Introduction

In the last few decades, technological developments–particularly concerning automation–have transformed the economy in such a profound way that many are comparing this era to the Industrial Revolution. Some capitalist economists downplay the resulting loss of jobs, while others predict that such job loss is only temporary and will work itself out through the marketplace over time, similar to previous technological revolutions. In both cases, they seem to forget the permanent unemployed produced by the Industrial Revolution, underestimate the potential impact of modern automation technology, and disregard the irrationality and anarchic nature of capitalist development. In many ways, the current “automation revolution” is similar to the introduction of machines in the Industrial Revolution, which radically changed capitalist societies by amplifying inequality, creating a permanent unemployed class that Marxists call the industrial reserve army, and intensified colonialism. Today’s automation revolution will similarly transform the landscape of labor, as robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning make the automation of vast swaths of complex jobs possible. What we want to do is provide comrades with some background on Marx’s analysis of technological changes within capitalism and use these to contextualize some of today’s transformations. Read the full article: https://liberationschool.org/a-marxist-approach-to-technology/