A new history of the Luddites, "Blood in the Machine," argues that 19th century fears about technology are still relevant today. It's the latest in a long line of attempts to reclaim the label.
Although, Marx’s critique still stands, in that the Luddites, while they generally correctly noticed the problem that within capitalism new technologies generally serve to further disempower workers and devalue their labor even further, didn’t have a shred of an answer. As it turns out, solving problems is more complicated than smashing things that are pissing you off.
Hence why the Luddites are a fondly-remembered image but the march of technology hasn’t slowed down literally at all.
Although, Marx’s critique still stands, in that the Luddites, while they generally correctly noticed the problem that within capitalism new technologies generally serve to further disempower workers and devalue their labor even further, didn’t have a shred of an answer. As it turns out, solving problems is more complicated than smashing things that are pissing you off.
Hence why the Luddites are a fondly-remembered image but the march of technology hasn’t slowed down literally at all.