Job Collapse on the Way to New Athens

Abstract

The case that America will not be able to replace jobs lost to technological advances is gaining adherents. Indeed, it is becoming one of the central issues of our time. This chapter assesses the economic issues around job loss and provides practical assessments of proposals like retraining, income security, and education reform. To address the quandary that the chapter outlines, the author then tests the core assumption that underlies the fear of a so-called Job Armageddon—that is, the assumption that income and materialism lie at the heart of one’s well-being. The author argues that society could improve itself through a shift in values that would discard the notion that wealth and consumerism are surefire sources of happiness. In proposing a realignment of values (and thus, economics), the chapter ultimately asks: can we find in community involvement, social bonding, and costless transcendental pursuits the answer to a fuller life?