Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall
“There was a time when 80% of the nation was involved in growing the food to feed 100% of the nation. Something it achieved patchily, in some years didn’t achieve. Then came the tractor – a catchall for the reaping machine, combine, tractor, seed drill and on – plus ocean going steamships to transport food and on again. We currently use some 2% of the labour of the nation to feed 100% of the nation. That 78% of the nation’s labour is not involved in the production nor maintenance of tractors. Sure, sure, tractors produced new jobs for mechanics and drivers and so on. But that’s not what made us richer. … Rather, it’s the freeing of labour from that now automated task which allows other things to be done.” (09/14/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/we-have-to-understand-the-effect-of-ai-on-jobs-correctly