The original Luddite movement was literally a worker’s rights movement, and the “irrationally afraid of technology” characterization was manufactured by the ruling class, so yes. The Luddites were right then and they’re right now too.
The only problem the Luddites had is they went and busted the machines instead of the rich owners’ kneecaps.
If you say, “they did that too!” Well, NOT ENOUGH!!
As someone who regularly saves time by automating, I can’t get on board for a movement which directly opposes process improvement by improving efficiency.
They’re not, they’re opposing a process that leads to garbage output and horrible systemic efficiency.
Luddites objected primarily to the rising popularity of automated textile equipment, threatening the jobs and livelihoods of skilled workers as this technology allowed them to be replaced by cheaper and less skilled workers.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite
I’ve also read a book on the subject of Luddites and it was clear to me that it was a response to higher efficiency machinery replacing the need for a good portion of their jobs.
But the lump of labour fallacy is wrong - in the end automation makes us all wealthier as goods become cheaper, and people can do more productive work (and be better educated for it too).
