In a message dated 2/2/2010 9:31:43 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, jann...@gmail.com writes:
Lastly, what strikes me about WL's posts is that they repeat the same error that I'm going out on a limb in calling a type of 'psychologism'. As if somehow this insight about financialization and siliconchipping will lead to some sort of collective awareness and transformation. It might feel nicer than cynicism and despair but honestly it makes me feel more cynical and despairing. CJ Reply Here is a sample of Brain's from part 3 of Robotics Nation. >> At least 50 percent of the people working in the American job market today are working in people-powered industries like fast-food restaurants (McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, etc.), retail stores (Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target, Toys "R" Us, etc.), delivery companies (the post office, Fedex, UPS, etc.), construction, airlines, amusement parks, hotels and motels, warehousing and so on. All of these jobs are prime targets for robotic replacement. In 2003 we are seeing the deployment of automated checkout lines in stores all across the U.S. This is the leading edge of the robotic revolution in retail. By 2015 we will start to see voice-recognizing robots helping customers in these stores, inventory-shelving robots putting the products out, cleaning robots sweeping the floors and the parking lots, cart robots bringing the shopping carts back into the store.... Robots will be moving in to make the completely automated retail store a reality in a 2020 time frame. [See Evidence for details.] << Brain ends his article on this note: >> "Robots have the potential to do so much good for the world, because they will finally free people from the requirement of human labor. The only way for all of us to experience these benefits, however, is to create an economic system that maximizes freedom and choice for everyone in the economy. The proposal presented in this article shows that there are ways to enhance the capitalistic system and in the process make life better for everyone. My hope is that we begin discussing and then implementing systems that will let our society and our economy get the most benefit from the new robotic nation. We should use robots to give every citizen true economic freedom for the first time in human history. << The quality of McDonald's food was not the subject of "Robotic Nation." My read of this article was that displacement of labor driven by falling profit margins and more efficient form of laboring increases the demand for implementing more advanced robotics in the production process. WL. _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
