[akoboldfrying]

I agree with you that there's no obvious way to separate tool creation from job elimination. This argument holds going right back to the wheel.

I think the strongest argument that can be made against this is that the supply of human labour has varied by time and place, so that in times where labour was short, new tools were no doubt welcomed by all, whereas when labour was plentiful, new tools that eliminated some of that demand for labour were opposed by those whose livelihoods were threatened. But this is not very satisfying because the types of labour available at any time are highly contingent on the current culture and technology, i.e., highly path-dependent.

(And I think there are different kinds of labour, and that not everyone can do every kind, contra the usual capitalist assumption.)