Automation doesn’t necessarily mean a better quality of life. We’re fatter than ever, more depressed than ever, and we still work more than a medieval peasant.
I always bring this up, automation is what made slavery profitable in the south. When the cotton gin was invented slaveowners didn’t start using less slaves for the same out put of cotton. They started buying more slaves to increase the output of cotton with a higher profit margin. That’s what happens anytime we see a new form of automation, companies don’t reduce work hours and keep the pay the same, they try to increase production and the workers that were replaced will be made to do some other menial task machines can’t do, and they will also be made to work 40hrs a week. This whole automation thing increasing our quality of life is a total fucking myth.
I sort of agree in that the fruits of automation shoud be distributed through government and taxes. Its cool that things get more efficient and the world isnt a zero sum game anymore, but if everything in exess of that zero goes to only a few people things won’t get better for everyone.
At a certain point automation becomes so efficient that it becomes unprofitable to produce certain goods because they can essentially be made for free. So then corporations don’t invest in it and so it is no longer produced. It’s already happened with other things, but this is somewhere where the public sector could step in.
It’s tricky I don’t know how it would be best regulated, but companies are run like totalitarian dictatorships. Large companies, especially public companies should be regulated to benefit the people and the workers. Right now publicly traded companies are incentivized legally to maximamize profit regardless if it’s at the expense of employees, the environment and citizens. Maybe federally mandating a coop structure for businesses so businesses are run more democratically could be another solution.
That’s what happens anytime we see a new form of automation, companies don’t reduce work hours and keep the pay the same, they try to increase production and the workers that were replaced will be made to do some other menial task machines can’t do, and they will also be made to work 40hrs a week.
I understand your point, and it is probably true for some companies and some jobs. However, it doesn’t apply to telephone switchboard operators, bank tellers, movie projectionists, pinsetters, lamplighters, elevator operators, etc. These are jobs which don’t have an impact on the production or manufacturing of a product.
I always bring this up, automation is what made slavery profitable in the south. When the cotton gin was invented slaveowners didn’t start using less slaves for the same out put of cotton.
I understand that you’re talking about the cotton gin because it improved productivity, but the cotton gin used in the early 1800’s is an example of mechanization, not automation. It’s like a reel lawnmower, which is an improvement over a scythe, but there’s nothing automatic about it. This distinction doesn’t make much difference here, in the context of productivity.
This notion that medevil peasants worked less and were somehow better off is ridiculous. I’d gladly work an extra 20 hours a week for indoor plumbing, electricity, cars, cell phones, modern medical care, education, lack of dragons,…
The wealthy have done a fantastic job of taking those away, along with social security and retirement. Be clear, your plumbing, electricity, cars, and cell phones are absolutely on the chopping block as the gap gets wider.
I have access to an emergency room in exchange for bankruptcy, and higher education is only attainable through a loan that rivals the size of a mortgage from 10 years ago.
Quite frankly no, due to them being cost prohibitive. Myself and many others forego healthcare due to the bills we know we can’t afford, thanks to obscenely high deductibles.
No, community colleges and trade schools are also prohibitively expensive for most people unless you take out a student loan that rivals what mortgages were just 10 years ago.
It’s as if you don’t go outside and touch grass, or talk to common people. I’m guessing we should just pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, except we don’t have socks, let alone shoes or boots with straps to even tug on. Fuck you’re annoying.
“Do you have access? blah blah blah fucking blah I don’t read shit or have a clue about what reality actually looks like”
You choosing to forgo medical care, or higher learning is your choice, you still have access to it. You may be one of the bottom 1%, where being a barely literate peasant is an improvement on your life.
Automation doesn’t necessarily mean a better quality of life. We’re fatter than ever, more depressed than ever, and we still work more than a medieval peasant.
I always bring this up, automation is what made slavery profitable in the south. When the cotton gin was invented slaveowners didn’t start using less slaves for the same out put of cotton. They started buying more slaves to increase the output of cotton with a higher profit margin. That’s what happens anytime we see a new form of automation, companies don’t reduce work hours and keep the pay the same, they try to increase production and the workers that were replaced will be made to do some other menial task machines can’t do, and they will also be made to work 40hrs a week. This whole automation thing increasing our quality of life is a total fucking myth.
I sort of agree in that the fruits of automation shoud be distributed through government and taxes. Its cool that things get more efficient and the world isnt a zero sum game anymore, but if everything in exess of that zero goes to only a few people things won’t get better for everyone.
Better policy is definitely needed. We could be living in a utopia right now working three days a week.
For that automation should be treated as a public resource rather than a private source of profits.
At a certain point automation becomes so efficient that it becomes unprofitable to produce certain goods because they can essentially be made for free. So then corporations don’t invest in it and so it is no longer produced. It’s already happened with other things, but this is somewhere where the public sector could step in.
It’s tricky I don’t know how it would be best regulated, but companies are run like totalitarian dictatorships. Large companies, especially public companies should be regulated to benefit the people and the workers. Right now publicly traded companies are incentivized legally to maximamize profit regardless if it’s at the expense of employees, the environment and citizens. Maybe federally mandating a coop structure for businesses so businesses are run more democratically could be another solution.
I understand your point, and it is probably true for some companies and some jobs. However, it doesn’t apply to telephone switchboard operators, bank tellers, movie projectionists, pinsetters, lamplighters, elevator operators, etc. These are jobs which don’t have an impact on the production or manufacturing of a product.
I understand that you’re talking about the cotton gin because it improved productivity, but the cotton gin used in the early 1800’s is an example of mechanization, not automation. It’s like a reel lawnmower, which is an improvement over a scythe, but there’s nothing automatic about it. This distinction doesn’t make much difference here, in the context of productivity.
This notion that medevil peasants worked less and were somehow better off is ridiculous. I’d gladly work an extra 20 hours a week for indoor plumbing, electricity, cars, cell phones, modern medical care, education, lack of dragons,…
Speak for yourself, jeez! I’d gladly pick up a second job in exchange for dragons existing :P
The wealthy have done a fantastic job of taking those away, along with social security and retirement. Be clear, your plumbing, electricity, cars, and cell phones are absolutely on the chopping block as the gap gets wider.
Do you not have access to medical care or education?
I have access to an emergency room in exchange for bankruptcy, and higher education is only attainable through a loan that rivals the size of a mortgage from 10 years ago.
Do you have access to clinics or family medicine?
Do you have access to community colleges and trade schools?
Quite frankly no, due to them being cost prohibitive. Myself and many others forego healthcare due to the bills we know we can’t afford, thanks to obscenely high deductibles.
No, community colleges and trade schools are also prohibitively expensive for most people unless you take out a student loan that rivals what mortgages were just 10 years ago.
It’s as if you don’t go outside and touch grass, or talk to common people. I’m guessing we should just pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, except we don’t have socks, let alone shoes or boots with straps to even tug on. Fuck you’re annoying.
“Do you have access? blah blah blah fucking blah I don’t read shit or have a clue about what reality actually looks like”
You choosing to forgo medical care, or higher learning is your choice, you still have access to it. You may be one of the bottom 1%, where being a barely literate peasant is an improvement on your life.
Removed by mod