Robots To Replace Workers !

jolepp · 05-22-2012, 03:24 AM

I think the point of 'Modest proposal' above is that it could be condensed into "Let's re-introduce slavery.".

Clavius · 05-22-2012, 03:48 AM

Originally posted by wildman

Isn't that, in reality, exactly how a so called "free labor market" is intended to work? The worker's labor becomes a commodity like pork bellies or a bushel of wheat.

No, the "free labor market" does include payment for the workers. Read the quote more closely, they're supposed to give up their wages.

So, they're given work, food and a roof, but only if prior carefull inspection concludes that they're able to work. That's slavery.

Nesster · 05-22-2012, 06:04 AM

... but satirically: at what point does business stop wanting to drive down labor costs and salaries?

jolepp · 05-22-2012, 07:23 AM

Originally posted by Nesster

... but satirically: at what point does business stop wanting to drive down labor costs and salaries?

I would guess it would be where there would be a loss to them; hence the limit would be where the resulting malnutrition, lack of shelter etc. would affect productivity negatively.

Of course, being hungry (or suffering in general) is a great incentive, so this would need careful balancing to maximize profit. It would probably be optimal to tune the system so that the most inefficient workers would gradually starve to death, this would provide plenty of incentive and automatically eliminate those who are or have become useless due to sickness, old age, bad attitude or whatever reason. The optimal balance would depend on how easily a worker can be replaced with a new one though; if this is easy then the productivity threshold must be higher and the starvation interval shorter (= degree of malnutrition more severe) for best results. It would be crucial to always starve some, even those that are hard to replace, to keep the morale up though.

Nesster · 05-22-2012, 07:39 AM

Interesting... however, taking the global view, not only can jobs be moved to low-wage countries, we can also outsource our birth rates. For example in the USA we can ignore education for most of the country, concentrate only on the required 'management/sales/financial' positions, and import any needed hard-skill people (scientists, engineers, software professionals)... By providing a variety of government programs, the general low-skill population in the USA does function as something like a petri dish: a substrate on which government funded businesses can operate, and a population on which to try various medications and environmental hazards.

And we can't forget: armed forces needs young able bodies. The Ryan budget understands this well: by making the army the only viable career choice, the USA continues to provide much needed contracts to businesses and room/board to young people otherwise on welfare.

jolepp · 05-22-2012, 08:55 AM

Substantial savings could be realized by outsourcing the army to low-wage countries as well though. I'm sure the Chinese or the Mexicans would be glad to oblige at a reasonable price, and what is more, the capital currently tied up in hardware could be freed by selling it to them as part of a package deal.

05-22-2012, 03:48 AM	#17
Clavius Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: De Klundert Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,150	Originally posted by wildman Isn't that, in reality, exactly how a so called "free labor market" is intended to work? The worker's labor becomes a commodity like pork bellies or a bushel of wheat. No, the "free labor market" does include payment for the workers. Read the quote more closely, they're supposed to give up their wages. So, they're given work, food and a roof, but only if prior carefull inspection concludes that they're able to work. That's slavery. Last edited by Clavius; 05-22-2012 at 03:54 AM.

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05-22-2012, 03:24 AM	#16
jolepp Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Finland Photos: Albums Posts: 3,196	I think the point of 'Modest proposal' above is that it could be condensed into "Let's re-introduce slavery.".

05-22-2012, 06:04 AM	#18
Nesster Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NJ USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 13,072	... but satirically: at what point does business stop wanting to drive down labor costs and salaries?

05-22-2012, 07:23 AM	#19
jolepp Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Finland Photos: Albums Posts: 3,196	Originally posted by Nesster ... but satirically: at what point does business stop wanting to drive down labor costs and salaries? I would guess it would be where there would be a loss to them; hence the limit would be where the resulting malnutrition, lack of shelter etc. would affect productivity negatively. Of course, being hungry (or suffering in general) is a great incentive, so this would need careful balancing to maximize profit. It would probably be optimal to tune the system so that the most inefficient workers would gradually starve to death, this would provide plenty of incentive and automatically eliminate those who are or have become useless due to sickness, old age, bad attitude or whatever reason. The optimal balance would depend on how easily a worker can be replaced with a new one though; if this is easy then the productivity threshold must be higher and the starvation interval shorter (= degree of malnutrition more severe) for best results. It would be crucial to always starve some, even those that are hard to replace, to keep the morale up though.

05-22-2012, 07:39 AM	#20
Nesster Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NJ USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 13,072	Interesting... however, taking the global view, not only can jobs be moved to low-wage countries, we can also outsource our birth rates. For example in the USA we can ignore education for most of the country, concentrate only on the required 'management/sales/financial' positions, and import any needed hard-skill people (scientists, engineers, software professionals)... By providing a variety of government programs, the general low-skill population in the USA does function as something like a petri dish: a substrate on which government funded businesses can operate, and a population on which to try various medications and environmental hazards. And we can't forget: armed forces needs young able bodies. The Ryan budget understands this well: by making the army the only viable career choice, the USA continues to provide much needed contracts to businesses and room/board to young people otherwise on welfare.

05-22-2012, 08:55 AM	#21
jolepp Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Finland Photos: Albums Posts: 3,196	Substantial savings could be realized by outsourcing the army to low-wage countries as well though. I'm sure the Chinese or the Mexicans would be glad to oblige at a reasonable price, and what is more, the capital currently tied up in hardware could be freed by selling it to them as part of a package deal.