John wrote in [OPE-L:3358]:
> Fine. A decrease in electricity per unit output for the firm that uses the
> monitors. I assume that it takes the same amount of labor per unit
> output of electricity as before and hence cannot agree that in our
> example we are seeing labor-saving tech change. If we are, then
> any capital-saving tech change becomes, ultimately, labor-saving.
> The distinction between the two forms becomes, to say the least,
> blurred.
Well ... sometimes the distinction between forms of technical change *is*
blurred. For instance, a single process technology like industrial
robotics may be both labor-saving and (constant circulating)
capital-saving in relation to previous vintages of constant fixed capital.
But ... my point was more basic. If the demand for electricity goes down
at the innovating firm as a result of technological change, then the
demand for labour-power in the electricity-generating branch will also go
down, ceteris paribus.
In Solidarity,
Jerry