[missedthecue]

Are workers getting more productive, or are tools and technology getting more productive?

It used to take a room full of highly trained engineers using slide-rules, protractors, and graphing paper to design the newest car or plane. Now it's done in AutoCAD. But it's not obvious to me why the employee should collect the difference for the capital investment poured into technology.

In other words, it's not as if humans have evolved since the 1970s to be more productive. Any gains are entirely the consequence of investments in tech and tools and modern managerial techniques.

[henryfjordan]

I agree that it isn't obvious who should reap the benefits of productivity gains, but that means it is also not obvious to me that the capitalist should get it compared to the employee.

We created a system that heavily favors the capitalist starting with the Industrial Revolution. Prior to that most of society was subsistence farming. Encouraging capital investment in new machines and factories through laws/policies made sense to help raise society (and thus the workers) out of that situation. We have made enough progress since then that there are now barely any subsistence farmers in the US.

Why should we continue to embrace policies favoring the capitalist? Why should we continue to award 100% of the gains of new technologies to capitalists? Maybe they should only get those gains for a few years, or they should get half and half should go to the workers?

[missedthecue]

"Why should we continue to award 100% of the gains of new technologies to capitalists?"

Because they assume the risk of these ventures. Ever hear the statistics about how 95% of startups fail in the first x years? Meanwhile, the guy clicking around in AutoCAD did nothing to further the rise of productivity. Why should he be gifted the benefits of other's toil simply for breathing?

[Bakary]

Entrepreneurs benefit from free toil and public investment all the time. Try starting a business in a poorer country with no good institutions nor infrastructure, inefficient education etc. and it'll become abundantly clear what you are taking for granted.

[sokoloff]

You literally noted above that 100% of the gains are not going to the capitalists but rather are being split (using your numbers) around 5:2 among capitalists and workers.

But, remember, that’s before considering the impact of healthcare costs (which are majority paid by capitalists and majority benefiting the workers).

[henryfjordan]

Fair enough on my "100%" math, you are correct.

I'm not so sure about the healthcare argument. The link I included above compares productivity to compensation. I'd assume compensation includes the value of benefits like healthcare but I could be wrong. I'd also argue that many of the rising healthcare costs are being rewarded as profit to the capitalists so it might not be as cut-and-dry even if healthcare is a large source of the pay-productivity gap.

[jen20]

Modern managerial techniques if anything have regressed the situation.

As for tech and tools, who do you think made those things if not humans?

[missedthecue]

The human inventors of computers, computer components, productivity improving software (like AutoCAD), robotics, and other systems are very wealthy.