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Paul Cockshott raised a very good question. I woder how those who argue the slaves create value would respond to the following question.
Why is human labour then different from the labour of horses or the work of looms?
It is because human labour is general purpose. Humans are the
universal robot. Whilst a horse can pull a plough better than
a man, a horse can not dig ditches, harvest cotton, or plant beans.A loom will weave but it will not grind corn. Only humans are an essential component of all production processes.
Were true Robots or Golem to be invented, then, and only then
would there be a form which could supplant humans. At that point it would become realistic to see companies employing only robots competing with those that employ humans. But this would require of the robots both human levels of intelligence and human levels of dexterity. This is not impossible, though current technology can not attain it.
with regards
Chai-on Lee
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