In Death Sentence Don Watson writes:
"We citizens have intuition, natural scepticism and powers of analysis to go on, but we still rely on facts and in the end have to trust our leaders to tell us what is actually the case. Whether it's a lie, a half-truth, a weasel word, a banality, a buzz word or a cliche, if we are misled by it our rights are reduced in proportion. Words are bullets. They are also good for smothering, strangling and poisoning, and for hiding murderous intentions from our victims (and sometimes from yourself)."
An example? How about the loss of jobs that has been happening for the past two decades. First, it was the loss of jobs in manufacturing in the 1980s due to the effect of globalization in reducing tariff walls. Though the lost jobs were replaced by new part time jobs, one gained the impression that we were witnessing the begining of the end of the era of mass factory labour.
Now it is the loss of jobs in the services industry: in banking, insurance, and the wholesale and retail. The introduction of smart technologies into every aspect of the business operations is eliminating support personnel in the process. The decline in white-collar jobs is shadowing the decline in manufacturing jobs as companies and whole industries become connected in a global neural network. Hence the outsourcing of telecommunication and computing jobs to India.
These themes run through the American presidential election, as John Kerry talks in terms of the treason ('Benedict Arnold') of the corporate chiefs in outsourcing jobs to India and other low-wage markets. Others talk in terms of the trade threat posed by China.
The economists say that although technological gains and advances in productivity destroyed old jobs, they also create as many new ones. The argument is that though technological innovations throw some people out of work in the short term, the productivity gains allow firms to produce more goods and services at cheaper costs. This results in an increase in demand for the cheaper products and services, which will assure additional hiring down the line to meet expanded production runs.
Textiles or manufacturing go only to be replaced by information technology and biotech.
Is this happening? Are there new nascent industries forming that will mop up the surplus workers?
We seem to be living through a situation of both productivity increases and increasing unemployment. More workers seem to be let go from the workforce that there are new ones entering the workforce. The language of politicians disguises this situation and covers it up when they talk about economic growth creating jobs.
Posted by Gary Sauer-Thompson at March 4, 2004 10:30 PM | TrackBack