"In the early 19th century, the invention of the loom threatened to turn the labor market upside down. Until then, cloth was made by skilled artisans, but the loom enabled more cloth to be made more quickly by less-skilled workers. One could even argue that the Jacquard loom, a loom that allowed for complex weaving patterns via punch cards, was the first computer."
"This technology had a disruptive effect on the labor market and gave rise to the Luddites, a group who would physically destroy looms in factories. Jobs were lost, wages were depressed, and working conditions became more unpleasant. The loom led to social upheaval and drastic change in the short run. But in the long run, the benefits were many. Making textile workers more productive meant more and better clothing for everyone."
In the early 19th century, the loom transformed textile production by allowing more cloth to be produced faster by less-skilled workers. The Jacquard loom introduced programmable patterns via punch cards and anticipated later computing concepts. The new machinery disrupted labor markets, provoking the Luddites, destroying factory looms, and causing job losses, depressed wages, and harsher working conditions. Short-term social upheaval and drastic change followed widespread mechanization. Over the long run, higher productivity delivered more and better clothing for broad populations. Mechanization enabled capital accumulation, economies of scale, and complementary innovations across industries, setting the stage for the Industrial Revolution.
Read at InfoWorld
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]