The Luddites were a group of English workers in the early 1800s who protested the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution that they felt threatened their jobs, often by destroying machines.

The original Luddites claimed to be led by one Ned Ludd, also known as King Ludd, who is believed to have destroyed two large stocking-frames that produced stockings undercutting, and whose signature appears on a workers manifesto of the time. Whether or not Ludd actually existed is historically unclear.

The movement spread rapidly throughout England in 1811, with many wool and cotton mills being destroyed, until the British government suppressed them harshly (including making machine breaking (industrial sabotage) a capital crime, and executing 17 men in 1813).

The terms Luddism, Luddite, (Also Neo-Luddism, Neo-Luddite) in recent years have become synonymous with anyone who opposes the advance of industrial technology, like theodore john kaczynski, who is the subject of the lyrics of montana/autumn/78.