Automation technology: problems and opportunities

Throughout the technologically advanced nations there is now a massive restructuring of the manufacturing base. This restructuring displays three predominant characteristics: there is a change in the organic composition of capital as processes are rendered capital intensive rather than labour intensive; there is a shift from the analogical to the digital; it is a process in which human beings are rendered passive and the systems become more active. The effects of these tendencies are outlined. Problems and opportunities are discussed, including effects on employment patterns