#TechnocracySeries –Episode 8
ᴬⁿᵃˡʸᶻᵉ ʰⁱˢᵗᵒʳʸ ᵗᵒ ᵘⁿᵈᵉʳˢᵗᵃⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉ ᵖʳᵉˢᵉⁿᵗ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵃⁿᵗⁱᶜⁱᵖᵃᵗᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ᶠᵘᵗᵘʳᵉ
NEOLUDDISM: FROM STEAM LOOMS TO SILICON VALLEYS
The comparison between 19th-century Luddism and modern automation is a study in market mechanics rather than simple technophobia.
In 1811, the Luddite rebellion wasn't a fight against tools, but against the systematic devaluation of skilled labor. The mechanical loom allowed factory owners to produce goods with unskilled, low-wage workers, effectively transferring the profit of expertise from the artisan to the capital owner.
Today, generative AI and advanced robotics represent a similar structural shift but with total reach.
While the original Luddites targeted physical machinery in specific English counties, modern automation hits both cognitive and physical sectors simultaneously.
Large Language Models target the white-collar professional while warehouse robotics and autonomous transport systems dismantle the traditional blue-collar stronghold.
The introduction of self-driving technology in the transport sector mirrors the threat felt by 19th-century croppers.
A critical difference lies in the velocity of the transition. The Industrial Revolution unfolded over several decades, allowing for a slow, albeit painful, generational adaptation.
AI automation scales faster than humans can adapt, quickly undercutting wages with the lower costs of servers and robots.
In the 1800s, the state responded to labor displacement with harsh legislation and military force to protect industrial property.
In the current era, the response is more likely to be found in technocratic management.
Proposals like Universal Basic Income are less about social justice and more about maintaining systemic stability when the market can no longer absorb the labor surplus created by autonomous systems.
Ultimately, the Luddites lost because they could not stop the superior efficiency of capital-backed machinery.
The parallel for the modern era is the realization of total obsolescence.
Is NeoLuddism on the way?