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When was the widespread unemployment in the US due to technological innovations
by HWR_14 3y ago
When was the widespread unemployment in the US due to technological innovations
- RecycledEle 3y agoWidespread unemployment occurred in the 19th and early 20th centuries as Americans left farms to move to cities. They were desperate for work. The unemployment in farms was caused by the Industrial Revolution.
- incrudible 3y agoThe problem is not unemployment, it is raising the bar for valuable labor. Arguably the standard of living has already declined for the average human individual. A factory job used to afford a single worker with modest education a house and a family. That said, generative AI will have far less impact here than, say, a robot arm.
- RecycledEle 3y agoThe bar for viable labor is rising. It is also easier that ever to educate yourself. These two facts balance.
- incrudible 3y agoIf you believe that anyone can learn anything, that might sound plausible to you. The evidence does not point in this direction, however.
- HWR_14 3y agoThat seems like a different (and real, but modern) problem compared to "we never would have left subsistence farming without a massive unemployment period (painful job loss) brought about by new technology" the the OP suggested.