Quote (Skinned @ Jan 23 2020 09:25am)
Labor theory if value would say that diamonds would be worth less if robots mines them easier because the amount of labor needed to locate, extract, and refine has been reduced, and since the source of value has been reduced (due to them simply becoming easier to get) the end product is worth less. Things like rarity and scarcity are accounted for in the amount of labor it takes to find, extract, use, etc.
This is sound theory and describes reality well.
value in diamonds is inflated in 2 ways. 1.) advances in technology have raised the clarity and karats of available diamonds to make objectively better diamonds available to more people. this offsets the savings on labor to speculate and mine them. 2.) false scarcity, many millions are locked away. and many "jewelry quality" diamonds from the 1950s are now instead used for industrial use and/or en masse in large jewelry pieces.
technology has increased the uses for diamonds beyond jewelry, and there's skulduggery at play.
in the coming future wages will continue to be paid as a way to retain consumers, and avoid pr nightmares from mass layoffs. not as an actual efficient means of production.
i just did a large factory revamping for a fortune 100 company. we purposely put in manual adjustments at the behest of the customer to avoid massive layoffs. but i could have instead designed it with automatic sensor driven adjustments. but then their plant floor workforce would go from 100 or so down to 10, and 10 new cnc operators at that. so almost a 100% layoff. they ordered the sensor upgrades spread out over the next 5 years, so they can slow bleed to work force. almost all fortune 500 companies are doing this, delayed release of employees. if this doesnt scare you it should, this turns marx's unified and stronger together workforce into shivering dependents asking "please sir, may i have some more?" like Oliver Twist.
ive been warning capitalists and marxists for years about the coming death of both labor and consumerism. no one listens. thats fine, ill just make bank off the public's ignorance while trying to do what i can to mitigate the issues in my off hours.
This post was edited by thesnipa on Jan 23 2020 10:19am