Technology and Inequality: The Happy Myth
Dean Baker @ Guardian UK - The people who have been the winners in the massive upward redistribution of income over the last three decades have a happy story that they like to tell themselves and the rest of us: technology did it. The reason why this is a happy story is that technology develops to a large extent beyond our control.
None of us can decide exactly what direction innovations in computers, automation, or medicine will take. Scientists and engineers in these areas follow their leads and innovate where they can. If the outcome of these innovations is an economy that is more unequal, that may be unfortunate, but you can't get mad at the technology. This is why the beneficiaries of growing inequality are always happy to tell us that the problem is technology. Read more.
None of us can decide exactly what direction innovations in computers, automation, or medicine will take. Scientists and engineers in these areas follow their leads and innovate where they can. If the outcome of these innovations is an economy that is more unequal, that may be unfortunate, but you can't get mad at the technology. This is why the beneficiaries of growing inequality are always happy to tell us that the problem is technology. Read more.
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