What will history ultimately record as the most dramatic industrial revolution? Ryan Avent makes his case in  The Wealth of Humans: Work, Power, and Status in the Twenty-first Century that we are living through it. According to him, the nineteenth century, while offering crucial lessons in how such moments undermine and eventually force a transformation across socioeconomic life, will be nothing compared to what comes next.

So what comes next? Take a listen to our conversation

Subscribe to Political Economy with James Pethokoukis in Apple Podcasts (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in Apple Podcasts or by RSS feed.

Now become a Ricochet member for only $5.00 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing.

There are 3 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. Merrijane Inactive
    Merrijane
    @Merrijane

    Mandatory community service and government redistribution for pursuing artisanal careers. Gah.

    • #1
  2. Pepe LePew Inactive
    Pepe LePew
    @PepeLePew

    Does this author consider the consequences of such acceptance of passivity and lack of productive action? Is there any discussion of the European experiment that has destroyed the desire to have children, or often destroyed the desire to keep the society unified around a concept of national identity? The modern-day commentator, Spengler, has a lot to say about this topic.

    To

    • #2
  3. Peter Murphy Inactive
    Peter Murphy
    @PeterMurphy

    A good illuminating conversation except for the bit on universal basic income. UBI is a terrible idea for precisely the reason JP also mentioned: work is the building block of modernity identity. UBI assumes an income  but not work. It’s dystopian to propose a future society in which large numbers of people receive an income but don’t work for that income. A much more constructive approach is to talk about what sort of jobs will emerge in the age of robotic automation.

    • #3
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.