The Future of Economic Growth
On February 21st, 1804 English engineer Richard Trevithick unveiled an invention that would not only change manufacturing but also the world. The invention he unveiled was the steam locomotive which pulled ten tones of iron and seventy men ten miles at a speed of five miles per hour. Trevithcik’s invention kicked off the first manufacturing revolution the steam revolution. This kicked off massive world economic growth. The second revolution; manufacturing revolution of Mass production, initiated by Henry Ford and his Model T in 1908. The third and current manufacturing revolution started in the seventies when the process of automation began being implemented into manufacturing.
The current state of the Automation Revolution
People have made several attempts to modify the current model of the automation revolution. Companies have attempted to move their factories overseas to lower labour costs, made factories larger and have stockpiled inventory so they can keep up with demand. Despite these attempts at modification most factories still look the same as they did fifty years ago.
Looking at the world’s annual GDP growth below shows that despite a few spikes, there has been a general decline in world economic GDP growth. This decline is primarily due to the lack of innovation in the world manufacturing sector. Throughout history it has been the manufacturing sector that has provided economic growth through productivity. Without manufacturing innovation everyone’s share of the global economic pie has become smaller which has created tension and conflict as people fight to retain their piece or gain a bigger piece of the pie.
Source: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ny.gdp.mktp.kd.zg?end=2017&start=1970
