The second implication is that if collectively we as a society do not manage to act now to design policies that will help people survive and hold on to their dignity in this world of high inequality, citizens’ confidence in society’s ability to deal with this issue might be permanently undermined. This underscores the urgency of designing, and

In the United States, there is another possible reaction. Because many believe the American market system is fundamentally fair, they must then find something else to blame. If they don’t get that job, it must be because the elites have somehow conspired to give it to an African American, a Hispanic, or at one remove, to a Chinese worker. Why would

The immigrants may not produce growth for their new communities unless they spend their earnings there; if the money is repatriated, the economic benefits of immigration are lost to the host community.

The key ultimately is to not lose sight of the fact that GDP is a means and not an end. A useful means, no doubt, especially when it creates jobs or raises wages or plumps the government budget so it can redistribute more. But the ultimate goal remains one of raising the quality of life of the average person, and especially the worst-off person.

Social scientists have long suspected that people’s sense of self-worth is related to their position in the groups they see themselves as part of—their neighborhoods, their peers, their country. If this were true, inequality would of course directly affect well-being.

In other words, globalization and the rise of the infotech industry, combined with the sticky economy, and no doubt with other important but perhaps more local changes, created a world of good and bad firms, which in turn contributed to an increase in inequality. In this view, what happened may have been unfortunate, but it probably could not have

Truth did not sway their opinions. Simply thinking about migration makes people more parochial. The facts aren’t allowed to get in the way.

Since the 1990s, middle-aged whites with low education are increasingly likely to report themselves in poor health, and they are more likely to complain of various pains and aches. They are also more likely to report symptoms of depression.

Young retirees living off UBI find new meaning in their lives, working at home, volunteering in their communities, taking up crafts, or exploring the world. Unfortunately, evidence suggests that it is actually difficult for people to find meaning outside the structure of their work.