Full circle again, please go back and read all the posts.

We will not have this conversation if the service and white collar jobs DID offset the loss of manufacturing jobs and any losses due to automation. That was the whole thread/post/page about.

I was only making a larger point. Automation will result in reduction of number of hours, but unless some type of allowance makes up the deficit in income both with reduced number of hours and reduced work opportunities, the existing quality of life might decrease further. I was not contradicting any premise. Its also a complex issue with many possible permutations and combinations as outcome.

"Lavish pensions" is only a symptom, not a cause. State will not be able to keep up the benefits unless some new revenue opportunity or tax base comes up. The same time, the automation will reduce existing tax base further. Its sort a double whammy. I have no idea about any solution.

20th century was an exception...rapid industrialization happened which employed millions. Now that phase is over...no need for more factories to produce widgets, and existing factories are getting automated. Look around yourself.
Whether I pulled my statement out of thin air...lets wait for the future to decide. You can come back here in ten years and decide for yourself.

The above can be possible, but you may not get full time work even if you wanted. Not everyone can be retrained for software programming or robotics, and even if they were, you don't need millions and millions of people with such skillset.
That's why a growing acceptance or realization that some type of guaranteed allowance will have to be given to a majority when the jobs vanish. Many countries are already in that path - in US you have social security which kicks in after retirement, what if it kicks in early? (You need political will, and much greater acceptance to the truism "jobs are not there".) In India there is 'Right to Food', which can be the beginning of such programs.
Indian politicians and Chinese have may be a decade of "more growth for prosperity" philosophy to work its charm. US and other developed nations got no such space.

Here is the issue, the new products and services may not generate "mass employment". Amazon, Facebook and Google are great examples. The same with Tesla.
"Mass employment" happens with manufacturing or may be Walmart (not only employment at their stores, but building the stores to the driving the trucks), not with the new products or services you have in mind.

Your question has the answer you are looking for.
First define "standards of living".
The standard of living - even for the lower class - in most of the developed world, and for a decent percent of the developing world is already good. The advances in health care, communication, and transportation has made sure what was available to the upper class or 1% of the early 1900's is now available to the rest. That is indeed progress.
So, the next level of mechanization and automation is not going to push the "standard of living" higher by a greater margin. Here is a car analogy - what matters is you have a car to go from point A to B, you still reach B whether you travel in a 2000$ beat up old car or a new costly luxury version. Another analogy - there was a huge difference between VHS and DVD, but there is no such difference between DVD and BluRay. Good content can be equally enjoyed on both, and both the discs are equally durable.

I almost bought an entry level 3D printer in 2010. And I am glad I did not.
3D printing is way over hyped like Segway or Bluetooth. It has its niche market/uses, but the proponents and true believers claim that will "change the world", everyone will start printing at home, things will be cheaper, more available, better, faster, stronger, wider and so on is pure BS.

Are you sure its your mother? Me thinks its Linus Torvalds in drag.

What's the gain for Ireland?
I am sure they don't see much of the offloaded offshore profits.
So what does Ireland gain - other than may be few employees manning a registered office and may be a miniscule percent of the funds?
Is it a case of something is better than nothing?

How will the protocol handle stolen bitcoins?
How do you identify the stolen coins and remove them from circulation/flag it/return to the rightful owner? If not, how will a merchant/buyer/seller can successfully handle a transaction?
Answer to the above will also give a clue if the exchange owners themselves stole the coins.

The issue with Whole Foods and organic food movement can be seen with the idea behind veganism and other related lifestyle choices.

I asked a vegan friend when he was coming to my home if he will eat eggs. He replied 'yes' provided if the hen are kept free range and ethically treated. Yes, they are...but what if I kill and eat the birds after you are gone (which is what will happen to most of the birds - some hippie ecologist may plan for proper burial and cemetery service, but that's an exception.)

There are many foods/food items which do not deserve the organic label and/or should not be militant about such classification. I have seen "organic coconut powder" in Whole Foods. This is ridiculous - there is no "inorganic coconut powder". Its impossible for any coconut farmer not to use fertilizers, and coconut trees do not need insecticides - so such classification is pure money grabbing operation.

The above are examples - no ideology should be taken to the extreme, and organic food movement is no exception.

Some of what you write is true, the rest pure bollocks!
Whatsapp does not work on most feature phones - the Nokia Asha series is an exception. Its used primarily on Smartphones - even in India. On a Smartphone there is no reason to text message...that part is true.
Heavy text message users - in India and other countries - still use text messages. A basic 2G/3G package will cost Rs 100 a month - plus the added cost of the smart phone - for most users.

I use Whatsapp. Its useful - especially when you don't have to block ads.
Facebook gets an address book and can mine whatever the user types into Whatsapp to generate sophisticated profiles of their users. At some stage your profile will be sharper than your friends/relatives know about you, even you about yourself. This can be used for showing ads.
Here is the issue...where will you show ads?
Mobile has a serious real estate issue. A decent text ad - like the GMAIL ads - will not work as you cannot cram many characters into a small space. What will work is annoying flashy ads, which irritate everyone.
Showing ads on websites...we are at a saturation point. And Facebook will have to compete with Google - the biggest ad agency in this planet.
Whatsapp and Tumblr were seriously overpriced. I hope the founders will use some of the proceeds for altruistic causes, that's what the world needs...not more ads.

From the TFA...
Obama once reportedly told his aides that it âoeturns out Iâ(TM)m really good at killing people.â The president added, âoeDidnâ(TM)t know that was gonna be a strong suit of mine.â
I don't think even Mitt Romney will be this callous and arrogant.

America should go for Mongo DB...its web scale. And in addition its "high performance" and supports sharding.

Corporates have no problem when outsourcing is cheaper to their bottom line...the same drug companies which want US to take punitive action against India will have the their IT operations outsourced to India as its cheaper.
They want it both ways...pure psychopathic behavior.
Here is the exact quote from Bayer CEO Marijn Dekkers...âoeWe did not develop this product (Nexavar) for the Indian market, letâ(TM)s be honest. We developed this product for western patients who can afford this product, quite honestly, it is an expensive product.â
Poor Indians should die. If this is not psychopathic behavior I don't know what is! This guy needs help.
And don't tell me "it costs a lot to develop these drugs". Yes, it does and the costs are recovered with sufficient profit margin from the first world.