admiralteal , 5 months ago

The luddites were not protesting technology. They were protesting their labor being squeezed. That the factory owners, thanks to new technology, were going to be able to pay less and keep more. It was a labor movement.

The looms were the symbol, not the problem.

The luddites were, of course, crushed with great violence. Then all their predictions of the future came true. They were almost beyond all doubt right.

Driverless cars... the threat may be similar but the scale is tiny in comparison. I think these protests are actually about the technology, not how it affects labor. It's about these cars being seen as dangerous threats on the streets.

I only wish that ire were turned toward their city managers office instead of the cars. If people want safe streets, they aren't going to get them targeting driverless taxis. They have to go after all the fundamentally unsafe auto oriented design.