{"id":242084,"date":"2021-05-04T22:48:22","date_gmt":"2021-05-04T19:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-automation-could-turn-capitalism-into-socialism\/"},"modified":"2021-05-04T22:48:22","modified_gmt":"2021-05-04T19:48:22","slug":"how-automation-could-turn-capitalism-into-socialism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-automation-could-turn-capitalism-into-socialism\/","title":{"rendered":"#How automation could turn capitalism into socialism"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3ca6aae3a1c\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3ca6aae3a1c\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-automation-could-turn-capitalism-into-socialism\/#Companies_will_embrace_automation\" >Companies will embrace automation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-automation-could-turn-capitalism-into-socialism\/#But_what_about_customer_service\" >But what about customer service?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-automation-could-turn-capitalism-into-socialism\/#This_isnt_good_for_capitalism\" >This isn\u2019t good for capitalism<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-automation-could-turn-capitalism-into-socialism\/#The_present_is_prescient\" >The present is prescient<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-automation-could-turn-capitalism-into-socialism\/#Meet_the_new_boss_corporate-friendly_socialism\" >Meet the new boss: corporate-friendly socialism<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#How automation could turn capitalism into <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a>ism<\/strong>&#8221;<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image?fit=796%2C417&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2021%2F05%2Ftombstone.jpg&amp;signature=f485def9383d0dafafbdfd2463e1704e\" \/><\/p>\n<div>There can be no doubt that automation is the future of work. There\u2019s plenty of debate as to what extent AI will displace workers in the near and far future, but the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> consensus is that blue collar work is an endangered species. It\u2019s only a matter of time before robots can perform skilled human labor better and cheaper than we can. What h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ens then?<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Companies_will_embrace_automation\"><\/span>Companies will embrace automation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The past is prescient here. In the early 1900s the onset of US factories provided an employment boom for blue collar workers. As the decades wore on, US prosperity became the envy of the world. By the mid-1950s, the American dream had been born.<\/p>\n<p>A family of four could thrive on the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/report-on-business\/rob-commentary\/the-sad-demise-of-the-one-income-family\/article4199558\/\">average median blue collar salary<\/a>. Compensation at the time, even at the minimum wage, allowed most workers to purchase a home, a car, and to save up for retirement.<\/p>\n<p>By the end of the 1970s, however, that dream was dead for millions. Cities that had spent decades experiencing total economic prosperity <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2015\/07\/world-without-work\/395294\/\">suddenly became wastelands<\/a> full of impoverished, unemployed people as domestic factories shuttered.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, astonishingly, the US economy itself was steadily rising. This phenomenon was referred to as \u201cregional depressions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The country was doing fine, and US citizens were benefiting. The federal minimum wage nearly doubled between 1964 and 1977 and, at the time, it appeared as though US prosperity would be every citizen\u2019s birthright.<\/p>\n<p>And then companies figured out they could outsource production and manufacturing to countries where workers had no wage protections. Instead of paying a single US factory worker a living wage, companies could afford to pay dozens of overseas workers for the same amount.<\/p>\n<p>Fast forward to 2021 and it\u2019s clear: when automation technologies become robust enough to replace blue collar workers, they\u00a0will. This is the logical\u00a0evolution of labor outsourcing.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"But_what_about_customer_service\"><\/span><span>But what about customer service?<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span>The first argument experts tend to throw out when the idea of ubiquitous automation comes up is that good, old-fashioned human customer service will never go out of style.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>To those experts, I ask: what percentage of US citizens pump their own gas, pay their bills online, or shop on Amazon? Customer service with a real human face isn\u2019t all it\u2019s cracked up to be.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The myth that only certain jobs are at risk is becoming harder to peddle each year. AI <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> is poised to replace humans in almost every blue collar domain within a matter of decades. White collar domains aren\u2019t necessarily safe either, but the people who run the companies deploying the automation are ultimately the deciding factor in which workers are displaced, not the technology itself. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>You won\u2019t see many unskilled managers replacing themselves with AI for the same reason factory CEOs didn\u2019t outsource their leadership positions along with all their floor workers\u2019 jobs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"This_isnt_good_for_capitalism\"><\/span><span>This isn\u2019t good for capitalism<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span>In the 1970s, when factory workers were displaced to the degree that entire cities were ravaged by poverty and unemployment, the US economy managed to keep on trucking because corporate America figured out a way to squeeze money out of the unemployed: credit. