One of Lafargue's critiques: "Suppose that a commodity is overproduced, so that its supply outstrips demand. Its price will fall. To compensate, factory owners will cut costs or slow production. And that means they will pay their workers less or lay them off. Consumer demand will then further contract, incentivizing further wage cuts, which will further suppress demand."
As we know, this hasn't happened. Instead, factory owners build other widgets, either something that is currently undersupplied or something that is brand new. And of course they do this by changing the machinery in their factory and re-training their workers (or hiring new workers). Changing from gasoline-powered automobiles to EVs (to the extent this is happening) is an example. Most of the things we buy today, with the exception of meat and vegetables, are things that didn't exist a century ago. Even automobiles, tractors and airplanes little resemble those of a century ago.
In some cases the old factories are torn down and work moves elsewhere, along with the laborers, but this is mostly building new widgets that couldn't be built in those old factories. The Rust Belt and the coal mining areas of Appalachia are examples.
As we know, this hasn't happened. Instead, factory owners build other widgets, either something that is currently undersupplied or something that is brand new. And of course they do this by changing the machinery in their factory and re-training their workers (or hiring new workers). Changing from gasoline-powered automobiles to EVs (to the extent this is happening) is an example. Most of the things we buy today, with the exception of meat and vegetables, are things that didn't exist a century ago. Even automobiles, tractors and airplanes little resemble those of a century ago.
In some cases the old factories are torn down and work moves elsewhere, along with the laborers, but this is mostly building new widgets that couldn't be built in those old factories. The Rust Belt and the coal mining areas of Appalachia are examples.