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"Luddism has always been a lame and deep-down hypocritical option"?
The Luddites were not hypocrites -- they were starving. The knitters' livelihoods had been destroyed by the machines, and the only safety net offered was a noose. Byron commented
Some folks for certain have thought it was shocking,
When Famine appeals, and when Poverty groans,
That life should be valued at less than a stocking,
And breaking of frames lead to breaking of bones.
If it should prove so, I trust, by this token,
(And who will refuse to partake in the hope?)
That the frames of the fools may be first to be broken,
Who, when asked for a remedy, sent down a rope.
The benefits of new technology must not go only to the rich and powerful. I'm a techie, but would side with the frame breakers unless we can spread the wealth around.
