UK Comedian Mark Steel gives highly recommendable comedy history lectures, in one on the industrial revolution he explains that the Luddites weren't against the

UK Comedian Mark Steel gives highly recommendable comedy history lectures, in one on the industrial revolution he explains that the Luddites weren't against the machines themselves, but the lack of remuneration or retraining for people made redundant by the machines. In this sense, the original Luddites were much more progressive and forward thinking than the current use of the term suggests. It's still a good article.