Tuesday, August 11, 2009

It Strikes Me Funny: We should go to war against the machines Pt 2

[Please read Pt 1 for some context]

Perhaps the city of London needs to take a step back in time.

I don’t think it would be considered backward, however, to allow men and women to do some jobs today that machines are now doing.

When we consider London’s rising unemployment figures (i.e. 10.9 per cent, the second-highest urban rate in the country) today should be the day we consider going to war against some of our machines.


["How many people does this machine replace?": photo link]



For example: In the areas in which we’re bleeding jobs (the auto industry, tourism, manufacturing, construction, transportation and warehousing) are there ways to reduce our reliance on machines for production, maintenance, delivery (help me here) and rely more on human muscle?

I admit, we built mighty machines in order to help with the cause of mass production, to keep up with high demand, to produce cost savings etc., but do some of those conditions apply today?

What is more important now?

Should we be thinking less about mass production, just in time delivery (in the auto sector, for one) and the employment of machines, and more about the employment of men and women?

What machines could we unplug or refuse to fuel in order to give someone a job?

(And, would the machine fight back?)

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