[extropy-chat] 'Unskilled jobs to go in 10 years'

[Hal Finney]

Max M (not Max More) writes:
> I am all for people loosing their jobs if there is a smarter way to do 
> the same thing, or they are lazy/inefficient. But outsourcing is based 
> on cheap labor, and that results in no net gain.

This reminds me of a story related at http://ingrimayne.saintjoe.edu/econ/International/InternTrade.html :

: A fable by James Ingram also illustrates that free international trade
: is production efficient. In his book, International Economic Problems
: (John Wiley, 1970), he tells of a mysterious entrepreneur, Mr. X., who
: announces to the world that he has found several amazing discoveries that
: allow him to produce cheap televisions, automobiles, cameras, and other
: goods. He sets up a plant on a large tract of land along the coast of
: North Carolina; hires 5000 employees who are sworn to secrecy; and begins
: buying grain, coal, and machinery. As the trains of grain and coal roll
: into his factory, other trains full of televisions and automobiles roll
: out of his factory into showrooms across the country. Mr. X is hailed
: as another Edison or Bell, and his company becomes a favorite with Wall
: Street investors.
: 
: Consumers love Mr. X because his products are so much cheaper than what
: they could buy before. Of course, his competitors dislike him, but their
: attempts to get laws restricting his operations get nowhere. The Houses
: of Congress ring with speeches saying that some economic adjustment is
: an inevitable by-product of technological progress.
: 
: Then, one day a small boy trying out his new skin-diving gear accidentally
: penetrates Mr. X's security shield and learns Mr. X's secret. Nothing
: is produced at the factory. It is all a front for a giant import-export
: business. Mr. X transforms grain and coal into autos and televisions
: by trade. His secret revealed, Mr. X is reviled and his factory shut
: down. Members of Congress proclaim that the American standard of living
: has had a narrow escape from the threat of cheap foreign labor and urge
: more money for research in industrial technology.

When I first heard this story, I was skeptical that anyone would welcome
Mr. X's factory, with all of its economic dislocations, as long as
they thought it was due to automation; but change their mind when they
found out that it was accomplished by trade.  But it sounds like you,
Max, would have exactly this response.  Why is it acceptable for your
neighbor to lose his job if it is done better by a machine, which takes
no pleasure in its accomplishment; but unacceptable if the job is taken
by a poor person who is greatly benefited as a result?

Hal