Difference between revisions of "Jobsolescence"
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("techological unemployment"; filed links) |
(rewriting and reorganizing. got rid of the "usage" section.) |
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==Definition== | ==Definition== | ||
| − | [[jobsolescence]] ''(n.)'' | + | [[jobsolescence]] ''(n.)'' is the phenomenon whereby increasing [[automation]] enables production capacity to be maintained with a shrinking quantity of workers, resulting in shrinking [[employment]], resulting in reduced [[wealth distribution]] and therefore increased [[economic disparity]]. |
Note that [[off-shoring]] of jobs is also the result of automation, as it could not be done effectively without modern telecommunication. | Note that [[off-shoring]] of jobs is also the result of automation, as it could not be done effectively without modern telecommunication. | ||
| − | == | + | ==Conclusions== |
| − | + | Jobsolescence will continue to be a growing problem as long as we depend on the concept of [[employment]] as a means of allocating the consumption of basic goods and services. | |
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| − | + | Society must be significantly restructured so that [[employment]] is no longer required in order to survive at a reasonable level. (The possible results of successful reform along these lines are generally referred to as a [[post-employment economy]] and [[post-scarcity economics]].) | |
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==Mechanisms== | ==Mechanisms== | ||
The following mechanisms seem to be in operation. | The following mechanisms seem to be in operation. | ||
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#* There are many tasks which are not being done because although their [[public benefit]] is certainly great enough to make them worth doing, their [[private benefit]] is insufficient to convert the task into employment. | #* There are many tasks which are not being done because although their [[public benefit]] is certainly great enough to make them worth doing, their [[private benefit]] is insufficient to convert the task into employment. | ||
#* When people are employed at a decent salary and reasonable hours, this leaves many of them with spare resources and energy to devote to work of high public benefit and low private benefit. When more and more people are employed at inadequate salaries or excessive hours (e.g. via multiple jobs or working unpaid overtime under threat of being fired), they will increasingly lack the resources or time to engage in such projects. | #* When people are employed at a decent salary and reasonable hours, this leaves many of them with spare resources and energy to devote to work of high public benefit and low private benefit. When more and more people are employed at inadequate salaries or excessive hours (e.g. via multiple jobs or working unpaid overtime under threat of being fired), they will increasingly lack the resources or time to engage in such projects. | ||
| − | == | + | ==Effects== |
| − | + | This trend has a lot of immediate negative effects: | |
| + | * [[technological unemployment]]: the replacement of human jobs by automation, thus reducing the [[job supply]] | ||
| + | * [[wealth concentration]] as owners of increasingly automated production facilities receive an increasing share of gross revenues due to reduced production costs. This further leads to: | ||
| + | ** [[market distortion]], undermining the functioning of [[free market]]s. | ||
| + | ** [[regulatory capture]], undermining the functioning of a free society. | ||
| + | * [[economic disparity]], due to the increased flow of wealth away from (increasingly unemployed) workers and toward owners | ||
| + | ===Potential Benefits=== | ||
| + | Overall, though, automation ''should'' be a net benefit, since more work is being done with less labor. | ||
| − | + | It now takes a quite small percentage of society -- a relatively small number of people -- to produce basic goods and services that all of us need in order to survive at a reasonable level of contentment and freedom. It should therefore be economically possible to distribute a [[citizen dividend]] based on basic productivity, possibly even one that would constitute a [[living income]]. | |
| − | This | + | This is especially true if we consider how many of our "wants" represent [[socially useless production]], and that public desire for them has been deliberately engineered in order to increase demand for production. |
| − | == | + | Any reduction in labor would also reduce the amount of consumables we each ''need'' in order to live happily (e.g. commuting expenses) while also improving the quality of life on average, thus increasing the human carrying-capacity of our ecosystem (hopefully to the point where we can level off population growth before a crisis occurs). |
| − | + | ==Reform== | |
| − | + | It seems clear that systemic change is needed; we cannot continue to depend on an ever-decreasing [[job supply]] as a primary means of allocating consumption of essential goods and services (primarily: food, clothing, shelter, medical care). | |
| − | + | ===Areas=== | |
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| − | ==Areas | ||
* Much of the wealth that is now being imprisoned is not being used by those who hold it. That excess wealth would do far more good if redistributed. | * Much of the wealth that is now being imprisoned is not being used by those who hold it. That excess wealth would do far more good if redistributed. | ||
* Many tasks that people do for "employment" are [[socially useless production]] -- i.e. essentially make-work or (worse) are part of the process of concentrating wealth in the hands of a few. Eliminating these jobs would be of general benefit, as doing so would reduce the overall usage of consumables without reducing the overall quality of life. | * Many tasks that people do for "employment" are [[socially useless production]] -- i.e. essentially make-work or (worse) are part of the process of concentrating wealth in the hands of a few. Eliminating these jobs would be of general benefit, as doing so would reduce the overall usage of consumables without reducing the overall quality of life. | ||
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* Require businesses to hire a certain number of employees, at a living wage, for every million dollars of revenue or profit. This number would be calculated based on the total adult population multiplied by that business's share of the "economic pie", guaranteeing that essentially all of the population would be employed. (In practicality, businesses would probably tell many of their employees to just stay home.) | * Require businesses to hire a certain number of employees, at a living wage, for every million dollars of revenue or profit. This number would be calculated based on the total adult population multiplied by that business's share of the "economic pie", guaranteeing that essentially all of the population would be employed. (In practicality, businesses would probably tell many of their employees to just stay home.) | ||
* Increase taxes on the most profitable businesses to the point where the government could afford to provide a [[guaranteed income]] to everyone. | * Increase taxes on the most profitable businesses to the point where the government could afford to provide a [[guaranteed income]] to everyone. | ||
| + | * Require (partial or full) public ownership of the most profitable businesses so that all citizens receive dividends. | ||
==Caveats== | ==Caveats== | ||
| − | There remain some tasks that need doing -- we can't ''all'' just stop working. | + | There remain some tasks that need doing -- we can't ''all'' just stop working. Right now, however, the system is ''preventing'' much important work from being done. |
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==Related== | ==Related== | ||
* [[Jobsolescence]] is one of the primary causes of increasing [[economic disparity]]. | * [[Jobsolescence]] is one of the primary causes of increasing [[economic disparity]]. | ||