Death to Machines?
At the start of the Industrial Revolution, textile workers in the Midlands and North of England, mainly weavers, staged a spontaneous revolt, smashing machinery and burning factories. The Luddites were wrong on many points; but perhaps they deserve more than a footnote in economic history.
LONDON – At the start of the Industrial Revolution, textile workers in the Midlands and the North of England, mainly weavers, staged a spontaneous revolt, smashing machinery and burning factories. Their complaint was that the newfangled machines were robbing them of their wages and jobs.