Luddism, Capitalism, Socialism

Commonly, and sometimes condescendingly, associated with the 'hate of Technology', Luddism is, more precisely, a protest against the loss of skilled jobs occasioned by industrialization requiring minimal abilities. Thus, Luddism has been perhaps more prescient than either Capitalism or Socialism regarding the Economic significance of Technology--the latter is not an accelerator of productivity, but a replacement of human labor, as the proliferation of empty factories continues to demonstrate.. Now, Marx briefly dismisses Luddism as a superficial critique of Capitalism. Still, Socialism can better accommodate the perhaps ultimate consequences of technological innovation than can Smith's system or any of its successors. For, despite the loss of a job, a co-owner of the means of production can still benefit from the process, whereas if recent political rhetoric is any indication, the best that Capitalism can offer a replaced worker is the promise of 're-training' for a position that may itself be moribund.