I have to say I’m still missing the means by which the surplus of goods and services is transferred to people who are no longer needed. To be sure, in the long run labor-saving devices have increased the surplus of available goods, but each generation of workers which has its skills obsoleted by machines seems to undergo a permanent drop in standard of living; even very early automation had massive deletorious social effects.
Minimaxing the standard of living does not automatically flow forth from technological process; at best, it takes careful planning.
I have to say I’m still missing the means by which the surplus of goods and services is transferred to people who are no longer needed. To be sure, in the long run labor-saving devices have increased the surplus of available goods, but each generation of workers which has its skills obsoleted by machines seems to undergo a permanent drop in standard of living; even very early automation had massive deletorious social effects.
Minimaxing the standard of living does not automatically flow forth from technological process; at best, it takes careful planning.
Permanent drop in standards of living sounds implausible. Maybe a permanent relative drop. What evidence do you have for this?