I understand that under capitalism, when automation happens, workers get fired. But under socialism, I don’t see a reason to hire new workers/expand the company. How would a new graduate find a job in the age of automation? Would they just start their own company?
Reducing the labor time required is the goal of all socialist economies. The difference is, instead of labor saving technology increasing owner profits, and resulting in mass layoffs, that value now gets allocated to workers in the form of reduced prices, and value / wages given to workers in the non-consumer goods sectors.
Most importantly the surplus that comes from these advances, is controlled by workers, and put to use to serve their interests, rather than serving private profit, and resulting in mass layoffs.
Even in past socialist societies like the USSR and yugoslavia, near-zero unemployment was realized, and workers who got laid off in one sector, were put to work in others.
Here’s a plan for such a cyber-communist system.
Also, these questions are better suited to c/genzhou
Ah, didn’t genzhou existed on lemmygrad mb. To follow up, since most tech/job involving a computer will be automated (looking at current trends), will most of those people be transferred into something like farming instead? If your “specialty” no longer exists, will you be forced into a completely different field?
Farming needs very few workers. Just look at what sectors employ the most people in any given country, and which ones of those aren’t likely to be automated away.
Also, full employment isn’t entirely necessary anymore, when a few workers and machines can feed and provide energy for millions.
How would people get paid then? I was under the impression that UBI is not socialism, and would cede a lot of power to the state/whomever is giving out UBI.
UBI is a capitalist proposal only because it leaves control of production, politics, and the amount of income provided in the hands of capitalists. In the hands of capital, it becomes a finely tunable lever to quell class struggle.
If a socialist state wants to provide it’s citizens with a basic level of goods and services, facilitated by a basic income or monthly labor vouchers, that is different.
Watch the videos and read the articles in the link I sent you.
To think there are liberals that call themselves socialist pushing for UBI serving their imperial masters.
Are you aware of the difference between a material unit and a price index? Recommend looking into the planning method used in the soviet union called material balance planning.
