Growth and Displacement

Progress should mean more jobs of all kinds in the future. So displacement doesn't destroy all opportunities to work.

BUT the number of prestige jobs may not increase or increase very little. It is the increasing competition for popular fields with limited high status that will grow worse with increased education and prosperity.

Think of it this way. So long as there are benefits to being in the top 20 universities (regardless of how close to them the other 20 are) we should expect to see it become harder for people to get into Caltech or Princeton over time. The better educated people are in general and the richer the general population becomes, the worse will be the problem. Ditto for entry into certain professions.

“The better educated people are in general and the richer the general population becomes, the worse will be the problem.”

The problem of inequality that overly concerned John Rawls is something we can live with. Moreover, I actually believe it is unavoidable if we are to have a robust economy. Our only real worry is whether those lower on the financial totem pole still get to live in a decent manner. And the evidence suggests that this is exactly what is occurring! We rarely worry about getting enough to eat. Instead, it’s often merely a question of how expensive is the wine chosen for our dinner. Mickey Kaus splendidly deals with this theme in his brilliant “The End Of Equality.”

PS: This is probably not the appropriate place to rant extensively against the late Harvard philosopher. Nonetheless, I’m convinced that the well meaning John Rawls unwittingly caused enormous damage.