Re:Tech Is Splitting the U.S. Work Force in Two
by CodeCube on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @10:44AM
(#19086302)
This gets even more "extreme" when we talk about digital artifacts ... once the initial labor of creating a piece of music, or film, or game, or program is expended, the cost of infinitely reproducing copies of those approaches zero in many cases.
Re:Tech Is Splitting the U.S. Work Force in Two
by ethbro on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @01:38PM
(#19088282)
Good point. Especially as we move towards digital distribution.
Film reels required manufacturing, assembly, installing, and operation, even if the content was already paid for.
Digital video? Revenue goes directly to the owner, minus some capital costs, but critically almost no labor cost.
In other words, a society where there is more labor available than we actually need to fulfill demand (caveat: in high-productivity industries).
To illustrate, take the article's example: the shift from an agricultural to industrial economy. Someone walks off a farm, they get employment in a factor. That factory worker can make 10-100 widgets / hr based on their labor.
Now look at the post-industrial economy we live in now. In software and heavily automated industries, the same single laborer can make 10-1,000,000 "copies" of their work product.
It seems fairly obvious there would be a breaking point at which productivity is so high that it disengages from driving demand. One worker can only buy so much, and his or her fellows can't buy anything because they're not employed.