4 ms·

But with any luck, the products of fully automated local manufacturing will be so much cheaper that humans won't need to work long hours in monotonous jobs in o

by DanI-S 14y ago

But with any luck, the products of fully automated local manufacturing will be so much cheaper that humans won't need to work long hours in monotonous jobs in order to buy them.

glesica 14y ago
I love the sentiment, but I doubt it will come to pass. That's exactly what people have said at every stage of industrialization. But the gains always end up being consolidated and the long work weeks and boring jobs march on.
- DanI-S 14y ago
  I think we have to factor in the VAST increases in quality of life that industrialization brings. Increasingly automated car manufacture undoubtedly still involves boring jobs, but it also brought car ownership within the realm of possibility for millions more people. The same applies for anything from textiles (we can now buy clothing for a few dollars that would once have only been available to royalty) to electronics (in a world where almost everybody carries a mobile phone).
- learc83 14y ago
  >the long work weeks and boring jobs march on. The long work weeks continue because apparently we are willing to trade less time at work for more stuff. If you want to live a 1960s lifestyle with a 60s size house, 60s level health care, 1 car per family, only 60s era gadgets, and cooking the vast majority of your meals--you could easily do it on 20 hours a week for most jobs. As an experiment to illustrate my point, look around the room you're in and count the things that you own that didn't exist in 1960.
- danmaz74 14y ago
  In the late 19th century it was normal for industrial jobs to be 12 hours a day, 360+ days a year. I wouldn't say that there haven't been changes.
ippisl 14y ago
If you look at the history of the industrial revolution , many of the gains the workers got:reasonable working hours, minimum wages, etc. were gained by a strong political fight(that many times took blood). There's no reason to assume that this time it will be different.

by DanI-S 14y ago

But with any luck, the products of fully automated local manufacturing will be so much cheaper that humans won't need to work long hours in monotonous jobs in order to buy them.

glesica 14y ago

I love the sentiment, but I doubt it will come to pass. That's exactly what people have said at every stage of industrialization. But the gains always end up being consolidated and the long work weeks and boring jobs march on.

DanI-S 14y ago
I think we have to factor in the VAST increases in quality of life that industrialization brings. Increasingly automated car manufacture undoubtedly still involves boring jobs, but it also brought car ownership within the realm of possibility for millions more people. The same applies for anything from textiles (we can now buy clothing for a few dollars that would once have only been available to royalty) to electronics (in a world where almost everybody carries a mobile phone).
learc83 14y ago
>the long work weeks and boring jobs march on. The long work weeks continue because apparently we are willing to trade less time at work for more stuff. If you want to live a 1960s lifestyle with a 60s size house, 60s level health care, 1 car per family, only 60s era gadgets, and cooking the vast majority of your meals--you could easily do it on 20 hours a week for most jobs. As an experiment to illustrate my point, look around the room you're in and count the things that you own that didn't exist in 1960.
danmaz74 14y ago
In the late 19th century it was normal for industrial jobs to be 12 hours a day, 360+ days a year. I wouldn't say that there haven't been changes.

ippisl 14y ago

If you look at the history of the industrial revolution , many of the gains the workers got:reasonable working hours, minimum wages, etc. were gained by a strong political fight(that many times took blood). There's no reason to assume that this time it will be different.