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Simple: globalization and automation have allowed the haves of society to make money at a faster pace than ever before. The lower costs passed onto consumers ar

Simple: globalization and automation have allowed the haves of society to make money at a faster pace than ever before. The lower costs passed onto consumers are used to blunt the effect of stagnating or falling wages. For every formerly-prosperous-now-struggling American or European, there are a hundred formerly-starving-now-stable Chinese, Indonesians, Indians - name it. That is why the global order is being railed against in developed countries while workers in developing nations are happy enough to be living considerably better than their parents or grandparents ever did. This also explains why the minority groups targeted by the DNC are favorable to Clinton: they are used to being pandered to with no results, but at least the modern Democratic Party assured them protections and higher standards of living than the alternative - why rock the boat? In the end, the ONLY solution is for the West to come TOGETHER to solve the problems that have dogged their societies and are sure to do so when developing economies become sufficiently developed. Otherwise, we will fight each other separately while the economic drivers (cheap labor) of developing economies will be happy enough with their newfound living standards to threaten to take down the global system that has benefited them directly and clearly.

tomp 10y ago
> That is why the global order is being railed against in developed countries while workers in developing nations are happy enough to be living considerably better than their parents or grandparents ever did. I don't think this is the cause. I think the real cause is that people in developed countries see how unfair their societies have become - it's not the problem that the incredibly poor Chinese are getting (slightly) richer instead of them, but that the local warlords, banklords and politilords are getting much, much richer while the people themselves grow poorer.
- internaut 10y ago
  I agree with you but it's very hard for people to snap out of the idea that "society is getting richer". It took a long time for me to realize that growth had stalled for decades because I was looking at growth as measured in fiat and took for granted that the stock market returned 10% per year like clockwork. What would one expect to see if real growth ex computation had stalled or slowed? What would be the symptoms? People's lay intuitions are, I think, correct. More 'sophisticated' types have been misled. Some kinds of errors can only be reached by analysis. http://media.salon.com/1997/03/pravda970310.gif http://media.salon.com/1997/03/pravda970310.gif
  - tomp 10y ago
    Hm... if anything, real growth is continuing faster than before - it's just that we often don't feel it so much any more! Clothes are insanely cheap, but we want designer stuff. Phones became supercomputers, but we want the newest iPhone with the best camera! We have exotic fruits from all over the world, but they're sooo expensive! The problem is that these are the little things, and while they often make our lives better, they don't matter that much - definitely much less than child-care costs, education costs (and accessiblity), housing/rents, jobs/careers and healthcare. Unfortunately, these cannot be improved by globalisation and the free market, but instead often have their prices set by the highest bidder, which keeps getting richer because of rising inequality.
codecamper 10y ago
We are one planet. The real problems are not economy, but the environment. This will force everyone to act together as one planet drifting light years away from anything else known to be habitable.

tomp 10y ago

> That is why the global order is being railed against in developed countries while workers in developing nations are happy enough to be living considerably better than their parents or grandparents ever did. I don't think this is the cause. I think the real cause is that people in developed countries see how unfair their societies have become - it's not the problem that the incredibly poor Chinese are getting (slightly) richer instead of them, but that the local warlords, banklords and politilords are getting much, much richer while the people themselves grow poorer.

internaut 10y ago
I agree with you but it's very hard for people to snap out of the idea that "society is getting richer". It took a long time for me to realize that growth had stalled for decades because I was looking at growth as measured in fiat and took for granted that the stock market returned 10% per year like clockwork. What would one expect to see if real growth ex computation had stalled or slowed? What would be the symptoms? People's lay intuitions are, I think, correct. More 'sophisticated' types have been misled. Some kinds of errors can only be reached by analysis. http://media.salon.com/1997/03/pravda970310.gif http://media.salon.com/1997/03/pravda970310.gif
- tomp 10y ago
  Hm... if anything, real growth is continuing faster than before - it's just that we often don't feel it so much any more! Clothes are insanely cheap, but we want designer stuff. Phones became supercomputers, but we want the newest iPhone with the best camera! We have exotic fruits from all over the world, but they're sooo expensive! The problem is that these are the little things, and while they often make our lives better, they don't matter that much - definitely much less than child-care costs, education costs (and accessiblity), housing/rents, jobs/careers and healthcare. Unfortunately, these cannot be improved by globalisation and the free market, but instead often have their prices set by the highest bidder, which keeps getting richer because of rising inequality.

codecamper 10y ago

We are one planet. The real problems are not economy, but the environment. This will force everyone to act together as one planet drifting light years away from anything else known to be habitable.