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

Abstract

Early 20^th 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.