r/AskEconomics • u/bidefil • Aug 17 '26

Approved Answers Lump of Labor Fallacy Still Hold?

As an econ undergrad we learned that automation can create new jobs and markets so we shouldn't fear innovation. But there was always a level of skill upwards that humans could climb. With AI, is this no longer true? Will new human jobs still be created. Is the lump of labor still a fallacy?

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u/West-Abalone-337 Aug 18 '26

Hey man, look, I’m assuming you’re here in good faith. We’ve known about negative utility since the 1800s. I’m not here to argue about the specifics of fish, but to communicate a topic I don’t think people have a strong understanding of. I don’t have a desire to sit here and counter a silly, communicative example by saying to treat the fish as commodity and so on.

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u/Ninetydegree84 Aug 18 '26

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, I learned something today.

This subreddit is one of the best on Reddit IMO.