Is the US actually a democracy?
Law professor Ganesh Sitaraman explains why America has never achieved true democracy—and how it can.
13 October, 2020
- Three essential components of democracy are economic equality, social unity, and a government that acts in the interest of the people. America lacks all three of those components, says Vanderbilt University Law School Professor Ganesh Sitaraman.
- "In study after study, political scientists have shown that our government is responsive primarily to the wealthy and interest groups, not to ordinary people," says Sitaraman. "A system of government that is mostly unresponsive to the people is not a democracy at all."
- Sitaraman argues that the neoliberal era is what divided America and continues to prevent the country from realizing a true democracy. In this video, he explains the problem with neoliberalism and how a new agenda could create far better opportunities.
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Why Amartya Sen remains the century’s great critic of capitalism
Societies aren't just engines of prosperity.
11 October, 2020
PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images
Critiques of capitalism come in two varieties. First, there is the moral or spiritual critique.
<p> This critique rejects <em>Homo economicus</em> as the organising heuristic of human affairs. Human beings, it says, need more than material things to prosper. Calculating power is only a small part of what makes us who we are. Moral and spiritual relationships are first-order concerns. Material fixes such as a universal basic income will make no difference to societies in which the basic relationships are felt to be unjust. </p><p>Then there is the material critique of capitalism. The economists who lead discussions of inequality now are its leading exponents. <em>Homo economicus</em> is the right starting point for social thought. We are poor calculators and single-minded, failing to see our advantage in the rational distribution of prosperity across societies. Hence inequality, the wages of ungoverned growth. But we are calculators all the same, and what we need above all is material plenty, thus the focus on the redress of material inequality. From good material outcomes, the rest follows.</p><p>The first kind of argument for capitalism's reform seems recessive now. The material critique predominates. Ideas emerge in numbers and figures. Talk of non-material values in political economy is muted. The Christians and Marxists who once made the moral critique of capitalism their own are marginal. Utilitarianism grows ubiquitous and compulsory.</p><p>But then there is Amartya Sen.</p>
<p>Every major work on material inequality in the 21st century owes a debt to Sen. But his own writings treat material inequality as though the moral frameworks and social relationships that mediate economic exchanges matter. Famine is the nadir of material deprivation. But it seldom occurs – Sen argues – for lack of food. To understand why a people goes hungry, look not for catastrophic crop failure; look rather for malfunctions of the moral economy that moderates competing demands upon a scarce commodity. Material inequality of the most egregious kind is the problem here. But piecemeal modifications to the machinery of production and distribution will not solve it. The relationships between different members of the economy must be put right. Only then will there be enough to go around.</p><p>In Sen's work, the two critiques of capitalism cooperate. We move from moral concerns to material outcomes and back again with no sense of a threshold separating the two. Sen disentangles moral and material issues without favouring one or the other, keeping both in focus. The separation between the two critiques of capitalism is real, but transcending the divide is possible, and not only at some esoteric remove. Sen's is a singular mind, but his work has a widespread following, not least in provinces of modern life where the predominance of utilitarian thinking is most pronounced. In economics curricula and in the schools of public policy, in internationalist secretariats and in humanitarian NGOs, there too Sen has created a niche for thinking that crosses boundaries otherwise rigidly observed.</p><p>This was no feat of lonely genius or freakish charisma. It was an effort of ordinary human innovation, putting old ideas together in new combinations to tackle emerging problems. Formal training in economics, mathematics and moral philosophy supplied the tools Sen has used to construct his critical system. But the influence of Rabindranath Tagore sensitised Sen to the subtle interrelation between our moral lives and our material needs. And a profound historical sensibility has enabled him to see the sharp separation of the two domains as transient.</p>
