The Unpaid Work Force

Remember we wrote of the difference between the Moral Code and the Moral Law?  In the New Testament we read:  “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” which sprang to mind whilst reading about the UK government Mandatory Work Activity (MWA) scheme. Personally, the truth of that claim is clearer to me when the above is paraphrased thus: 

“The love of, that is, the preference for money, in terms of personal advancement, above all other considerations, is the root of all kinds of evil.”

Governments will do whatever they can to prop up the present financial system by which we are forced to live under.  A good example is the following.  According to The Independent.uk, 30 July 2016:

“The Mandatory Work Activity required 120,000 people to work a 30-hour week unpaid to receive their £73 benefit.  The names of hundreds of major companies and leading British charities who used a benefits scheme to employ people without paying them have been revealed after the government lost a four-year legal battle to protect their identities.

“Well-known high street firms were among more than 500 organisations who used the free labour of welfare claimants, after they were forced to take unpaid work under rules brought in by David Cameron's Coalition Government.  Their names were revealed after the Court of Appeal ruled against the Department for Work and Pension's (DWP) attempt to keep them a secret – at an estimated cost to the taxpayer of tens of thousands of pounds in legal fees…

And it also includes charities such as the British Red Cross, Age UK, Cancer Research, Marie Curie, the National Trust, Oxfam, the RSPB, the Salvation Army and Shelter…”

Even Local Councils participated in the scheme:

"Workfare provides free labour for businesses and charities, enforced by the threat of destitution through benefit sanctions, and paid for by the public – including people on workfare. Workfare doesn't help people find jobs: it's just an excuse for sanctions," a spokesperson for the Boycott Workfare group told The Independent… Now that the DWP has at last complied with the law and released the information that was requested in 2012, we should be able to get further details about where workfare is taking place today…”

Those in the workforce will become increasingly resentful as their wages and salaries are ‘shared with others’ through ever-increasing taxation, levies and charges.   At the same time the rapidly growing precariat are becoming more and more resentful that they are on a treadmill of perpetual ‘interviews’ with CentreLink and bureaucratic ‘consultations’ – while being forced to continually look for ‘employment’ which is not to be had, no matter how many phone calls are made or personal interviews conducted.

IN THE NEW AGE OF ROBOTICS

I am sure that in private even politicians wonder what on earth they are going to do with the ever-growing resentful precariat – the mass of ‘unemployed’ younger generation.  Before the festering resentment erupts into civil violence answers must be found.  That is why the League of Rights promotes the National Dividend.  The older generation who wanted to, could retire and live a comfortable life making room in the workforce for the younger ones. 

But the further robotic advances must be considered 

Take the time to watch the following videos and then ask yourself: “What percentage of the present human population will be needed when the Robotic Age fully comes into its own?”

New Agrobot Harvester (Strawberries)

The machine does the work humans once did.

Source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM9Op5RKbhk

Robots speed up lettuce harvest process

A farm in Salinas, Calif., has built the world's first auto romaine harvester that does the work of half a dozen humans by spooling high-pressure water and cutting five lettuce heads at a time.

Source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i62juq8Euk

Now that we have looked at what is happening in the field of agricultural production let’s look at other fields. 

China’s Robot-Manufacturing Ambitions

“The scale and importance of China’s robot ambitions were made clear when the vice president of the People’s Republic of China, Li Yuanchao, appeared at the country’s first major robotics conference, held recently in Beijing. Standing onstage between two humanoid entertainment robots with outsized heads, Li delivered a message from China’s leader, Xi Jinping, congratulating the organizers of the effort. He also made it clear that robotics would be a major priority for the country’s economic future.

“Many of the robots on show at the conference’s exhibition hall were service or entertainment robots such as automated vacuum cleaners, cheap drones, or quirky looking machines designed to serve as personal companions. But there were also many industrial robots that signalled the real impetus for China’s robot push: its manufacturing sector.

“China is already the world’s largest producer of everything from clothes to electronics, but much of it depends on low-cost, low-skill labour. And even as economic growth has slowed, wages continue to rise across the country as the economy evolves. The Chinese government is also eager to see its workforce diversify and its manufacturing industries become more technologically advanced…”

Source: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/544201/china-wants-to-replace-millions-of-workers-with-robots/

China’s Robot Revolution

“The world’s largest economy has embarked on an audacious effort to fill its factories with advanced manufacturing robots. The government of China hopes this will help the country retain its vast manufacturing industry as workers’ wages rise, and manufacturing becomes more efficient and technologically advanced around the world (see “China Wants to Replace Millions of Workers with Robots”). The project will require robots that are significantly more advanced and cost-efficient, and the economic and technological ripples could be felt around the world.

“China is no stranger to technology-driven upheaval, of course, and it has already invested heavily in robot technology (see “Robots Rising” and “Migrant Workers in China Face Competition from Robots”). However, the scale of its new robot revolution will be remarkable. The province of Guangdong, the heartland of Chinese manufacturing, has already promised to invest $154 billion in installing robots. The founder of Foxconn, a company that employs vast armies of workers who make devices such as Apple’s iPhone, has said that his company will install more than a million robots in the next few years…”

Source:  https://www.technologyreview.com/s/545056/5-robot-trends-to-watch-for-in-2016/

One does wonder how the Chinese Communist government plans to utilise the millions of displaced workers as they are replaced in the ‘workforce’ by robots. 

As one commenter asked: “Here is the problem. When machines and robots take over where will people work? How will people pay the bills? Housing and food will have to be a lot cheaper in the future. Everyone will be poorer all because taxes force companies to create machines and eliminate workers.”

C.H. Douglas saw this coming 100 years ago and presented his realistic solutions. 

Social Dynamics Videos are available here:  http://alor.org/avLibrary/social-dynamics

The Achillees Heel of the Conservative Movement available here:
http://alor.org/Library/Butler%20ED%20-%20Achilles%20Heel.html