> That's simply a reality, just as weavers saw massive layoffs in the wake of the automated loom
They didn’t just see layoffs. There were the constant wars with Napoleon and the War of 1812 causing significant economic instability along with highly variable capital investments in textile production at the time. They we’re looking at huge wealth disparity and losing their jobs for most meant losing everything.
What many Luddite supporters were asking for in many parts of England were: better working conditions, a raise to minimum wage, abolishment of child labour, etc. Sabotage was a means to make such demands from a class that held almost all of the power.
Many of those protestors were shot. Those who survived and were laid off were forced into workhouses.
The capitalists won and got to write the history and the myths. They made it about the technology and not the conditions. They told us that the displaced workers found new, better jobs elsewhere.
Programmers, while part of the labour class, have so far enjoyed a much better bargaining position and have been compensated in kind. Many of us also complain about the quality of output from AI as the textile workers complained about the poor quality of the lace. But fortunately the workhouses were shut down. Although poor quality code tends to result in people losing their life’s savings, having their identities stolen, etc. Higher stakes than cheap lace.
They didn’t just see layoffs. There were the constant wars with Napoleon and the War of 1812 causing significant economic instability along with highly variable capital investments in textile production at the time. They we’re looking at huge wealth disparity and losing their jobs for most meant losing everything.
What many Luddite supporters were asking for in many parts of England were: better working conditions, a raise to minimum wage, abolishment of child labour, etc. Sabotage was a means to make such demands from a class that held almost all of the power.
Many of those protestors were shot. Those who survived and were laid off were forced into workhouses.
The capitalists won and got to write the history and the myths. They made it about the technology and not the conditions. They told us that the displaced workers found new, better jobs elsewhere.
Programmers, while part of the labour class, have so far enjoyed a much better bargaining position and have been compensated in kind. Many of us also complain about the quality of output from AI as the textile workers complained about the poor quality of the lace. But fortunately the workhouses were shut down. Although poor quality code tends to result in people losing their life’s savings, having their identities stolen, etc. Higher stakes than cheap lace.
History is not repeating but it sure does rhyme.