douglas
Active member
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2013
- Messages
- 458
- Reaction score
- 290
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Libertarian - Left
Good Afternoon,
I'm interested in what my fellow DP'ers think about the effects of Technology on Unemployment. With respect to the Luddite Fallacy, Technological unemployment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia , it's long been thought that technology increases employment, or atleast has no direct effect on unemployment. But, since the digital age, it seems that Neo-Luddism seems to have some validity. Essentially, previous technological advances led to more physical goods, which required more labor to process. But, new technological advances are decreasing the physical component of productivity, so there's less physical labor required due to that productivity. This is my take on neo-luddism; technological advances used to be periodic enough that the market could absorb the change by allowing for a smooth transition from one industry to the other. But, recent technology is advancing at such an accelerated rate, industries are just collapsing. That, coupled with the replacement of many goods and services with digital equivalents, has led to a reversal of the Luddite Fallacy.
Belief in Luddism as a Fallacy has been an economic axiom since the 19th century, so there are plenty of economic text books that completely say I'm wrong. I feel that doesn't do Neo-Luddism justice, though, since we've only been embracing the digital age for 2 generations or so. Is it time to switch our thinking and acknowledge that automation IS leading to unemployment?
As a believer in the theories of Utopian Socialism, I have always believed against the Luddite Fallacy; I believe that low-skill jobs are quickly dying out because of automation and it will lead to an economic collapse. But, I'm realizing that this is more of a controversial issue than I thought. So, what are you're thoughts on this topic; Does modern technology in capitalism lead to unemployment or new jobs?
Thank you.
I'm interested in what my fellow DP'ers think about the effects of Technology on Unemployment. With respect to the Luddite Fallacy, Technological unemployment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia , it's long been thought that technology increases employment, or atleast has no direct effect on unemployment. But, since the digital age, it seems that Neo-Luddism seems to have some validity. Essentially, previous technological advances led to more physical goods, which required more labor to process. But, new technological advances are decreasing the physical component of productivity, so there's less physical labor required due to that productivity. This is my take on neo-luddism; technological advances used to be periodic enough that the market could absorb the change by allowing for a smooth transition from one industry to the other. But, recent technology is advancing at such an accelerated rate, industries are just collapsing. That, coupled with the replacement of many goods and services with digital equivalents, has led to a reversal of the Luddite Fallacy.
Belief in Luddism as a Fallacy has been an economic axiom since the 19th century, so there are plenty of economic text books that completely say I'm wrong. I feel that doesn't do Neo-Luddism justice, though, since we've only been embracing the digital age for 2 generations or so. Is it time to switch our thinking and acknowledge that automation IS leading to unemployment?
As a believer in the theories of Utopian Socialism, I have always believed against the Luddite Fallacy; I believe that low-skill jobs are quickly dying out because of automation and it will lead to an economic collapse. But, I'm realizing that this is more of a controversial issue than I thought. So, what are you're thoughts on this topic; Does modern technology in capitalism lead to unemployment or new jobs?
Thank you.