The American Dream, RIP?
http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21586581-economist-asks-provocative-questions-about-future-social-mobility-american
The economist Tyler Cowen has made some jarring predictions regarding the middle and lower classes in his book "Average is Over". In it, he talks much about the economic inequity of today and how technology and the mastery of it could lead to an elite group of 10-15% of citizens being wealthy and stable while the rest writhe in low wage jobs and poverty. He claims that those who capitalize on advancing technologies will leave those behind and there will be a collapse of middling jobs, which is what he meant by the American Dream.
I interpreted Mr. Cowen's understanding of the American dream as having a stable, middle class job that can support a family and live a relatively comfortable life. This must be some deviation of the original meaning of the American Dream, because in truth it's been dead since the end of the modern era. This book sounds like a load of bologna if you ask me. He states that young people will struggle in labor markets that favor conscientiousness over muscle due to the rapid progression of technology. I don't know why he assumes that an average person can't capitalize on these opportunities as well as the rich. It seems to me he makes the average person seem less smart than they actually are. Perhaps I'm missing something here, but he seems to equate the death of the American Dream to the loss of a middle class. Even suggesting that 85% of the population will be labeled lower class is ludicrous. He doesn't seem to give reasons as to why he says the middle class won't be able to keep up with tech. In my opinion, this book shouldn't even be taken seriously at all. Especially in regards to economics.
I agree with you Evan, it sounds like this guy is dumbing down the middle class. Like you said, why wouldn't the middle class be able to keep up with the technology? The average person will be able to capitalize just as much as a rich person and the "American Dream" will live on. Also, glad to see you're getting the blogs done, I couldn't even comment last time!
ReplyDeleteI agree as well. I think that there are a large number of jobs that wont be able to be done overly well by computers. Those jobs tend to be "middle class" so there is no way that the middle class could just die.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statements Evan, just from the statistics you gave in your opinion, it sounds like a bunch of false information. I agree that the American Dream has deteriorated over time and now it is very hard for some people to achieve it.
ReplyDeleteI would like to know where he got his information from. I don't know that technology determines how far someone will get. This doesn't sound very accurate, The American Dream may not be as strong as it once was and you may have to work for it but to say it's dead I think is over board.
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