In a worker voice trade union activity was very harshly suppressed in Britain. Any kind of democratic movement was super strongly discouraged 1840s. Chartists collected 3 million signatures for asking for minimal changes in the political system, so that people could vote and participate in the political process.
Economist and author Daron Acemoglu of MIT discusses his book Power and Progress with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Acemoglu argues that the productivity and prosperity that results from innovation is not always shared widely across the population. He makes the case for the importance of regulating new technologies to ensure that the benefits of innovation are distributed equitably.