←back to thread

689 points taubek | 4 comments | | HN request time: 0.001s | source
Show context
JSR_FDED ◴[] No.43631980[source]
It’s like people excited about the new datacenter being built in their town, think of all the jobs that will bring they cry. Nobody realizes it takes 6 people to run a datacenter.

Bringing “manufacturing back to the US” is a fool’s errand. The future of manufacturing is automation, not jobs.

replies(14): >>43632283 #>>43632300 #>>43632333 #>>43632356 #>>43632390 #>>43632872 #>>43632937 #>>43633742 #>>43634455 #>>43634730 #>>43635013 #>>43636738 #>>43636871 #>>43645775 #
jacknews ◴[] No.43632390[source]
i don't understand the obsession with jobs anyway

people don't want a job, they want money and purpose

most jobs barely deliver either

replies(5): >>43632411 #>>43632757 #>>43632969 #>>43633279 #>>43643139 #
palmotea ◴[] No.43633279[source]
> i don't understand the obsession with jobs anyway

> people don't want a job, they want money and purpose

And society will not give them any of that without a job.

There, now you should understand "the obsession with jobs."

> most jobs barely deliver either

And no job delivers even less.

replies(2): >>43634046 #>>43634428 #
1. jacknews ◴[] No.43634428[source]
then we should change society

that is my point

replies(2): >>43637315 #>>43637611 #
2. palmotea ◴[] No.43637315[source]
> then we should change society

> that is my point

You're letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. Realistically, you're not going to change society to give people "money and purpose" without a job. Fixating on an unrealistic goal takes focus away from more realistic ones.

I mean, for a least a century people have been proposing using productivity improvements to increase leisure time and distribute goods more equally. And in that time work demands have increased (e.g. going from one full-time worker in a typical household to two).

replies(1): >>43638821 #
3. iteratethis ◴[] No.43637611[source]
Appreciate the fresh thinking.

Until the 90s, that's the trajectory we were on. For life to constantly get better whilst human servitude is lessened over time.

We should be getting ever shorter work weeks and earlier retirement ages. It's the entire point of technology.

4. int_19h ◴[] No.43638821[source]
Up until 1970s or so, productivity gains translated to increases in worker pay, so it certainly doesn't have to be like it is now.