<p>Tagore's school at Santiniketan in West Bengal was Sen's birthplace. Tagore's pedagogy emphasised articulate relations between a person's material and spiritual existences. Both were essential – biological necessity, self-creating freedom – but modern societies tended to confuse the proper relation between them. In Santiniketan, pupils played at unstructured exploration of the natural world between brief forays into the arts, learning to understand their sensory and spiritual selves as at once distinct and unified.</p><p>Sen left Santiniketan in the late 1940s as a young adult to study economics in Calcutta and Cambridge. The major contemporary controversy in economics was the theory of welfare, and debate was affected by Cold War contention between market- and state-based models of economic order. Sen's sympathies were social democratic but anti-authoritarian. Welfare economists of the 1930s and 1940s sought to split the difference, insisting that states could legitimate programmes of redistribution by appeal to rigid utilitarian principles: a pound in a poor man's pocket adds more to overall utility than the same pound in the rich man's pile. Here was the material critique of capitalism in its infancy, and here is Sen's response: <a href="http://www.ophi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Sen-1979_Equality-of-What.pdf" target="_blank">maximising utility is not everyone's abiding concern</a> – saying so and then making policy accordingly is a form of tyranny – and in any case using government to move money around in pursuit of some notional optimum is a flawed means to that end.</p><p>Economic rationality harbours a hidden politics whose implementation damaged the moral economies that groups of people built up to govern their own lives, frustrating the achievement of its stated aims. In commercial societies, individuals pursue economic ends within agreed social and moral frameworks. The social and moral frameworks are neither superfluous nor inhibiting. They are the <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/development-as-freedom-9780192893307" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">coefficients of durable growth</a>.</p>
<p>Moral economies are not neutral, given, unvarying or universal. They are contested and evolving. Each person is more than a cold calculator of rational utility. Societies aren't just engines of prosperity. The challenge is to make non-economic norms affecting market conduct legible, to bring the moral economies amid which market economies and administrative states function into focus. Thinking that bifurcates moral on the one hand and material on the other is inhibiting. But such thinking is not natural and inevitable, it is mutable and contingent – <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2009/03/26/capitalism-beyond-the-crisis/" target="_blank">learned and apt to be unlearned</a>.</p><p>Sen was not alone in seeing this. The American economist Kenneth Arrow was his most important interlocutor, connecting Sen in turn with the tradition of moral critique associated with R H Tawney and Karl Polanyi. Each was determined to re-integrate economics into frameworks of moral relationship and social choice. But Sen saw more clearly than any of them how this could be achieved. He realised that at earlier moments in modern political economy this separation of our moral lives from our material concerns had been inconceivable. Utilitarianism had blown in like a weather front around 1800, trailing extremes of moral fervour and calculating zeal in its wake. Sen sensed this climate of opinion changing, and set about cultivating ameliorative ideas and approaches eradicated by its onset once again.</p><p>There have been two critiques of capitalism, but there should be only one. Amartya Sen is the new century's first great critic of capitalism because he has made that clear.<img src="https://metrics.aeon.co/count/a1c8572d-6975-4c7d-a8f3-e666c5be0d6f.gif" alt="Aeon counter – do not remove"></p><p>Tim Rogan</p><p>This article was originally published at <a href="https://aeon.co/?utm_campaign=republished-article" target="_blank">Aeon</a> and has been republished under Creative Commons. Read the <a href="https://aeon.co/ideas/why-amartya-sen-remains-the-centurys-great-critic-of-capitalism" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
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Typeface matters: Donations go up depending on typeface choice
A study in the hospitality industry shows the importance of design, including during a pandemic.
06 October, 2020
Credit: Drazen / Adobe Stock
- Ohio State University researchers found that the right type choice drives up donations in the hospitality industry.
- Warmth-focused versus competence-focused messages were matched with handwritten or machine-written typefaces.
- This research could help restaurants and hotels make targeted design choices as they struggle to survive.
