite success

The ignorance of history continues. The Luddites were not naive, but less successful in labor organizing than, say, their French counterparts, who quite successfully resisted downward pressure on wages and working conditions, allowing a more gradual transition to the new technologies. As a result, they likewise did not suffer much of the injury, cruelty, and dispossession that was inflicted on their counterparts in their English working class. The Luddite movement is more popularly know for precisely this reason: it was crushed and humiliated by the ruling class, and thus became useful for those interests to cite as an example of what happens when you oppose them vs. those who practiced solidarity, overcame them, and preserved more of their dignity and quality of life. Letting the wealthy and powerful inflict whatever they want on you is not realism. It’s cowardice.