In the era of Donald Trump it has become commonplace to bemoan the disappearance of work and the fear seems widespread that robotics will replace virtually every kind of work. We won’t even drive ourselves anymore for Heaven’s sake! Machines will do it all.
Or will they? It is a common fallacy that there is a fixed amount of work to be done and if machines do more of it there will be ever less of it left over for humans to do.
But it is a fallacy no matter how hard some people believe it. The reason is that what creates jobs is human needs and desires and these are infinite. Moreover as we become wealthier (which automation allows us to do with no extra effort on the part of humans), we begin to think about satisfying those wants and desires that we had to set aside when we were too poor to afford them. There is a reason why it is wealthy societies, not poor ones, that go to the moon and the stars….
Read more in what has been my most commented-on Globe column of 2017. OK, it was also my only one in 2017 (published 6th January) so far anyway. Just checking to see if you were reading closely!