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>By 1989 <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.credit.com\/blog\/when-did-credit-scores-start-152354\/#:~:text=The%20concept%20of%20credit%20scores,the%20character%20of%20the%20consumer.\">the US credit scoring system<\/a> had been established and consumers who\u2019d traditionally supported themselves with full time work were able to spend money they didn\u2019t have.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Worse, people who didn\u2019t participate in the credit system \u2013 that is, those who didn\u2019t take out loans or finance products or services \u2013 were given poor credit scores. This often meant they weren\u2019t able to obtain housing or purchase a vehicle and, thus, made it even more difficult to secure employment. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Luckily for the US economy, plenty of people accepted the banking system\u2019s faux bailouts. Displaced workers invested their borrowed money in the economy to sustain themselves and their families while they searched for work, relocated, or attended college in order to re-enter the jobs market. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_present_is_prescient\"><\/span>The present is prescient<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span>In 2021 we have the benefit of viewing the future through the lens of the past, but we can also take a look at what\u2019s happening <em>right now<\/em> to see where things are going. COVID-19 has been a sort of dry-run for the automation economy. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>We\u2019re not currently seeing the benefits of having robots do all of our work, but we do live in an economy where millions of workers were displaced in a very short period of time. As a response, the US sent thousands of dollars to most citizens in the form of three separate stimulus payments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Research shows that people <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pgpf.org\/blog\/2020\/10\/how-did-americans-spend-their-stimulus-checks-and-how-did-it-affect-the-economy\">put that money back into the economy<\/a> immediately. They paid bills, purchased services, and bought goods. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But businesses haven\u2019t self-regulated. Hundreds of corporations accepted bailout money from the government while simultaneously laying workers off, freezing promotions, and halting all hiring. Many businesses, especially those in the technology sector, actually <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/billionaires-net-worth-increases-coronavirus-pandemic-2020-7?r=MX&amp;IR=T\">increased profits during the pandemic<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This demonstrates that capitalism\u00a0<\/span><i>can <\/i><span>thrive even when employment and economic confidence are disrupted. But what happens when there isn\u2019t a bailout, loan, or stimulus to allow consumers to continue spending? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If US companies shift to automation with the same abrupt callousness as their predecessors chose to outsource American labor, the banks won\u2019t be able to save the economy by loaning us all money like they did in the 1970s. The average American already carries <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/select\/average-american-debt-by-age\/#:~:text=While%20the%20average%20American%20has,loans%2C%20mortgages%20and%20student%20debt.\">about $90K in debt<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And that just leaves the government. Whether you\u2019re for or against a universal basic income, if businesses outsource human labor again, many of us will need one just to survive.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Meet_the_new_boss_corporate-friendly_socialism\"><\/span>Meet the new boss: corporate-friendly socialism<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span>That\u2019s why the future of capitalism is socialism. It\u2019s the government taxing businesses based on the amount of worker displacement their automation solutions cause, and then using that money to create a universal basic income for all citizens. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In such a case a UBI wouldn\u2019t save people from working. If your biggest gripe with UBI is <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/s?k=9781509522996&amp;i=stripbooks&amp;linkCode=qs\">a misguided belief<\/a> that people won\u2019t want to work if they get \u201cfree\u201d money, perhaps you\u2019ll be more sensitive to the pitiful plight of big businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span> Forcing companies to employ humans, when it could be much cheaper to automate, would hurt profits for billionaires and trillion-dollar corporations. Human labor is bad for profits.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>When given the opportunity to slash costs and maximize profits using automation, businesses are much more likely to support a paradigm where the government gives consumers money to spend on their products than one where they\u2019re forced to eschew cheap labor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/how-automation-could-turn-capitalism-into-socialism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#How automation could turn capitalism into socialism&#8221; There can be no doubt that automation is the future of work. There\u2019s plenty of debate as to what extent AI will displace workers in the near and far future, but the general consensus is that blue collar work is an endangered species. It\u2019s only a matter of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":242085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/neural?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/05\/tombstone.jpg&signature=40600a5673cb8e56ea0959ecbd53bce8","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-242084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}