Author: Jack Buffington
While the ongoing debate continues as to whether our current economic crisis is due to “Big Government” or “Big Business” between the political parties, there’s another view being espoused by Jack Buffington in his latest book, “Progress, Technology, and Seven Billion People”: it’s due to technology. No, technology is not a bad thing at all, however, most jobs being eliminated in the United States are due to technology in one form or the other, whether it be due to automation or technology that allows jobs to be shipped to Asia.
The problem really is not technology itself, because the rapid (and escalating) pace of technology is inevitable, and part of evolution. The problem instead is that our present economic system is built for the 19th and 20th century where big institutions (government and corporations) were necessary to enable job growth, capitalism and prosperity. Today, this economic system is outdated, and unable to withstand the exponential pace of technology that has eliminated labor, leading to “jobless recoveries” (if such a term ever made any sense).
The solution to this problem is a 21st century model of capitalism that enables technology to rapidly proceed, while allowing the 7 billion people of the world to live a prosperous life. Buffington provides a model for the solution that will enable solutions for our economic crisis, rather than making the same mistakes within an outdated system.