In the 1970s and 80s, as tens of thousands of American industrial workers were losing their jobs as corporations moved their factories in search of cheaper labor, economists argued that this was part of a process of “creative destruction” that would ultimately bring new opportunities. In reality, the working class never fully recovered. The same pattern is being repeated today as working- and middle-class people lose jobs to technology. As John Russo writes in this week’s Working-Class Perspectives, some of the tech leaders whose innovations contribute to the problem are also testing possible solutions, including the idea of a universal basic income. Governments are debating the idea, and, Russo suggests, these experiments and discussions may lay the foundation for new social policies for a future without good jobs.
More information at:
John Russo, “Universal basic income: a “social vaccine” for technological displacement?“, Working-class Perspectives (blog), April 17th 2017
