In 1801, Jacquard Loom invented a steel punch card system to control thread-dispensing shuttles, allowing multicolored, patterned textiles to be produced without the constant attention of human weavers. It was the birth of automation and the start of a tense relationship between worker and machine that continues to this day.
Mechanization of the apparel and other industries followed, making craft jobs obsolete while creating new ones requiring little skill. Philosopher Karl Marx described the change as “alienation of labor,” because it deprived workers of the satisfaction of creating a complete product and instead made them “cogs” in production machines. His […]
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