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Technology hurts the middle class (The "Lump of Labor" idea is…
Technology hurts the middle class
The United States has fewer jobs than it did before the Great Recession
The unemployment rate is stuck at levels not seen since the early 1990s
The proportion of adults who are working is four percentage points off its peak in 2000
Anxiety about technology replacing labor has a venerable history
In the early 18th century a group of English textile workers who called themselves "Luddites" staged a machine trashing rebellion
The Luddites had a point. Computerization/automation has caused a polarization of employment where job growth has concentrated in the highest and lowest paying jobs, while decreasing jobs in the middle
It's unlikely skilled workers benefit from the increase in technology in their field
As automated machines run by low-skilled cheap laborers became more cost efficient than hiring skilled workers, skilled workers were replaced by the cheaper alternative
The same principle of cheap automation replacing skilled workers has been shown to still be correct in the modern day in computing, causing jobs in the middle to decrease in growth
"Routine" tasks of laborers such as: organizing, storing, retrieving and manipulating information, and executing exact physical movements in production processes, are being replaced by cheaper machines controlled by computers
Computers excel at "routine" tasks such as: organizing, storing, retrieving and manipulating information, and executing exact physical movements in production processes
Computers have sharply decreased in price since the 1970's
Computerization has boosted the growth and demand in jobs that require "abstract"(high paying) tasks and "manual tasks"(low paying)
Computers are unable to replace the laborers that work in high-paying fields such as medicine, law, science, engineering, advertising, and design.
Computers are unable to complete "abstract" tasks that require problem-solving, intuition, persuasion and creativity.
Computers are unable to replace people in low-paying fields with tasks such as preparing a meal, driving a truck through city traffic or cleaning a hotel room
Computers are unable to complete "manual" tasks that require primarily innate abilities like dexterity, sightedness and language recognition, as well as modest training
Non-college educated workers face an uncertain future
Blue-collar production jobs and white-collar office jobs will be harder to find
Jobs that require interpersonal as well as technical skills, like teachers, nurses, and construction supervisors, will likely still be open
Middle-class jobs will not disappear entirely
Middle-class jobs that take advantage of human flexibility will not easily be replaced by computers/robots
Some middle-class jobs involve both technical, and interpersonal skills
Attempting to replace jobs that require some interpersonal communication results in a drop in quality
Computers cannot communicate with people anywhere near as effectively as other people can
The "Lump of Labor" idea is false
The "Lump of Labor" idea is that an increase in labor productivity reduces employment because there is only so much work to be done
From 1900 to 2000, agriculture dropped from being 41% of the labor force in the United States to just 2%
The "Green Revolution" transformed crop yields
The employment-to-population ratio rose dramatically over the 20th century as women moved from home to market
Labor-saving technological advancements only reduce employment in the short term, and increase labor demands as products flood the market