SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Read this interesting essay written by DEREK THOMPSON
For centuries, experts have predicted that machines would make workers obsolete. That moment may finally be arriving. Could that be a good thing ?
The end of work is still just a futuristic concept for most of the United States, but it is something like a moment in history for Youngstown, Ohio, one its residents can cite with precision: September 19, 1977.
For much of the 20th century, Youngstown's steel mills delivered such great prosperity that the city was a model of the American dream, boasting a median income and a home ownership rate that were among the nation's highest. But as manufacturing shifted abroad after World War II, Youngstown steel suffered, and on that gray September afternoon in 1977, Youngstown Sheet and Tube announced the shuttering of its Campbell Works mill. Within five years, the city lost 50,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in manufacturing wages. The effect was so severe that a term was coined to describe the fallout: regional depression.
Youngstown was transformed not only by an economic disruption but also by a psychological and cultural breakdown. Depression, spousal abuse, and suicide all became much more prevalent; the caseload of the area's mental-health center tripled within a decade. The city built four prisons in the mid-1990s—a rare growth industry. One of the few downtown construction projects of that period was a museum dedicated to the defunct steel industry.
The future will tell us whether or not this pans out as he envisions. What does SN think will happen ?
Original Submission
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday June 25 2015, @08:02PM
> No. Because it's not? Romans after the Punic Wars really thought slave labor was the best mode of production available. They were wrong.
How were they wrong? For brainless jobs, you can't beat free labor, as long as you have enough whips.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Thursday June 25 2015, @08:22PM
I was Spartacus!!!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2015, @09:20PM
Because one good scientist is worth a billion slave workers. No amount of slaves will replace modern farming and transportation techniques. Slaves are more useful in universities than pushing boulders.
(Score: 2) by dry on Friday June 26 2015, @01:33AM
Unless you have a throwaway attitude about the slaves (like when you capture them in war), they're more expensive then just paying someone slightly less then it takes to survive. You have to house them, feed them, train them, look after them when sick. Compare to just paying someone, especially if you can loan them money (they're falling behind on the wages they're paid) so it's harder to quit, or better pay them with something that is generally worthless such as script unless they use it to purchase stuff from the employer.
With the right type of propaganda, you also get workers lining up to be abused instead of having slaves trying to escape.