Luddites we are not!

Luddites were members of a 19th-century movement of English textile workers who opposed the use of certain types of automated machinery due to concerns regarding decreased pay for textile workers and a perceived reduction of output quality.

They often destroyed the machines in organised raids. Members of the group referred to themselves as Luddites, self-described followers of "Ned Ludd", a mythical weaver whose name was used as a pseudonym in threatening letters to mill owners and government officials.

The Luddite movement began in Nottingham, England, and spread to the North West and Yorkshire between 1811 and 1816. Mill and factory owners took to shooting protesters and eventually the movement was suppressed by legal and military force, which included execution and penal transportation of accused and convicted Luddites.

Over time, the term has been used to refer to those opposed to the introduction of new technologies. We are not Luddites! We simply recognise and believe that the current out of control rate of economic growth will be disastrous for everyone, and we have to move on from the over-simplistic capitalist concept, which was maybe good in the 18th century, but not where we are now.