Luddites are misunderstood. They were against change that changed society for the worse. They saw the social results of industrialization and saw it was only going to get worse. They saw people working from sunrise to sunset six and seven days a week, working in dangerous conditions that maimed and killed. Small children were employed. The workers had no rights or protections and little pay. They lived in squalid housing and were treated worse than horses or dogs. The Luddites broke machines in attempts to improve the lives of workers - doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. They werenтАЩt against innovation. They were against exploitation of the poor by the rich.
Luddites believed in the value of their labor and way of life which they saw as endangered by industrialization and attendant unsafe working conditions (eg, in large scale textile mills). IтАЩm not convinced that the right-wing extremists in Congress or the folks who vote them in believe in much of anything. They are nihilists, not Luddites.
Radicals is the best term for them, because they want to tear long-standing systems of governance and stability out by the roots.
Luddites are how I think of them. Reactionaries against a period of rapid social change.
Luddites are misunderstood. They were against change that changed society for the worse. They saw the social results of industrialization and saw it was only going to get worse. They saw people working from sunrise to sunset six and seven days a week, working in dangerous conditions that maimed and killed. Small children were employed. The workers had no rights or protections and little pay. They lived in squalid housing and were treated worse than horses or dogs. The Luddites broke machines in attempts to improve the lives of workers - doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. They werenтАЩt against innovation. They were against exploitation of the poor by the rich.
Luddites believed in the value of their labor and way of life which they saw as endangered by industrialization and attendant unsafe working conditions (eg, in large scale textile mills). IтАЩm not convinced that the right-wing extremists in Congress or the folks who vote them in believe in much of anything. They are nihilists, not Luddites.
I want a bumper sticker that says -
Luddites Were Right
Or, тАЬHave You Hugged Your Luddite Today?тАЭ
That's an excellent point, thank you.
Thank you for this education.