ABSTRACT
A technology revolution implies a surge of obsolescence, both of human and inanimate capital. One of the most important features of the long-term technology-based upswing is recycling of productive factors and materials in such a way as not to limit development of the upswing. There are many instances wherein capital plant is obsolete in the sense that there is an alternative production system available that would substantially reduce production costs, but whose economic justification rests on an assumption of continuous operation. Capital equipment becomes obsolete when a technically superior substitute becomes available. Workers adversely affected by the business downturn also include highly trained professionals who worked in middle management and professional staff positions. In as much as the material is a minor component of the scrapped goods, the new activity has taken the form of dissecting these scrapped assemblies in order to reach the desired materials.
