Friday

 

Luddites - Those Who Want To Protect Current Jobs By Opposing Technological Advance (and imports)

Mostly summarized from the Luddites at 200 website.
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Over history, technological progress has lifted up everyone over the long run.
It has increased productivity, labor demand, wages and living standards.
But people sometimes consider technological progress a threat because some current jobs will be lost.
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One example happened in England in the early 1800s.
Jobs of skilled fabrics knitters were being eliminated by the invention and spread of weaving machines that could produce textiles using fewer skilled workers at much lower cost.
Displaced workers violently revolted against the new technology.
They smashed the weaving machines used in wool and cotton mills and even set fire to the homes of mill owners.
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The Luddite uprising began in Nottingham in November 1811 and spread to Yorkshire and Lancashire in early 1812.
When the owners refused to remove their machines from their mills the Luddites attacked and smashed them with sledgehammers in night raids.
The name “Luddite” is said to derive from Ned Ludd, an apprentice weaver, likely fictional, who smashed a loom.
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The Luddites wanted the British government to save their jobs by restricting the spread of the new technology.
Instead, the Parliament acted against the Luddites.
Thousands of troops were sent to break up the Luddite attacks.
Parliament made destroying mill machines a crime punishable by execution.
In 1813 seventeen men were hanged for the offense and many were sent to prison in Australia.
Today, the term “Luddite” is often used to refer to those who oppose technological progress.
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Figure 1
Incomes have gone up in advanced countries, but in Third World counties income level largely remains at the pre-Industrial Revolution level.
Main causes of high levels of poverty in some countries include the small amount of advanced technology production systems including computers and machinery in use and low education levels.
For more details look up “Why are poor countries poor?” on any AI information service.
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Figures 2 and 3
Since 1948 the unemployment rate in the USA has hovered around 5%, despite advancing production technology and increasingly open international trade.
Advancing technology and low technology products manufacturing jobs moving overseas result in many benefits for Americans, including:
· lower prices of imported goods resulting in ability to purchase more goods
· creation of new and better jobs with resulting rise in personal incomes
· increasing income and wealth for foreigners, enabling them to buy more products from the USA and invest in businesses in the USA
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Those who oppose increased imports of low-cost goods can be thought of as a type of Luddite.
The effect and result of low-cost imports are the same as with improved technology: prices are reduced and product quantity and quality is increased.
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Figure 4
U.S. manufacturing output continues to increase as manufacturing employment decreases.
A Ball State study showed most manufacturing jobs are lost due to advancing technology, not imports.
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A helpful short video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvY6vLFTnME
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ChatGPT:
A study conducted by Ball State University in 2015 revealed the vast majority of manufacturing job losses in the U.S. were caused by technological advancements rather than trade or imports.
According to the study from Ball State’s Center for Business and Economic Research, 88% of the 5.6 million manufacturing jobs lost between 2000 and 2010 were attributed to productivity improvements, mainly due to automation and other technological innovations.
Only 12% of the job losses were linked to global trade, including the impact of imports.
The study highlighted how automation, robotics, and improvements in production processes increased manufacturing output while reducing the need for human labor.
This trend contributed significantly to the reshaping of the manufacturing sector, which saw fewer jobs but a rise in overall productivity.
This finding counters the narrative trade policies or imports are the main causes of job displacement in the manufacturing sector.
Instead, it underscores the growing role of technology in transforming the industry.
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