I think a better example would be the travel industry... the corner travel business has virtually been obliterated in part of the easy access to on-line travel booking and planning services. A lot of "middle-person" jobs are now unnecessary as most of their functions are now accomplished with scripts and servers, this goes with booksellers and other specialty shops.
Just look at any business that isn't direct from the company and does not really require direct contact with the customer ; those are the ones to worry about.
And sometimes we push it along, I've seen companies work hard to cut the bottom line by automating things, developing on-line materials, and reducing the accessibility from the public, part to cut costs, other to "be more efficient." Those are the ones what one day have worked themselves into obscurity, because what's the different if local person A helps you over the phone or corporate/outsourced person B?
So what do we get left with - outside (cheapest) labor and local direct services (construction, health, entertainment/dining), and creative.
If you think about it its the creative developments over the past couple hundred years that made many of us redundant. We either should look for new opportunities to grow (space colonization/exploration) or break down the mass production industry to make more communities sustainable.
What's really interesting about all of this is the deflation that results from all this automation. Cellphones and video games are well known examples but it's easy to forget that plenty of free flash games are as good or better than all Atari games and most first gen Nintendo games. Fanfiction + ranking means the classic pulp novel is somewhat obsolete. Now fanfiction and flash games are not actually free but a few banner adds are enough to keep things going.
The downside seems to be the loss of durable goods, but other than my car they represent a tiny fraction of my budget and cars are much better now than a even just 20 years ago.
In the US housing, healthcare, and education seem to be what's killing the middle class without those areas we would just say we are in The middle of a huge deflationary period. And printing money can fix deflation.
I am surprised by the quality of some fanfiction. I've read Sherlock Holmes pastiches that I doubt I could have distinguished from Doyle's work if I were blinded.
Just look at any business that isn't direct from the company and does not really require direct contact with the customer ; those are the ones to worry about.
And sometimes we push it along, I've seen companies work hard to cut the bottom line by automating things, developing on-line materials, and reducing the accessibility from the public, part to cut costs, other to "be more efficient." Those are the ones what one day have worked themselves into obscurity, because what's the different if local person A helps you over the phone or corporate/outsourced person B?
So what do we get left with - outside (cheapest) labor and local direct services (construction, health, entertainment/dining), and creative.
If you think about it its the creative developments over the past couple hundred years that made many of us redundant. We either should look for new opportunities to grow (space colonization/exploration) or break down the mass production industry to make more communities sustainable.