That is: when the Acme Widget Factory buys Jake's Improved Widget-Making Tool(TM), it's Jake's employees' labor that made that tool, not Acme's. It is therefore Jake's employees who deserve to be rewarded for creating the automation, not Acme's.
That's why I said "not yours" - not specifically you, crdoconnor, but the labor of the company that buys automation did not build that automation. They still should be rewarded for the the increased productivity that comes from knowing how to use it, but they didn't build it.
And when I said "they still should be rewarded", that doesn't mean that they get all the benefits from the increased productivity. The tool maker has to be rewarded, too, or there won't be many tools to improve productivity. And the capitalists who bought the tool have to be rewarded, too, or there won't be many such tools bought.
Yep but in the current economy it's not a shift of wealth from Acme workers to Jake workers that's going on. It's from workers of Acme and Jake to owners of Acme and Jake.
That is: when the Acme Widget Factory buys Jake's Improved Widget-Making Tool(TM), it's Jake's employees' labor that made that tool, not Acme's. It is therefore Jake's employees who deserve to be rewarded for creating the automation, not Acme's.
That's why I said "not yours" - not specifically you, crdoconnor, but the labor of the company that buys automation did not build that automation. They still should be rewarded for the the increased productivity that comes from knowing how to use it, but they didn't build it.
And when I said "they still should be rewarded", that doesn't mean that they get all the benefits from the increased productivity. The tool maker has to be rewarded, too, or there won't be many tools to improve productivity. And the capitalists who bought the tool have to be rewarded, too, or there won't be many such tools bought.