“Luddites” have sometimes stood in for enemies of progress: those destined to be swept aside in the forward march of history. A group of stocking weavers formed a secret organization, purportedly led by a certain Ned Ludd, a fictitious figure also styled as Captain, General or King Ludd. The Luddites were not blindly lashing out but sending a message; to some extent at least, that message was heard. Luddites in verse, literatureOne of the few aristocrats to express sympathy for the Luddites was the poet Lord Byron. Not blindly lashing outThe Luddites may have partly lost the battle in Regency England; the state and the propertied classes may have prevailed.