Re: The robot economy (AKA how robots will steal your jobs)
From: smithaa02 (asdf_at_asdf.net)
Date: 07/27/04
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Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 21:31:39 -0500
Mark Monson <m_monson@ztech.com> wrote in message
news:SsiNc.45164$Yw3.19115@bignews3.bellsouth.net...
>
> "smithaa02" <asdf@asdf.net> wrote in message
news:4105aff4_3@newspeer2.tds.net...
> > Imagine as a thought experiement that there exist robots that are
identical
> > to humans in every way except they turn over any income to their owners.
> >
> > Now in addition to these robots there are humans and limited land. The
> > humans are subdivided into land owners and non-landowners.
> >
> > The humans break down into your classic equilibrium economy... The
worker
> > humans do what they do best in working the land, and the landowning
humans
> > do max out their comparitive advantige of owning the land and collecting
> > what the working humans make.
> >
> > Say with 5 workers, the farmer is unhappy. He is fat, but he wishes to
be
> > fatter, so he hatches a plan... He reasons that if he can eat what the
> > workers eat, then he can achieve his dream.
> >
> > He faces a dillema... If he eats the food intended for the workers,
then
> > the workers may go on strike (to increase their bargainning power) to
which
> > he the landowner would go hungry. To prevent this he devises a plan to
> > create robots. He will pay 1 worker slightly more to make a batch of
robots
> > instead of making food.
> >
> > This one worker then creates 5 new robots at the end of the harvesting
> > season for the landowner. The landowner then has the robots go compete
with
> > the workers at the annual land auction to determine how much rent each
> > worker will have to pay to use the land.
> >
> > The robots and the humans thus compete for the lowest land rent. This
year
> > bolds ill for the human workers, for where they had last worked X hours
for
> > yearly food, the robots will now accept that wage as well, thus
displacing
> > the human workers. The humans get desparate (for they need food to
eat), so
> > they outcompete the robots to offer to work 2X hours for the same amount
of
> > food.
> >
> > The landowner has a touch of pity, so he offer a couple of lucky saps
food
> > for a mere 1.5X labor to make some more robots!
> >
> > The same happens next year, and the year after...
> >
> > Each time increasing the misery of workers while increasingly fattening
the
> > productive means owners.
> >
> > Here the workers are producing the rope to hang themselves. Another way
of
> > putting this is that the workers through their generation of non-worker
> > owned capital are creating overpopulation of sorts. Given a finite
amount
> > of base means of production that is privately controlled, an increase in
> > worker population will not hurt the means of production owner, but will
hurt
> > the property-less workers. More entities competing for the same limited
> > production capabilities, will surely drive down the price of labor. Now
it
> > can be seen that these robots are merely an attempt by the landowner to
> > induce artifical overpopulation (the owner's consumption is the source
of
> > overpopulated demand). The owners want to create overpopulation because
it
> > drives down the bargainning power of competing labor interest, to give
the
> > owner more wealth.
> >
> > Hence capital throughout history has not been the tool increase the
ratio of
> > fruit of labor, but to do the opposite and steal from the laborers to
give
> > to the capitalists.
>
> Your conclusion does not follow from your premises. You correctly grasp
that the
> landowner has superior bargaining power over workers, but then you lump
land in with
> capital at the end.
But both capital and land are means of production.
> Land ownership is the primary monopoly. Workers who enjoy
> equal access to land can produce capital ( tools) of their own.
But only by paying monopoly land rent.
> Incidentally, Mark Twain wrote a piece similar to yours that shows how
land monopoly
> enslaves labor:...
Good stuff. By chance could you provide a source showing that it was indeed
Mark Twain who wrote that? (just curious if he actually said all that)
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