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Although that's probably a good counterpoint, it doesn't provide any solutions. I'd say the fear about automation is real. I think we all know that. Especial

by PakG1 14y ago

Although that's probably a good counterpoint, it doesn't provide any solutions. I'd say the fear about automation is real. I think we all know that. Especially in enterprise, pretty much the sole purpose of coding is to automate people's jobs. I experienced it firsthand. I was so happy seeing my finished product in use, then kind of sick when I met the people I had automated in new jobs, with them telling me how they loved their new opportunities and how they loved to learn. Except their voices sounded falsely happy, and their new jobs were also targeted for automation. These people were the breadwinners of their families, and I wasn't doing anything to really help them be better off. They lacked good skills to really do something special. Was that their fault? Should they be punished for it? They worked hard, cared for their kids, put in the hours for their dreams. The subject is a bit personal for me, and I agree that simply education isn't a 100% correct answer, but I'd wager that it must be part of the answer. The worrisome question is what is the whole complete answer?

eli_gottlieb 14y ago
The only whole and complete answer is the end of capitalism as we know it. Not, that is, the end of market economies as we know them, but the end of capitalism in the sense of dividing the population into those who own the means of production and a broad mass who must sell labor to survive. Labor is becoming an unsaleable commodity.
- PakG1 14y ago
  If you want market economies to stay, market economies will figure out whether or not labor is a saleable commodity, no? I don't understand your point?
  - eli_gottlieb 14y ago
    Unsaleable here was not supposed to mean illegal or literally impossible to sell. I meant it as "very/increasingly difficult to sell at a profit". Selling labor at a profit is becoming a problem, since it has those irritating built-in costs of food, shelter and health-care.

by PakG1 14y ago

eli_gottlieb 14y ago

The only whole and complete answer is the end of capitalism as we know it. Not, that is, the end of market economies as we know them, but the end of capitalism in the sense of dividing the population into those who own the means of production and a broad mass who must sell labor to survive. Labor is becoming an unsaleable commodity.

PakG1 14y ago
If you want market economies to stay, market economies will figure out whether or not labor is a saleable commodity, no? I don't understand your point?
- eli_gottlieb 14y ago
  Unsaleable here was not supposed to mean illegal or literally impossible to sell. I meant it as "very/increasingly difficult to sell at a profit". Selling labor at a profit is becoming a problem, since it has those irritating built-in costs of food, shelter and health-care.