<p>Want people to take your business seriously? You might want to rethink using the Papyrus on your business card.</p><p>The medium is the message, even when it comes to choosing a typeface. That's the consensus from Ohio State University researchers behind a <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCHM-05-2020-0462/full/html" target="_blank">new study</a>, published in the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. </p><p>Huiling Huang and Stephanie Liu, in the Department of Human Sciences, wanted to understand effective corporate social responsibility (CSR) marketing. They pitted two different messages—warmth-focused versus competence-focused—and two different typeface styles, either handwritten or machine-written. </p><p>CSR initiatives are important social and brand drivers in hospitality. Restaurants and hotels donate a percentage of sales or ask for contributions outright for causes they want to align with. This charitable endeavor raises money for organizations while making consumers feel like they're contributing to something important—a feeling that's (hopefully) transferred to the business sponsoring the event. </p><p>The authors cite Chili's raising over $72 million in customer donations for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital since 2002. The restaurant chain uses the tagline "the power to fight cancer is in your hand" as a call-to-action at their locations. </p><p>The researcher notes that CRS marketing is even more important in hospitality during the COVID-19 pandemic. </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Based on the global Edelman Trust Barometer report, 81% of consumers consider a brand's involvement of CSR as the deciding factor of buying from the brand during COVID-19 and 65% claim that organizations' responses to this crisis will greatly influence their brand choices in the future."</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDUwNzM5MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MDY1MDI0NH0.4pyWGsyhg3KP6qy_KMe5TJCg2JXQrDG5s0EsZUQH23M/img.jpg?width=980" id="4d17a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fe22b45fa74242624f9ac95b65fb3277" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
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<p><br></p><p>When done right, social responsibility gives back—to the charity and the business. And, as this research shows, something as simple as typeface choice matters.</p><p>Donors were one-sixth more likely to give when the typeface matched the message. In this case, that meant "warmth-focused" messages were handwritten while "competence-focused" initiatives were machine-written. </p><p>Interestingly, the researchers also asked respondents if they trusted the organization—in this case, the focus was restaurants—more when the message and typeface matched up. Typeface choice matters here as well. </p><p>Warmth-focused messages tend to emphasize care, friendliness, and love, whereas competence-focused messages appeal to efficiency and effectiveness. Using a machine-written typeface for a blood drive, for example, increased people willing to become a blood donor—you want a competent person sticking a needle into your arm—while donations to blood drives increased with handwritten marketing. </p><p>More than anything, this research points to trustworthiness. As the authors conclude, "findings from the moderated mediation analyses reveal that brand trust is the psychological mechanism underlying these effects." </p><p>This is especially important information for the hospitality industry, which is one of the <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2020/08/20/back-to-work-in-the-flames-the-hospitality-sector-in-a-pandemic/" target="_blank">hardest hit</a> by the pandemic. One blog has been <a href="https://www.theinfatuation.com/new-york/features/nyc-restaurant-closings" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">keeping track</a> of all the permanent restaurant closings in New York City, and it's not pretty. If ever a time for supporting local businesses mattered, we've reached it. </p><p>If something as simple as a typeface matters, use it in your marketing. For many, this is now a matter of survival. </p><p>--</p><p><em>Stay in touch with Derek on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/derekberes" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DerekBeresdotcom" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://derekberes.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Substack</a>. His next book is</em> "<em>Hero's Dose: The Case For Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy."</em></p>
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Is this the end of the myth of American exceptionalism?
In his new book, "American Rule," Jared Yates Sexton hopes to overturn a centuries-long myth.
16 September, 2020
Photo: Mike Focus / Shutterstock
- In "American Rule," Jared Yates Sexton wants to eradicate the myth of American exceptionalism.
- Since its founding, Sexton writes that America has been constructed to protect the wealthy elite.
- In this interview, the writer suggests that facing up to our tragic history affords us an opportunity to build something new.
