The Future Elimination of the Working Class

[Yu Ming Zai]

As I often consider myself a technocratic communist (if such a term exist), my vision of the future may be different from other fellow comrades here but the way I see it is that in the future with advances in science and technology, we will be able to build machines that can take over as our primary labor source. In that sense all physical labor such as farming, manufacturing, construction, and etc. will be replace by automation as they are more precise, efficient, and do not suffer from the inefficient tendencies that we have as humans. So in this scenario, the traditional sense of the working class is eliminated as there is no need for us to sell our labor for money while the means of production will be owned by us in general. With this aspect in place, we are free to focus our energy on others things that we would like to pursue. Of course in this sense, there is no dictatorship of the proletariat as the working class is eliminated but instead there is the dictatorship of the technocrats (scientist, engineers, designers, etc.) that will manage all resources and production to fit society's need.

So ultimately I want to ask my fellow comrades here how do you feel about this scenario and in particular the elimination of the working class by automation if it happens before the revolution? Would there even be a proletariat revolution if that happens? And how do you feel about the change of dictatorship from the proletariats to the technocrats after the revolution if there is one under these circumstances? Is it acceptable or is there something dangerous about this? Please leave a comment below as I am interested in what you all think of this.

[Prometeo liberado]

there is no dictatorship of the proletariat as the working class is eliminated but instead there is the dictatorship of the technocrats (scientist, engineers, designers, etc.) that will manage all resources and production to fit society's need.



Who will build their houses, clean them, cook their food, teach classes, build roads and all the things that the working class does? Because these technocrats manage the great industries does not mean that they own them or will excercise political power beyond their limited economic scope. That will still be held by the muscle of the earth, the working class.

[Firebrand]

Utopian. There is no way that all menial tasks can be automated, machines lack the necessary flexibility to adapt to the millions of subtly diffrent situations that can occur. And who fixes the machines anyway? Besides which the environmental impact of building nd maintaining that many machines would not be great, and metal is a finite resource, wheras there is no shortage of people. Overall the idea is impractical and utopian.

[GPDP]

I was under the impression that the working class would naturally be eliminated as a result of moving into communism, a classless society. You know, since if there's only the working class, there's basically no classes at all.

[Yu Ming Zai]

Who will build their houses, clean them, cook their food, teach classes, build roads and all the things that the working class does? Because these technocrats manage the great industries does not mean that they own them or will excercise political power beyond their limited economic scope. That will still be held by the muscle of the earth, the working class.

As science and technology advance to a point where automation can replace most physically demanding labor, such jobs that used to be where the working class worked such as construction (building houses, roads, and etc.) will all be done by machines. And since the machines are designed by engineers, who have political power in the new society, they can program and operate the machines to what is needed in society. In that sense what is needed in society, they can provide by changing the output of production according to our needs. In that aspect, the working class is absent in construction and the means of production of constructing would be owned by the engineers as they are the only ones that know how to program and operate the machines. However such activities such as teaching and cooking would probably still be done by humans for we often value that little touch of flavor that is absent in machines.


Utopian. There is no way that all menial tasks can be automated, machines lack the necessary flexibility to adapt to the millions of subtly diffrent situations that can occur. And who fixes the machines anyway? Besides which the environmental impact of building nd maintaining that many machines would not be great, and metal is a finite resource, wheras there is no shortage of people. Overall the idea is impractical and utopian.

Yes I dun believe machines will replace everything but lets look at what they can and are replacing. Manufacturing is the first sector of the economy that undergo automation. Nowadays, nearly everything from cars to tables to books are automated. No need for human labor to operate them as it is all computerized. All you need is [computer] engineers to program data into their software. Another sector is farming, there is no really any need for human labor as tractors can be programed to plant and collect crops or whatever on a designated route. Sensors built into it could detect any abnormalities in the farm for us to deal with. Irrigation and fertilization can also be timed and automated. Again all you need are the [agricultural] engineers to program data into their software.

Last example I'll give would be construction where a house or any building will be constructed by an automated unit much like how models are created but in a larger scale. Construction time would be immensely reduce as installation of housing equipments is done simultaneously as the walls are being built and again there is no need for human labor, only the [civil] engineers needed to program the unit. And you ask who would repair these machines if broken? Well of course the engineers, who else? But it is most likely the engineers will be using machines to repair other machines. These things can be done if given the necessary support. If these things can be done in the near future, imagine even further down the future what we can see being automated. I dun think the environmental impact or depletion of resources is an important factor to consider, especially if the society is run by technocrats.

As for the impracticality, if you think machines are impractical, look at us and all the problems we produce in the world. We are impractical beings.


I was under the impression that the working class would naturally be eliminated as a result of moving into communism, a classless society. You know, since if there's only the working class, there's basically no classes at all.

Yes but what if automation takes place before the revolution. What if all this happens under a capitalistic system. Corporations owns varies sectors of the automated economy and such. Without the need of the working class to operate these sections of the economy, where would be working class be? Would they be eliminated overall or will they move on to the service sector? Would they be considered the working class in the traditional sense? Without the exploitation of the workers, can there really be a proletariat revolution or if there would be a revolution, would it be a bourgeoisie one instead? Is that acceptable?

[Ocean Seal]

And yet automation will always require workers to watch over things, sure there will be less workers needed, but we will expand into other non-profitable sectors and pursue other tasks free from the profit motive. Thus there will always be workers, and a workers majority.

[Rafiq]

"Technocrats" aren't a class component in the capitalist mode of production therefore their dictatorship of state power would be of impossibility.

[Rafiq]

*Also, capitalism can never replace workers with machines. Machines are dead labor and therefore do not produce value....