Workers aren’t always the “advanced productive forces” either.

Marx said the working class represents advanced productive forces, but historically, they’ve never hesitated to smash new machines.

In 19th-century England, Luddites raided factories at night, swinging sledgehammers with abandon, destroying power looms and knitting machines for fear of losing their jobs.

French tailors went even further—in 1831, they stormed Thimonnier’s sewing machine factory, smashing and burning over 80 machines because they were “taking away jobs.”

During the Swing Riots, agricultural workers also smashed threshing machines to pieces.

Clearly, when faced with sudden technological change, the workers’ first instinct is to protect their livelihoods, not embrace the future. Whether something is “advanced” really depends on the era and where your interests lie.