OK guys up untill recently I have regarded the Luddites as something of a hopeless cause. They were apposing technological progress and while it is hard not to feel sympathy for them given that previously valued artisans were being transformed into factory labourers their cause was fairly doomed. But recently and partly from my time on this sight I have learned that in China they lived on the edge of an industrial revolution for a long time with all the ingredients necessary but never did it partially because several of the Emperors supressed progress (the Mongol invasion also helped). I realise the situation in Europe was very different not least because while China was largely free of competitors (or thought it was) every country in Europe was in a more or less constant struggle with every other thus making it rather unlikely that any country would reject the advantage the Industrial Revolution brought.
Nonetheless how do you think it could succeed. how could the Luddites or some other group succeed in stopping or delaying the industrial revolution in England and how might it effect the world at large?
Nonetheless how do you think it could succeed. how could the Luddites or some other group succeed in stopping or delaying the industrial revolution in England and how might it effect the world at large?