“Humanity is on the verge of its darkest hour—or its greatest moment

The consequences of the technological revolution are about to hit hard: unemployment will spike as new technologies replace labor in the manufacturing, service, and professional sectors of an economy that is already struggling. The end of work as we know it will hit at the worst moment imaginable: as capitalism fosters permanent stagnation, when the labor market is in decrepit shape, with declining wages, expanding poverty, and scorching inequality. Only the dramatic democratization of our economy can address the existential challenges we now face. Yet, the US political process is so dominated by billionaires and corporate special interests, by corruption and monopoly, that it stymies not just democracy but progress.

The great challenge of these times is to ensure that the tremendous benefits of technological progress are employed to serve the whole of humanity, rather than to enrich the wealthy few. Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols argue that the United States needs a new economy in which revolutionary technologies are applied to effectively address environmental and social problems and used to rejuvenate and extend democratic institutions. Based on intense reporting, rich historical analysis, and deep understanding of the technological and social changes that are unfolding, they propose a bold strategy for democratizing our digital destiny—before it’s too late—and unleashing the real power of the Internet, and of humanity.”

PEOPLE GET READY: THE FIGHT AGAINST A JOBLESS ECONOMY AND A CITIZENLESS DEMOCRACY

I COPY HERE A PAST EVENT DETAIL:

A conversation with the authors

Monday, March 7, 3-5 p.m.

PSU Market Center Building, room 123

Free and open to the public

Humanity is on the verge of its darkest hour—or its greatest moment. In their new book, People Get Ready: The Fight Against a Jobless Economy and a Citizenless Democracy, Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols argue that the U.S. needs a new economy in which revolutionary technologies are applied to effectively address environmental and social problems and used to rejuvenate and extend democratic institutions.

“John Nichols and Robert W. McChesney make a compelling, and terrifying, case [for] a radical reform agenda to take power back from the corporations and give it to the people.”
— Naomi Klein

“Nichols and McChesney call us, as Tom Paine did more than two centuries ago, to turn knowledge into power.”
— Bernie Sanders

John Nichols is the Nation’s national affairs correspondent, a contributing writer for the Progressive and associate editor of the Capital Times. He frequently appears on MSNBC, NPR, BBC, and other broadcast media outlets.

Robert W. McChesney is the Gutgsell Endowed Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is the author or editor of twenty-three books and his work has been translated into thirty-one languages.

Co-hosted by the Portland State University Institute for Sustainable Solutions and Department of Communications.