The Luddites were not anti-technology per se. Rather, they were against an unequal distribution of that technology because it was destroying their community and livelihood, precisely because that technology concentrated power in the hands of the capital class [1]. Given the rest of your comment, it seems the Luddites are your natural allies.
Related HN discussion on [1] from 3 weeks ago: [2]
> Rather, they were against an unequal distribution of that technology because it was destroying their community and livelihood, precisely because that technology concentrated power in the hands of the capital class [1]
I find discussions about the Luddites online to be deeply illustrative not of the Luddites themselves but of a person's political beliefs. The Luddites did indeed fight for their community and livelihood, but theirs came by dismantling another one. For hundreds of years prior the textiles trade was dominated by the Mughal Empire. British colonization in South Asia, fed by a multitude of factors including industrialization, dismantled the subcontinent's dominant position in the market and eventually catapulted British textile production to the world stage. This created the skilled textile jobs that were eventually mechanized and displaced. The Luddites then did not want to turn back the textile market fully back to a world dominated by South Asia but into the middle where they owned the means of production.
Accelerationists view Luddites as obstructionists. Labor sympanthizers view Luddites as a movement for labor protections. The wider view of history paints a more subtle picture.
> dismantled the subcontinent's dominant position in the market
That doesn't happen until after the luddite's first appearance in ~1816 [1]
> This created the skilled textile jobs that were eventually mechanized and displaced.
No, The displacement is what the Luddites were railing against. Weavers had been highly paid, profitable and skilled occupation from the "dark ages" onwards. Technological advances meant that they were ruined almost overnight. The concept of high minded observations on empire are anachronistic embellishments[2]. The weavers just weaved, the merchants sourced the raw materials. the concept that the average weaver knew the conditions, circumstance, much less people that produced it is on very shaky ground. I suspect that given that the producers were Christian, much less protestant, would have meant that sympathy would have been limited. Given how xenophobic people were back then.
The wool trade supplied wealth to large parts of the cotswolds, east anglia, the lowlands and other places.
The weaver's guilds had a hand in various wars, revolutions and many other social developments between 1100 and at least 1500.
You're being juvenile. If you're going to cheer for a historical faction that you feel reflects your values and jeer their opponents, it's probably best to not have a "basic knowledge of history". Historical groups aren't sports teams.
I read about history constantly bro. I probably have more knowledge than most I just was being humble because I felt like the person above me knew more than I did on this particular topic. I was not saying I was cheering or jeering anyone. I meant I knew some things about this topic that lead me to believe that what the other person was saying was historically inaccurate. But it is not something I had looked into in a while, so I would have needed to check my vague memories of the facts. This person did that for me and provided sources. Great! That's all I was saying. Why the hell do you feel the need to ridicule a stranger for your massive assumption of their values.
> That doesn't happen until after the luddite's first appearance in ~1816 [1]
According to Parthasarathi [1], Indian cloth already began having issues from the 1720s as East India Company contracts begun squeezing out local merchants. From the late 1760s, Indian weavers begun having trouble. South Indian weavers reported that in 1779 their incomes had dropped 35% since 1768 (Parthasarathi p. 78-79.) The Luddites first appear in history around 1811, a good 40 years after the beginning of the decline of Indian cloth.
1830 is much too late for the "turning point" as the Cuddalore Weaver's Protest had already occurred by 1778 [2]. I suspect your source comes from before the opening of the East India Company records.
> No, The displacement is what the Luddites were railing against.
Correct, I never disagreed.
> Weavers had been highly paid, profitable and skilled occupation from the "dark ages" onwards.
> The weaver's guilds had a hand in various wars, revolutions and many other social developments between 1100 and at least 1500.
The class consciousness of weavers only appeared from the beginning of industrialization. Weavers guilds operated in different economic and social circumstances with very different economic arrangements than the Luddite-era weavers. Guilds often enjoyed exclusive market privileges and thus had much more pricing power than weavers in the post-feudal era.
> The weavers just weaved, the merchants sourced the raw materials. the concept that the average weaver knew the conditions, circumstance, much less people that produced it is on very shaky ground.
Of course, at that time the flow of information and general levels of education were low. But it's hard to imagine that weavers weren't aware of the prodigy of Indian textiles at the time. Indian exports dominated the textile market until the late 18th century and weavers would have been competing for sales to merchants with Indian exporters. Naturally most weavers would be completely unaware of the contracts and pricing power of the East India Company at the time and its knock-on effects in India. I'm not trying to imply that the Luddites cheered on the EIC in their exploitation, and don't think they did at all unless there's evidence of the contrary.
> I suspect that given that the producers were Christian, much less protestant, would have meant that sympathy would have been limited. Given how xenophobic people were back then.
Europe and the Islamicate world had a lot of mutual animosity and respect for each other at the time. The British viewed Mughal wealth and organization favorably, and this was the basis for the term "mogul" as used in "business mogul". [3] Whether that would lead to sympathy or not is unclear.
> Technological advances meant that they were ruined almost overnight.
Correct but their relative market position came at the expense of the market position of the Mughals. The guild based systems which created guaranteed markets of the middle ages were already long broken by the time of the Luddites. The very ruin from relative riches due to mechanization itself was based on riches based off the ruin of the Mughals. That the Luddites were trying to protect their own lifestyle is neither enigmatic nor evil. The Mughals attempted the same. But instead of trying to cast the Luddites as virtuous heroes, it's important to contextualize them as parties who were protecting a treasure that they had received at another's expense.
Related HN discussion on [1] from 3 weeks ago: [2]
[1]: https://archive.ph/ZUiC7 ("Rethinking the Luddites," The New Yorker)
[2]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37664682