Conservatives endlessly whine about how traditional values are being eroded and, yet, they also get a hard on about technology, business growth, and economic growth. Accelerating change in the economy, especially through technology, also accelerates the breakdown in ... 1/7
... other parts of society. And, these changes eventually erode and replace traditional values. As Stephen Hawking once predicted, when the machine owner class controls the means of production and there is no redistribution of wealth, technology will create ... 2/7
... more economic inequality - not less. The breakdown in other parts of the society are pretty clear in my mind. Social alienation. Increasing materialism by the very people who are slowly being made poorer - the upper middle class. 3/7
High rates of psychological or mental disorders in the population. Political inequality. So, what is needed? It seems obvious that technology advancement has to, in parallel, be joined by a policy of taking care of those "other" societal changes and harms. 4/7
What is not going to work is continuing to applaud growth for the sake of growth while opining for the return of traditional values. This is why giving technology a free pass to move profits overseas, enjoy massive tax breaks, and grow unabated does not work if ... 5/7
... you ignore all of the other problems via the excuse of "that's welfare" or "that's for the weak."

Technology makes redistribution more necessary - not less. Since we equate tech with meritocracy, we tend to overlook the fact that its impact is on widening the ... 6/7
... gap in society. So, the next time you hear a Conservative act pro-technology and pro-traditional values, pause for a moment then ask him/her WHY both can co-exist with or without a stronger, smarter social welfare mechanism in place. 7/7
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