<p>Jared Yates Sexton wants to destroy the myth of American exceptionalism. The associate professor of creative writing at Georgia Southern University began political reporting in 2015, just as the last presidential election began taking form. Covering this beat, he realized how little he knew about our nation's founding, the contours behind the straight line we're taught by default (and intention). So he decided to learn. The result is his exceptional new book, "American Rule: How A Nation Conquered The World But Failed Its People."</p><p>Think of American Rule as a modern companion to Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States"—books that, if our public education system was honest with itself, would be required in high school curriculum. Education is not about comfort, and Sexton was certainly discomfited while researching America's origins. </p><p>One example of many: our democracy has been shaped completely by white identity politics couched in evangelical religious language. Trees depend on the mycelium field of the forest; this specific brand of Christianity is the fungus that has nurtured generations of conflicted messaging between what we claim to stand for and who we really are. As Sexton <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpQJfxzLAik&t=2s" target="_blank">told me earlier this week</a>,</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"This idea that America is ordained by some sort of Christian god or all-mighty being, or even if we're just carrying out the will of the Universe, that myth was used from the very beginning of this country to paper over a lot of terrible mistakes, terrible treatment, and manipulations that ran counter to our espoused principles. From the very beginning, this has been a weaponized mythology."</p><p>As a boy growing up in conservative southern Indiana, Sexton realized in adulthood that he'd been raised in the "Cult of the Shining City." Ronald Reagan's unforgettable mythos of America's infallible greatness is but one stop along the way of centuries of idealism hiding a genocidal past. </p><p>Obviously, not the history we're taught. Sexton says modern American evangelicalism is rooted in the Christianity of the Confederacy. Discussions about the Civil War tend to focus on generals. Even the current conversation about statues, while important, doesn't sufficiently peel back layers to expose the racism and xenophobia underneath—reparations would provide a better conversation.</p><p>Sexton continues: </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"There's absolutely no reason we don't understand as Americans how the country was founded, except for the fact that we're hiding something unseemly that is used as the basis of control."</p>
Conspirituality 17: Interview with Jared Yates Sexton
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="15ef8bcd30b09c9541cc8d5d51d16893"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XpQJfxzLAik?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>America's leaders were suspicious of the public's intellect well before that war. The founding fathers created our particular system of democracy because they didn't trust common people. The protection and success of white, wealthy landowners has always been the focus, regardless of the generational veneer pained over the top. </p><p>At one point, Sexton had to leave his desk and walk around. The <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/white-settlers-buried-truth-about-midwests-mysterious-mound-cities-180968246/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Moundbuilder Myth</a> made him shake his head in disbelief. This conspiracy theory promoted the idea that Native Americans were not sophisticated enough to build mound complexes in the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys and throughout the Southeast, which must have meant Europeans were on the land well before indigenous people. This myth was so woven into the societal fabric that Andrew Jackson, who Sexton calls "a total genocidal madman," mentioned it during the State of the Union address. </p><p>This isn't the only flummoxing footnote. Americans are particularly primed for paranoia. As he says, "You cannot understand modern America without understanding conspiracy theories."</p><p>The recent horrors of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/09/15/pelosi-calls-for-investigation-into-claims-of-mass-hysterectomies-poor-covid-19-care-at-ice-detention-center/?fbclid=IwAR030JRc9pYvYwvgQMoeBDndZpSbqHkSw16Fn0YLPxwS1O-U2pvmA0DZCgk#4dc1d55e5f7c" target="_blank">hysterectomies performed without consent</a> (not a conspiracy theory) point to another long-standing stain on America's reputation: eugenics. British thinker Francis Galton's bastardization of his cousin Charles Darwin's idea of natural selection fell into favor throughout America. This biologically (and religiously) determined call for selective breeding laid the basis of Nazi Germany, though today few Americans recall how much we inspired Hitler's pogroms. </p><p>The problem, Sexton says, is that we constantly choose to deny or overlook past grievances, which keeps us primed to commit new ones. Germany fessed up to their horrors; so did South Africa. Not so America. Sexton cites Jimmy Carter's "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCOd-qWZB_g" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">malaise speech</a>," an oft-denounced address that was one of the most honest declarations by a U.S. president. Instead of living up to Carter's impassioned call to action, the public chose an actor that spent eight years coddling a nation's ego instead of holding up a mirror. </p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDM4NTQ0OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NjQ4ODcwMX0.AfjpHC3o7H50BA0t04_A5otr8nPbhA6O3htliWBuN0g/img.jpg?width=980" id="a760f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="427d2144e50437c8403674143de1d27d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Jared Yates Sexton
