For this week we will be skipping the promised article on political factors in economic outcomes and instead take on a question posed to me by a former teacher about an article I wrote early this summer about trade. He asked me about automation in the manufacturing sector and it’s coming role in that industry. Which I believe is a truly compelling thing to venture into. These things do just not effect us at home but in great exports of manufactured goods like Germany which is seeing a drop in manufacturing even thought it has a large trade surplus. Many of jobs are being taken by robots , things that work far more hours and are far more efficient then would ever humanly be.

This is a problem that needs to be talked about more than it is and deserves quiet a bit of attention from politicians and the public at large. This could be in my opinion one of the biggest changes in human history like of which we have seen before. This could be a different kind of Industrial Revolution , where we will people move not from the fair to the factory but the factory to what ( Which is the fundamental question of this essay ). What will manufacturing jobs turn into what will be the next employer of many of billions of people .

For this we have to consult the great and sometimes controversial economist Joseph Schumpeter and his classic work Capitalism, Socialism , and Democracy . He explains in this text what he called “the essential fact about capitalism “ which is creative destruction. The idea that the market evolves and in the process leaves behind old industries. This example can be seen the top companies in the US now and top companies over a 100 years ago. That list would look fairly different. With many companies like Apple , Microsoft , and Twitter taking the place of Standard Oil and US Steel. But is fairly easy to look back and see it now but during the 1900’s or even the 50’s it is hard to imagine the personal computer or social networking sites. These things were not even thought of at the time.

We face the same sort of strange situation we don't what jobs will be around 30 or even 20 years from now. What new technology will create a new job that would not even be thought of right now. This is the great mystery of capital and to want certainty is not a bad thing we are all afraid of the unknown it is only human to very afraid of this. I believe it is how we handle this change which will determine how we fair as a not only as nation but as a human race . We should not stifle the progress that we will see in the but be wary of the people that may get left behind. Not only abroad but at home. Though the progress will be great and the reward greater , still people will be left behind. This can be seen in the type writer industry which experienced a losses in the millions during the time many personal computer companies like Dell and HP were making millions. The old will always be pushed aside to the new but the difficult question policy wise is how bad will the effect will be will it be short or will it last for several generation. At this point I cannot even say .