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"The Industrial Scrap Heap": Technological Unemployment, Obsolescence and Older Workers in the Early Twentieth Century US

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Early 20th century workers, organisers, and social advocates argued that technological imposition by industry and its associated impact on older workers led to both the need and possibility to socialise old age economic security in the United States. This article explores how discourses of technological unemployment and human obsolescence influenced the push for old age pensions and Social Security. By analysing the intersection of technology, labour, and social movements and policy, the article sheds light on the ways in which technological unemployment has historically been used to justify economic and social reforms, and how these lessons can inform current debates on automation, AI and labour.

Source: tripleC Communication Capitalism & Critique Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society

DOI: 10.31269/csbwct77

Author: Amanda Ciafone

Institution: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Language: English

Topic: Social Policy and Reform Studies

Subfield: Political Science and International Relations

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: diamond

OpenAlex ID: W4417067665

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