Are jobs obsolete?

[David]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/09/07/rushkoff.jobs.obsolete/index.html

I am afraid to even ask this, but since when is unemployment really a problem? I understand we all want paychecks -- or at least money. We want food, shelter, clothing, and all the things that money buys us. But do we all really want jobs?

We're living in an economy where productivity is no longer the goal, employment is. That's because, on a very fundamental level, we have pretty much everything we need. America is productive enough that it could probably shelter, feed, educate, and even provide health care for its entire population with just a fraction of us actually working.

An interesting point. Perhaps we need to worry less about jobs and ore about creativity at this point. We could save ourselves a lot of trouble simply by seeing the writing on the wall and just automating everything. No need for money if everything is done for free by machines and no need for jobs if nobody needs money. Jobs are obsolete, we need to accept that fact if we wish to advance.

 

[DodgeFB]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/09/07/rushkoff.jobs.obsolete/index.html



An interesting point. Perhaps we need to worry less about jobs and ore about creativity at this point. We could save ourselves a lot of trouble simply by seeing the writing on the wall and just automating everything. No need for money if everything is done for free by machines and no need for jobs if nobody needs money. Jobs are obsolete, we need to accept that fact if we wish to advance.

Now that's funny!

 

[David]

Now that's funny!

Trying to up your post count with that non-post?

 

[DodgeFB]

Trying to up your post count with that non-post?

I don't care about my post count and you know it. I had no idea you were serious about people not working.

 

[David]

I don't care about my post count and you know it. I had no idea you were serious about people not working.

That's not what I said.

 

[DodgeFB]

That's not what I said.

All I know is unless you are rich life is rough if you don't work. I know it first hand.

 

[David]

All I know is unless you are rich life is rough if you don't work. I know it first hand.

es, people would still work, they just don't need jobs. When factories can run on near total automation (still need IT guys to fix glitches and janitors to keep everything clean) and when you can build factories tasked with creating the machines to run the other factories, do people really need to work? No, they could instead focus on architecture, science, charity, healthcare, education, etc. depending on their skill sets and interests while the necessities would still be provided despite nobody doing menial (and not so menial) labor.

 

[DodgeFB]

es, people would still work, they just don't need jobs. When factories can run on near total automation (still need IT guys to fix glitches and janitors to keep everything clean) and when you can build factories tasked with creating the machines to run the other factories, do people really need to work? No, they could instead focus on architecture, science, charity, healthcare, education, etc. depending on their skill sets and interests while the necessities would still be provided despite nobody doing menial (and not so menial) labor.

Maybe someday. I don't think I will ever see it. Surely not in time for today's unemployed.

 

[David]

Maybe someday. I don't think I will ever see it. Surely not in time for today's unemployed.

If we started today we could be done inside a decade.

 

[DodgeFB]

If we started today we could be done inside a decade.

Then I was right. I will not be here in a decade with any luck at all. But I truly wish you good luck with it for you.

 

[David]

Then I was right. I will not be here in a decade with any luck at all. But I truly wish you good luck with it for you.

Meh, I plan on still being here in a millennium.

 

[myp]

Hey guys, automation of manual labor is already well in progress

It's not necessarily a bad thing either- people were scared during the industrial revolution when factories replaced some jobs too.

 

[CatholicCrusader]

Now that's funny!

Trying to up your post count with that non-post?

A non-post for a non-thread. Sounds good to me.
I mean seriously, "Are jobs obsolete?" Does it get any dumber than that?

 

[David]

A non-post for a non-thread. Sounds good to me.
I mean seriously, "Are jobs obsolete?" Does it get any dumber than that?

Yet another non-post.

 

[emilykrys]

The problem has nothing to do with no automation the real issue is the fact that nothing is being made here which is why there is no jobs. Companies are busy having things made in china because poor wages still rule. Many people don't choose to be out of work its companies that decided hey I can move over to china and have some china man work for a dollar a day and make the same amount of products that I would have to legally pay someone in the US atleast 5 dollars an hour for. If you had machines to automate everything it still wouldn't be logically cheaper then china because what about the cost of the machine and the cost of repairs to it and there still is only so much a machine can do without someone being there to code it or control it. The real answer to the job problem is make it no longer cheap to have a 3rd world country with slavery laws to manufacture things. If china decided were going to set wages to 9 dollars an hour you would have all of the companies come back to the US where most states are still 5.50 or 6 dollars.

 

[myp]

The problem has nothing to do with no automation the real issue is the fact that nothing is being made here which is why there is no jobs. Companies are busy having things made in china because poor wages still rule. Many people don't choose to be out of work its companies that decided hey I can move over to china and have some china man work for a dollar a day and make the same amount of products that I would have to legally pay someone in the US atleast 5 dollars an hour for. If you had machines to automate everything it still wouldn't be logically cheaper then china because what about the cost of the machine and the cost of repairs to it and there still is only so much a machine can do without someone being there to code it or control it. The real answer to the job problem is make it no longer cheap to have a 3rd world country with slavery laws to manufacture things. If china decided were going to set wages to 9 dollars an hour you would have all of the companies come back to the US where most states are still 5.50 or 6 dollars.

It is all about comparative advantage. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The big picture most definitely is automation and increased productivity per worker, not any problem with free trade. When you can have a robot being operated by one guy do the work of 100 workers and there is a recession and wages are sticky downwards, it doesn't matter if you are in India, China, America, or Antarctica- eventually the robot will take the work, especially since the cost to buy it will go down over time.

 

[David]

The problem has nothing to do with no automation the real issue is the fact that nothing is being made here which is why there is no jobs. Companies are busy having things made in china because poor wages still rule. Many people don't choose to be out of work its companies that decided hey I can move over to china and have some china man work for a dollar a day and make the same amount of products that I would have to legally pay someone in the US atleast 5 dollars an hour for. If you had machines to automate everything it still wouldn't be logically cheaper then china because what about the cost of the machine and the cost of repairs to it and there still is only so much a machine can do without someone being there to code it or control it. The real answer to the job problem is make it no longer cheap to have a 3rd world country with slavery laws to manufacture things. If china decided were going to set wages to 9 dollars an hour you would have all of the companies come back to the US where most states are still 5.50 or 6 dollars.

To the bolded America is the #1 manufacturer, #1 economy (#2 if you count the EU as a single entity) and #3 oil producer, we make plenty. The problem is we don't need people to make it anymore. That's the point of the article, people don't matter as much anymore but if we go with the flow rather then fight it we can keep the economy running and give people more free time. The issue is wage-slavery not unemployment and peoples (understandable considering the short/midterm effects) unwillingness to move into a post-monetary economy.

 

[DodgeFB]

The problem is we don't need people to make it anymore.

And once again the proof we have too damn many people.

 

[David]

And once again the proof we have too damn many people.

Indeed, time to start colonizing, no? Better then you're option in any case.

 

[myp]

And once again the proof we have too damn many people.

Absolutely not. Using that argument, we had too many people during the industrial revolution, the agricultural revolution, and other breakthroughs in tech before that. Clear that wasn't true.