BrianGarst.com

The world’s very last typewriter factor is shutting down (Hat-tip: George Scoville):

…Even this February, the AFP ran an article explaining that the seemingly-ancient technology was “flourishing” in the nation. Sadly, that era has now ended.

Godrej and Boyce shut down its Mumbai, India plant because of declining orders. The company has only “a few hundred” typewriters in stock, most of which are Arabic language models. “Till 2009, we used to produce 10,000 to 12,000 machines a year,” the factory’s general manager told the India’s Business Standard newspaper. “Now, our primary market is among the defence agencies, courts and government offices.”

Other than those with sentimental attachments to a particular technology this is the kind of development which ought to be celebrated. Economically, it signifies the advancement of technology, and the freeing of labor to produce better products and services than those of previous generations.

This is all part of the process of creative destruction, which sees jobs both lost and gained as old technologies are replaced by new innovations. The net result is greater wealth and prosperity for all.

I know, I know, this is all common sense, right? Sadly, this is exactly the type of development bemoaned by Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. recently, when he blamed the iPad for “eliminating thousands of American jobs” on the House floor:

[T]his new device… is now probably responsible for eliminating thousands of American jobs. Now Borders is closing stores because, why do you need to go to Borders anymore? Why do you need to go to Barnes & Noble? Buy an iPad and download your newspaper, download your book, download your magazine.

And if you’re Jesse Jackson Jr, please – I beg you – download an economics textbook.

Jesse Jackson Jr