• @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    22 days ago

    I agree with you 100%. Capitalists need to complete the logic loop: we’ve built amazing tech, machinery and processes to get incredible productivity gains and production of goods with less labor. So we should be able to get by with less labor, right?…

    • @FlowVoid
      link
      English
      2
      edit-2
      2 days ago

      So we should be able to get by with less labor, right?…

      Sure. Or everyone could get more stuff for the same amount of labor.

      Suppose your boss told you, “You’ve been doing a great job at work. We could give you 10% raise, or we could keep your paycheck the same and cut your hours by 10%.” I don’t know which you would choose, but most people would take the raise.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        16 hours ago

        Yes this is what I meant. So when we can “get more stuff for less labor” we should be fine with a lower population, right? We only need one farmer now per hectare, not 10. We only need ten workers to build a car now, not 100, and so on.

        • @FlowVoid
          link
          English
          1
          edit-2
          4 hours ago

          Technology is only one part of the equation. If a factory upgrades its machines but loses half its workforce, it could end up producing less than before.

          In Japan, technology improvements are not enough to make up for an aging population. So either workers put in even longer hours or the country has to make do with less stuff than before. And workers are approaching their limits.