<p>And so here we are, a failing empire foolishly gripping onto the myth of a time that we were supposedly great. In fact, Reagan asked us to make America great again; so did Bill Clinton. With this myth comes the proliferation of conspiracy theories, most notably QAnon, though dozens persist. And they all point back to the founding myth in some capacity.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"If America is so special, how are we failing right now? Within the myth is the idea that we're being sabotaged from beyond and from within. Nationalistic conspiracy theories are what happens when a country's mythology starts to wane." </p><p>While critical, Sexton is not without optimism. Our failures shouldn't not erase the incredible progress we've made. Right now, however, that mirror Carter tried to wield is needed. Otherwise, we could be reliving the end of the Cold War. The dismantling of the Soviet Union destroyed Russian optimism, which the government used as a wedge to attain absolute power. </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"After the Cold War, they became as a people and a culture incredibly depressed, and incredibly oppressed. It reached a point where they knew their leaders were lying to them. But it was met with a big shrug. Eventually that apathy and powerlessness breeds more apathy and powerlessness."</p><p>Which is where America stands today: skyrocketing rates of depression and anxiety, as well as the blueprint for a new Civil War—a possibility Sexton calls a probability. Nothing new here: instead of collectively focusing our energy on the accumulation of wealth by the moneyed class, culture war issues and conspiracy theories keep us engaged in turf wars. </p><p>If you think it can't happen here, "American Rule" is a reminder that it has, and likely will. Sexton's advice: to achieve any sort of unity, we have to resist the urge to become apathetic. This isn't a red or blue issue. We're still neighbors, part of a community that stretches sea to shining sea, even if at the moment the seas are covered in smog. </p><p>And the road to healing begins with a recognition that we need to rid ourselves of the greatest myth in the history of the republic. </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Once we disabuse ourselves of the myth of American exceptionalism, and we start looking at American history and say it's really problematic and inspirational at other times, it allows us to build something new."</p><p>--</p><p><em>Stay in touch with Derek on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/derekberes" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DerekBeresdotcom" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://derekberes.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Substack</a>. His next book is</em> "<em>Hero's Dose: The Case For Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy."</em></p>
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Survey: Half of U.S. job seekers on the hunt because of coronavirus
The survey, performed by Morning Consult and commissioned by Amazon, found a majority of those job seekers want to move into new industries to stay relevant.
15 September, 2020
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<p><a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The United States economy added 1.4 million jobs</a> this August, reducing the unemployment rate to 8.4 percent. That's terrific for the million-plus Americans who found work during these trying times, but this good news is small solace. To date, the unemployment rate remains 4.9 percentage points higher than it was in February. That means more than double the number Americans are unemployed today than when they rang in the New Year.</p><p>According to a recent <a href="https://morningconsult.com/" target="_blank">Morning Consult</a> survey, that fact is largely the fault of novel coronavirus—another of 2020's soul-crushing trends. The survey found that about half of today's job seekers are looking as result of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
Survey says! It's still 2020
<p><span>The survey was commissioned by Amazon in advance of </span><a href="https://www.amazoncareerday.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">its 2020 Career Day</a><span>, the mega-corporation's nationwide hiring event. Career Day provides attendees the opportunity to attend fireside chats with career experts, receive one-on-one career coaching, and apply to work at various Amazon positions, while simultaneously filling the company's coffers with resumes. According to Amazon, last year's event saw 17,000 job seekers attend across six U.S. cities. This year, the event has gone digital.</span></p><p>"COVID-19 continues to affect millions of people across the country, and people are eager for the opportunity to get back to work," Beth Galetti, Amazon's senior vice president of human resources, said in <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200909005618/en/Amazon-Announces-Career-Day-2020-33000-Corporate" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a release</a>. "We're continuing to hire people from all backgrounds and at all skill levels, and we're glad to be able to mobilize our team of experienced recruiters and HR professionals to help job seekers across the country learn about opportunities at Amazon and elsewhere."