Editorial

Citation

Loughlin, C. (2009), "Editorial", Industrial Robot, Vol. 36 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2009.04936aaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Industrial Robot: An International Journal, Volume 36, Issue 1

Writing this in October 2008 the news is filled with announcements regarding the latest casualty in the global financial markets. National institutions in which we placed our trust are being nationalized and it is the general public that is paying the price.

Governments are spending our money (all government money is ultimately our money) not because we want them to but because the likely outcomes of not spending our money are even worse than the prospects of spending it.

What has this to do with robots and manufacturing industry? The fundamental problem (apart from the money men taking handsome rewards after taking risks with our money) is that the financial markets are global. No country is immune and no country is in a much better position than any other to help bail out their neighbours. Even in Europe, agreements between countries on one day last less than 24 h as self-interest makes a mockery of handshakes.

If we set aside the inevitable link between financial and technological success for a moment – how does the global technology market compare with the global money market?

Technology is just as much a currency as the US dollar and the euro. Technology developed in one country is then given to another country because it is cheaper to have production located away from home. What constitutes a “sub-prime” technology investment? Basically this has to be an area of technology that never ever has the chance of paying you back all that is put into it – or in other words “bad ideas” are the equivalent of “bad debt”.

Of course, no one is perfect and we are all bound to have some bad ideas at some stage in our careers. The problem only really becomes significant when a large number of people place their confidence and technological resources into the same global bad idea.

If we look at the sub-prime property market, initially a load of people at the lower end of the pay scale were given the chance to own their own properties – so it looked like a good idea – at least briefly – and the people that organized it took some hefty commissions, so they were happy too.

In my view it is fundamentally a bad idea for countries to hand over their manufacturing capability (the currency of technology) to other countries. Handing over a bit does not matter too much, but if you overdo it you are exposing yourself to a manufacturing meltdown. Banks get into trouble when their liabilities exceed their assets, and if their assets are offshore, and take a hit, then they can be in trouble overnight with no chance of a simple fix.

The present financial crisis has made it clear that people are all very happy to talk about global economies when things are going well, and to cultivate bilateral trading agreements. But when things really get bad it is each country for itself. But without a manufacturing capability, countries will lose the opportunity for self-determination.

Clive Loughlin