Economic Possibilities for our Children

Keynes was writing in the midst of the Great Depression, but also as the results of the first two technology revolutions1 were being felt throughout society. Today, we are in the midst of the Third Technology Revolution 2 (TR3), which will do more than just increase productivity. It is likely to reduce the labor component of the maginal cost of production towards zero: In other words, TR3 is likely to replace most human labor with a range of technology, made possible by further advances in computing, machine learning & big data, robotics, and other core TR3 technologies. For a large swath of humanity, this will lead to two existential problems: an economic problem—how to acquire the physical necessities for life—and a psychological problem—how to find meaning and dignity in life apart from one’s vocation. Addressing these issues will lead to many challenges and changes in our economic, educational, social welfare and maybe even monetary systems.