Review Comments: "A very timely book: Outlines a plan for a new era of labor / management cooperation. This book addresses a growing problem of many U.S. corporations - how to remain competitive, treat employees fairly, and prepare for the next generation of technology." Will Pilcher, Economists with Levi Strauss & Co. "This new book should be required reading by all corporate executives and government officials who control the lives of people through policy decisions…a classic in the same mold as Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith." James W. Kunt, President, National Research Center College & University Admissions "Enlightening futuristic approach to an evitable employment market place! Profitable reading and a blueprint for your career planning!" Louis Kram, CPC, President Best Personnel "Reading this book is a must for every wage-earner. It will convince organized labor that the shifts from heavy manufacturing toward-high-tech and service industries need not be antithetical to the worker' long-term interests…it seems Labor has a lot of self-education to complete before it has properly weeded its own garden." Richard H. Haley Corporate Consultant, Silicon Valley, California "The Hatfield's have researched answers to world financial problems in a practical and creative way. Highly recommended reading!" Dr. Orv Owens: Psychologist and Corporate Consultant, Washington, D.C. "I have known the Hatfield's for five years, and have seen the benefit of their research for the working man and woman. As a leader in the labor movement, I can wholeheartedly recommend their work to every American." Jim Cupp: Local 1235 Business Representative Recording Secretary, San Francisco, California Introduction By Zester Hatfield Americans today are accused of having raped the world because we consume so much of the world's goods and services. Our self confidence is perhaps at an all-time low, and the American dream is said to be dead. Why has this happened to us, and what vision of hope do we have for the future? Should we be ashamed of our past accomplishments and hang our heads in despair? Do we still have a place in contemporary world leadership for producing the world's goods and providing a comfortable standard for own people? Will the present organized labor struggle for Job Security provide the answer of hope that millions of American wage earners desire? If so: how? These and many other questions vital to every American are examined in this book in the light of new perspectives of who we are, where we have come from and where we are going, relative to wages, Job Security and personal freedoms. Americans are witnessing two world changing phenomena that appear on the surface to be unrelated but which in fact could be very intimately related. While on one hand we see the crumbling economies and social unrest of several third world countries, many who are waging war or preparing for war, we on the other hand, are personally on the edge of the greatest era of technological explosion that the world has ever seen. Fifth generation computers with Artificial Intelligence are only a few years, and in some cases only months, away from major military and commercial applications. And this is not the typical peripheral technological advancement that simply reshuffles the job market and, for the most part, upsets only organized labor leaders and a few social activists. This is the dawning of the era of "smart computers," working millions of times faster with trillions of times more capacity than those of today, even to the point of "artificial thinking" and decision making without external help or, for that matter, the need for any further human input. It is the thinking and independent action capability of this new generation of computers that gives rise to the terms "smart computers" and "Artificial Intelligence." There is no evidence that the introduction of these smart computers and their practical applications will have any respect of persons or fields of employment. The massive job displacement, social unrest and upheaval that characterized the Industrial Revolution of the 1800's is expected to seem like child's play compared to the challenges that await the largely unsuspecting American wage earners of today. White collar, middle-management and blue collar workers alike are in danger of being swept away by this new wave of automated mentality. The insecurities and personal threat that many feel because of the social unrest and wars in so many sectors of our world will pale in comparison to the social and economic upheavals rapidly approaching the American worker through such applications. According to the "American Dream" of financial security and personal fulfillment, the "haves" are those who can save enough for a down payment on a house, a car, a good education for children, furniture, good clothes, vacations, and have a little money stashed away for a rainy day. Good paying jobs with steady wages, liberal medical benefits and retirement plans are supposed to provide the financial security to make it all happen. But today hundreds of thousands of American workers are losing their jobs and their benefits due to technological displacement and inadequate distribution methods. For them the "American Dream" is dead and tomorrow it could be dead for millions more. In the face of such national and global instability and insecurity, it becomes apparent that millions who have depended upon Job Security with regular paychecks to qualify them as: "haves" are really only precariously employed "have nots." What really constitutes a "have" or a "have not?" Do we need to redefine the "American Dream?" In order to answer these questions and to objectively view the world scene today and discover what constitutes our most positive options, it is necessary to review how we came to accept our present ideas on the creation of wealth and its distribution. Surely we could not have come this far in our understanding of many disciplines of science and technology, only to fail in our attempts to understand what we should do with the fruit of our success! We are a country and a people brought together and molded by a strong belief in the presence of God in our lives and in or destiny. We do not believe that we were ordained of God to be a country of "have nots," nor could we say that we believe that God has ordained that other countries should be "have nots." However, despite our convictions, great imbalances are taking place as technological advances improve beyond the ability of our present day methods of distribution to cope with their capacity to create new wealth. Job Security in a High-Tech World explores the reasons behind our present day concerns for job displacement by robots and other high-tech applications. It also takes a candid look at how new wealth is created by these technologies and how we as Americans can take part in the distribution of this wealth more equitably and fairly. Perhaps the "American Dream" of financial security and personal fulfillment can be more than just a dream, for both Americans and for all free people the world over. By taking a firm grasp on our labor, creative initiative and spiritual inspiration as parts of a larger whole, we will re-examine our technological breakthroughs of the last two centuries, and see how these elements dictate both the opportunities and the "rights" of every working person for a just and fair distribution of wealth!
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