14 Oct
2005
14 Oct
'05
12:08 p.m.
Subject: Re: luddites!
From: Brad Parker <brad at heeltoe.com>
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 13:15:00 -0400
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at
classiccmp.org>
"Jeff Davis" wrote:
I cannot argue with that. Nor did I say that it was pleasent. I will say
that technological change has been responsable for several migrations and
those that didn't now commute a distance that took as many as 3-4 days by
wagon at one time.
The wholesale movement of production from one local to another of far lower
employement is older than automation and has always come with a social and
economic price that automation alone did not always entail. It's very
different to have ones job change then the facility disappear completely.
Allison
Well, your own example proved the existance of productivity gains - 3 people
with a machine could produce as much as 10 people without the machine, ergo
the 3 people are more productive. If you give 9 of those workers the
machines, and keep 1 around to do maintenance on the machines, the whole group
is nearly 3x as productive.
yes, but what if the 7 people who loose their jobs leave town and the town
goes belly up?
if you measure at the planet level it all probably makes sense, but at a
local level it's not so clear.
20,000 unemployed textile works in NC who won't ever be retrained may
have a better understanding of this effect... (but only in NC).
-brad