Rifkin Redux

[Tom Walker <timework@xxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/recession/story/0,7369,1159787,00.html

"Herein lies the conundrum. If dramatic advances in productivity can replace
more and more human labour, resulting in more workers being let go from the
workforce, where will the consumer demand come from to buy all the potential
new products and services? We are being forced to face up to an inherent
contradiction at the heart of our market economy that has been present since
the very beginning, but is only now becoming irreconcilable.

"Greatly increased productivity has been at the expense of more workers
being marginalised into part-time employment or given their pink slips. A
shrinking workforce, however, means diminished income, reduced consumer
demand, and an economy unable to grow. This is the new structural reality
that government and business leaders and so many economists are reluctant to
acknowledge.

Tom Walker
604 255 4812