One of a number of riotous persons in England, who for six years (1811-17) tried to prevent the use of labor-saving machinery by breaking it, burning factories, etc.; -- so called from Ned Lud, a half-witted man who some years previously had broken stocking frames.
One who opposes technical or technological change.
any opponent of technological progress
one of the 19th century English workmen who destroyed labor-saving machinery that they thought would cause unemployment
a person who worked to destroy technological achievements of private enterprise in order to maintain the status quo of employment opportunities
One of a group of early nineteenth-century English workmen that destroyed labor-saving machinery in protest. Today the Luddites are a symbol of opposition to technology.
From an early-nineteenth-century antiindustrialization movement in England; now describes a person who is opposed to technological progress because of its possible dehumanizing effects.
an early rebellious working-class movement that decided to destroy machinery as a protest against technical change and the growth of capitalism
The Luddites were a social movement of English textile workers in the early 1800s who protested — often by destroying textile machines — against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt threatened their livelihood. The movement, which began in 1811, was named after a mythical leader, Ned Ludd. For a short time the movement was so strong that it clashed in battles with the British Army.