A number of podcasts I’ve been listening to lately have been comparing modern day American societal issues to those that affected America in the 1800s and 1900s. There are so many recurring themes that it makes me laugh at the histrionics our media, politicians and pundits blather on about every day. I’ll highlight a few here.
Our country is more divided than ever in history – This is not even close to being accurate. From revolutionary times, through the vivil war through the 1920s, the 1960s, the 1970s and up until today, we have always been divided. There have always been at least two political parties opposing each other. There have been people in favor of economic growth and others who wanted to put the environment first. There have been warmongers and peaceniks. Half the country seceded from the Union and we went to war against each other! Division is nothing new.
The previous generation ruined everything. Generation X was certain we’d all die in a nuclear war, after the entire country had collapsed from the loss of the steel, manufacturing and auto industries. Meanwhile, our parents (Baby Boomers), who had left us to fend for ourselves as latchkey kids had enjoyed free sex, drugs and rock ‘n ‘ roll while they were all blaming their parents ruining the earth. You can walk this all the way back to some of the first colonists who got the “prime land” while the next generation was certain they got screwed.
AI is going to kill us all after it takes all of our jobs and destroys humanity. That’s what people predicted about the steam engine, railroads, automobiles, manufacturing, assembly lines, the Internet, Television, railroads, globalization, and every new development or technology that either brought about major change or was feared that it would. Some of these changes made life hard for specific groups of people. My family clearly suffered from job losses, industry failures and market shifts. But none of us died because of them. We shifted into other careers, move to better locations and adapted – just like everyone else did. We’ll adjust to whatever AI (or the next technology) brings.
The current generation is more depressed, anxious and unprepared than any previous generation. It was eye opening to listen to readings from newspapers, periodicals and journals from the 1800s and 1900s. What were some of the problems? Depression. Anxiety about the future. A lack of good jobs and career mobility. Economic inequality. Physical fitness. A decline in “manhood”. Mistreatment of minorities and women. Fears about “them” taking over society (At different times, “them” included immigrants, black people, gays, Italians, Asians, Jews, Catholics, communists, Muslims and many others).
Throughout history, we’ve had a plethora of people who predicted catastrophic doom from societal and technological changes, while at the same time, others were predicting a pollyanna-ish utopian future of luxury and leisure.
History has shown us it is best to be skeptical of both.
Personally, I follow the money by asking myself, what does this prognosticator stand to gain from his position?
- Is he selling newspapers, books and TV advertising by using doom scenarios as his bait?
- Does he own stock in new startups poised to take advantage of the latest hyped technology?
- Is he part of the “old guard” trying to maintain his position of power, market dominance, monoploy and control by obstructing innovation?
The real reasons are often just beneath the surface. All you have to do is look.