Wakanda seems like a perfect, self-sustaining, high-tech nation complete with universal healthcare and free higher education as well as personal freedoms. No unskilled laborers are seen, and aside from conflicts dealing with outside nations, all the citizens shown always have their needs fulfilled. Thanks to their complex technology, automation cannot be avoided. So how does Wakanda have fully- and semi-automated systems without unemployment strikes or other general dissatisfaction?

    The most obvious example of Wakandan automation is the vibranium quarries. The physical labor of mining vibranium is automated, and the reliable maglev system also provides quick and effective transport. As such, the technology takes vibranium-mining away from unskilled laborers of the Mining Tribe. In theory, these automated mines would have created gaps in employment, much in the same way that automation has been taking away jobs in American offices and factories.

    However, automation in vibranium mining has become a critical part of their society. The film states that vibranium is extremely unstable and must be handled quickly in sterile conditions. So, while the automation takes away jobs in one area, it creates safer working conditions and safer, more efficient access to this major resource. Furthermore, Wakanda’s compulsory elementary and secondary education as well as their freedom to attend any of their own universities and follow their desired career path means the boundaries of citizens’ jobs are only defined by their own imagination. Shuri’s role as an engineer is a specific example of how Wakandan lives are greatly enabled by these automated mines.

    In short, Wakandan automation helps the lives of all its civilians through increased efficiency, safety, and higher-level jobs. Wakanda’s progressive society handles the automation of its wealth positively, creating a happily isolated nation.