RE: [FT universe]

On 18 Sep 98, at 9:41, Tony Christney wrote:

> My understanding (admittedly I could be wrong) was that the Luddites,
led
> by some bloke named Ludd, were men who made cloth from cotton and
wool, in
> essence, weavers. With the start of the Industrial Revolution, they
> understood that they would soon be out of a job. So they went around
> smashing up mechanical looms, etc. So they weren't technophobes per
se,
> just people trying to keep their jobs. Of course, the rich factory
owners
> weren't too happy about their actions, and there was a law passed that
> made the crime punishable by death, which spelled the end of Mr. Ludd.
> AFAIK, the Luddites had much popular support from the "lower" classes
(god
> I hate that term).

Yup, 'working class' is much better....<chuckle>  hey I'm one of 
them ;)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Richard Slattery	     richard@mgkc.demon.co.uk
I was under medication when I made the decision to burn the tapes. 
     Richard Nixon, US President
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