</p><p>For the event, Amazon commissioned Morning Consult to take a survey of the changing job hunt dynamics and then <a href="https://blog.aboutamazon.com/job-creation-and-investment/amazon-announces-career-day-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">posted the highlights on its blog</a>. The results showed that 53 percent of job seekers are on the hunt because of the coronavirus pandemic.</p><p>Unless you're a <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/10/131016-otzi-ice-man-mummy-five-facts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">prehistoric ice man</a>, frozen in time since the halcyon days 2019, these results will hardly be surprising. Unemployment plunged to unprecedented levels in April of this year, a direct consequence of economic shutdowns enacted to repress the transmission of novel coronavirus. Spotty as they were, those shutdowns may have <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-economy-shutdown-coronavirus-saved-2-7-million-lives/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">saved 2.7 million lives</a>; however, many furloughed <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/03/nearly-half-of-workers-believe-temporary-layoff-will-become-permanent.html#:~:text=Work-,Nearly%20half%20of%20all%20furloughed%20workers%20now,temporary%20layoff%20will%20become%20permanent&text=In%20April%2C%20roughly%202%20in,jobs%20within%20a%20few%20months." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">workers believe those temporary layoffs have become permanent</a>. For others, they have.</p>Did coronavirus kick start the future of work?
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e86d207511b7cf45dca553b1e0812a0e"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AO0B2onfP9I?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>The survey's more interesting findings inform on how job seekers have been approaching their search. About a third of those surveyed believe their current work did not utilize either their skills or training, and 61 percent are actively looking for work in a different industry. Industries singled out include healthcare and technology.</p><p>To stay relevant, these job seekers are also seeking opportunities to gain new skills. The survey found that nearly a third of them believe technical skills will a key factor in a successful search. Nearly half would change jobs if their new employer offered upskill training.</p><p>These results provide a clue that <a href="https://bigthink.com/coronavirus/universal-basic-income-coronavirus" target="_self">the pandemic may have accelerated predicted employment trends</a> of the 21<sup>st</sup>-century. Many experts have warned that automation and other technological advancements have the potential to take millions of jobs from human workers. Kalus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, dubbed this seismic shift the Fourth Industrial Revolution. </p><p>As noted by the World Economic Forum in its "<a href="http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2018.pdf" target="_blank">The Future of Jobs Report 2018</a>": "There are complex feedback loops between new technology, jobs and skills. New technologies can drive business growth, job creation and demand for specialist skills but they can also displace entire roles when certain tasks become obsolete or automated."</p><p>Preparations and prescriptions recommended by these experts have varied. Former Democratic president candidate <a href="https://bigthink.com/politics-current-affairs/andrew-yang-2639022603" target="_self">Andrew Yang</a> proposed a <a href="https://bigthink.com/politics-current-affairs/universal-basic-income?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" target="_self">universal basic income</a>. Others, <a href="https://bigthink.com/kenzie-academy/software-engineering-school" target="_self">like the World Economic Forum and Kenzie Academy</a>, support innovative education and upskilling efforts to teach workers the hard and soft skills necessary to compete in a tech-driven market. </p><p>This forecast looks eerily similar to <a href="https://bigthink.com/coronavirus/skills-needed-for-a-job?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" target="_self">a post-COVID-19 one</a>. With the pandemic scattering employees to the four winds, and home offices, employers are increasingly <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/06/22/small-business-tech-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">turning to technology to survive</a>. Tech-focused companies, like Amazon, are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/technology/coronavirus-facebook-amazon-youtube.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">thriving</a>. <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2017/05/03/the-future-of-jobs-and-jobs-training/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">These companies need workers</a> who can work alongside technology and cultivate the skills machines and AI cannot easily replicate.</p><p>This survey suggests that many of today's job seekers have intuited this paradigm shift. Hopefully, the resources and infrastructure will be available to help people develop their capacity and make the post-COVID-19 job market a more promising one.</p>
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