While it must happen in isolated instances, I have never encountered an instance of _anyone_ changing a basic position because of arguments against it. To put it in traditional political terms, argument/persuasion exists only in the realm of propaganda, in which the intended readers already agree with the central principles involved and are actively seeking to deepen their understanding of those principles; argument/persuasion never works in agitation or in fundamental theory! This raises difficult questions re the origins of "new" fundamental views, but those difficulties are themselves theoretical 'problems' and cannot be solved by 'arguing' that 'argument' works.
Robert Owen's thought, if I remember correctly, from his 'naïve' assumption that machinery should reduce human labor. (Marx quotes an ancient writer who made that assumption in discussing the water wheel.) But with the development of full-scale industrial capitalism that 'naïve' assumption no longer had a grounding in "common sense" and therefore could no longer from the point of departure for further theory. Reporter: What is? Marx (in his old age): Struggle. That exchange and the origin of new opinions or of new theory can be understood if Thesis 11 is understood as a proposition in epistemology, not 'ethics' or 'politics." When new struggles emerge, more or less accidentally, over the length and intensity of the working day many more intellectuals will come to understand and accept the arguments put forth by Gene Coyle & Tom Walker. Carrol -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Eugene Coyle Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 10:28 AM To: Pen-l Pen-L; Pen-l Pen-L Subject: [Pen-l] The most important econ book of the year? I recommend to many of you the book RACE AGAINST THE MACHINE by Eric Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee. I'm trying to write something about the book, and I will get something out soon. But it struck me in the midst of my struggles to write a few pages, that this is an important book for those interested in the issue of cutting working hours, so I'm sending along this recommendation while my essay is still pending. This is a VERY important book. It is also PROFOUNDLY flawed. First the important part: In about 50 pages the authors, in a very high position in the academic world, make the case that technology, specifically digital technology, is poised to speed up and wipe out jobs. They provide an up-to-date description and analysis of technology which they believe may result in astoundingly large reductions in necessary human employees. The entire book is easy to read. Second, the deeply flawed part: It is just as important to understand WHY they fail so completely in policy recommendations. Once they've made the case that jobs may be disappearing, they turn to policies to respond to that. And here they really provide a textbook example of cognitive dissonance. Their policy recommendations, a numbered set totalling 19, starts with some on education. Recommending education for some social problem is the last refuge of scoundrels, not that these authors are such. The entire 19 could have been read on the editorial pages of the Wall St. Journal over the past few years. And of course they don't recommend cutting working hours, though one of the authors seems to be getting around to that. And as I wondered why these authors fell into the flaw, and separately as I've wondered why economists in general use only a sneer to dismiss cutting the working week as a response to unemployment, I think I now understand why. Standby for that. The book is available for digital download for $3.99. I have a paper copy and that was $14.99. Sadly, it is only available from Amazon -- another flaw in the book. For a very important book, a deeply flawed book, it is easy reading and the text is only 76 pages. There are a few more pages of notes and acknowledgments etc. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
