Automation is going to hit the jobs market in many unexpected ways. Interestingly its going to take as big a bite out of white collar jobs as blue collar ones. The majority of trading, accounting, and other number related jobs could disappear along with the truckers, manufacturers and fast food jobs.
We really are entering a new era when it comes to employment and the definition of the 'means of production'. Software and robotics is reaching into uncharted territory.
Should be very interesting in the next decade or two to see if society reacts with the adage to just pull yourself up by your bootstraps or starts to seriously look at a UBI.
Technology has been destroying jobs for nearly all of human history and yet here we are with full employment. Those that assert that "this time it's different!" have a steep hill to climb when it comes to evidence.
Full employment simply means people have a job, not that it meets their minimum income requirements. This article is a good example, its stating that they will be doing the same work but just getting less pay for it. These people are at the top of the food chain, but the same thing happens to people at the other end.
It's taking operational expenses (which cannot be "owned" as a means of production) and converting them into capital expenses (which can be). The more of the work that can be done by things that are "owned," the more the gains accrue to the ownership class.
In previous eras, the ownership class was known as royalty (later as "landed gentry") and they effectively or literally owned the people working underneath them. This removes the ethical problems of owning people while retaining the benefits.
When it hits society like the opiate crisis has (white, young to middle-aged people) suddenly -- the problem will be deemed legitimate enough to solve.
We really are entering a new era when it comes to employment and the definition of the 'means of production'. Software and robotics is reaching into uncharted territory.
Should be very interesting in the next decade or two to see if society reacts with the adage to just pull yourself up by your bootstraps or starts to seriously look at a UBI.