Tribune staff reporter James P. Miller’s “Machines continue takeover” (Business, March 7) is reminiscent of the arguments from the 18th Century, when the cloth spinners and weavers in England didn’t want cloth to be made by machines because it would put everyone out of work. Three centuries later one would think that the argument would be settled, but apparently not.
Mechanization and automation improve everyone’s life tremendously, including the workers who are temporarily unemployed. This is accomplished by eliminating monotonous and back-breaking labor and, in the process, supplying the masses with a multitude of inexpensive, high-quality products.
Focusing on job loss when dealing with automation is analogous to lamenting one’s stitches after a heart operation. They are irritating and can even be painful, but they are, nevertheless, a side issue.
