Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!mgnetp!ihnp4!zehntel!dual!amd!decwrl!decvax!cca!ima!ism780!judy
From: judy@ism780.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.philosophy
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Drifting Sideways - (nf)
Message-ID: <332@ism780.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 27-Jul-84 00:19:49 EDT
Article-I.D.: ism780.332
Posted: Fri Jul 27 00:19:49 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 27-Jul-84 04:03:54 EDT
Lines: 33

#R:flairvax:-65300:ism780:20200014:000:1825
ism780!judy    Jul 18 16:34:00 1984

> Many people view the growth of the service sector to be unbounded and
> a solution to industrial and agricultural sector unemployment.  This
> does not hold up under closer scrutiny.  As one economist put it, you
> cannot have a nation of people selling hamburgers to one another.  The
> service system requires net input.  The input must come from some form
> of real production.

Isn't the stability of the economy based on a balance between inports and
exports more than in the actual GNP?  If we make 500,000 cars but don't
export any of them, is our economy better off than if we made only 100,000?
(Not if we imported the steel).  Really, there cannot be an infinite demand
for anything, including robots.  But, as long as some people are able to
make money making robots (and selling them overseas, of course) then there
will be a demand for service industries.  And the more people in those
industries the more creative they will be (more than just selling hamburgers
to one another).

Actually, the only truely productive people in society are the farmers.  They
provide the one thing none of us can get along without.  Then we can put
carpenters and tailors in because we need clothing and shelter.  You might
even include doctors.  But beyond that, the rest of our industry is based on
luxury items.  And I feel that is just as shaky as service industries.  After
all we can't have a nation of people selling each other refrigerators either.
(Or better yet, how about if we all became insurance salesmen).

Robotics will not remove diversification from our society.  It will relieve
humans from inhuman jobs.  It will cause some economic upheavals.  But it
does not put everyone on the street.  (In fact, it will probably displace
more third world slave laborers than anyone else if robots become cheap
enough).