ABSTRACT
Just as systems of belief serve as scientific paradigms, a production function may be thought of as a technological paradigm: a sort of model for how to employ certain inputs in the production of certain outputs. The Jacquard device played a contributing role in the social transformation, and its introduction was only one of a stream of developments, both technological and organizational, that served to enhance the merchant-capitalist's control over the production process. There is no serious debate about how a labour-saving technological shift in a production function affects a sector of an economy: costs drop, labour input requirements decline, workers are displaced and many of the remaining workers require less extensive skills than the workers they replaced. The challenge to society that is obviously coming is made even more pressing by the manner in which innovations in computer technology are being spurred by national governments in order to enhance military and economic competitiveness.
