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The entire theory of free trade and/or technological development is that the capital saved on the efficiency gains gets reinvested somewhere else and ultimately
by ummwhat 8y ago
The entire theory of free trade and/or technological development is that the capital saved on the efficiency gains gets reinvested somewhere else and ultimately becomes new jobs. Anyone unemployed will eventually be retrained and no net job loss occurs.
For some jobs (like factory workers) this doesn't work so well in practice as people beyond a certain age (let's say 40) can't just cycle back into entry level work.
All that said, automating store clerks has no downside. No one is a career store clerk. This is an entry level job practically by definition.
- grawprog 8y ago>No one is a career store clerk. I worked with several career store clerks when I worked in a store. There were 3 or 4 people I worked with who started working there when they were younger than I was at the time(19) and had been working there well into their 40's. They gave me inspiration. I knew I never ever wanted to be them.
- isoskeles 8y ago> No one is a career store clerk. Literally some mentally retarded people have this as a sort of career. It allows a sense of belonging in or contribution to society. Not saying that’s a reason not to automate it, but some people will keep getting left behind by the trend.