Fabulous Noah and Tyler. I was on the Internet in 1972... at geek school. And since that time I see few new unpredictable things..just derivatives. Which are awesome. Smartphones are clever..but just a creative assembly of 50 year older technologies for the most part. Certainly software might be argued as innovative..but..I would say not so much.
I've been interested in a concept I called years ago... "Frontier Theory". Which may be a thing today. Simply said.. it's a necessary growth outlet as humankind grows and progresses ever forward. Those were the Colonies, the Western movement in the US, globalization eventually. But equilibrium approaches as local economies have developed.
Eventually equilibrium. Productivity itself, extrapolated makes an additional complexity. As one Foxconn factory makes a billion phones a year... for example..there is just going to be less work for people.
So a 25 hr mandatory work week with a living wage must come along i believe. An equilibrium has been approaching.
I think our models of work, political theory will have to adapt down the road
Good interview and Tyler's an interesting thinker, but this is categorically untrue:
"Tyler is a highly eclectic thinker, drawing his ideas from a vast array of inspirations and stubbornly refusing to allow any particular ideology or school of thought to limit the scope of his theses."
I've lived in Israel for just over 20 years. Curiously, things go wrong simultaneously in both countries, then diverge in unpredictable ways. When we got here, Bush Jr. and Arik Sharon had each just taken over. You know how that went. Then years of boring political stasis in both countries, each developing immobility to a high art. With recent defeats of both Trump and Netanyahu, governments in both countries are now standing motionless, blinded by the sudden light, unable to figure out what to do next...
He didn't answer your question about Floyd and BLM. No mention of MMT, and the common refrain from Conservatives: "how are you going to pay for it", and its relationship to crippling hyper=partisanship. My verdict on your discussion: navel gazing.
Great stuff! I found myself wishing you would get a little more aggro, though. Cowen is great, but maybe partly because he's so great, he rarely has to face "hostile" questions. You two have a lot of points of disagreement and it might have been interesting to focus on those.
Tyler is spot-on. Everyone should live in another country for awhile. Because it doesn’t just expand your worldview. It helps you understand yourself better when you have to think about and work at being understood in another culture. Which won’t happen if you stay in the same place your whole life.
The quality and depth of your friendships and insights is wonderful. When I was beginning to lose faith altogether in Twitter, I began following you and enjoy your takes. You have even brought me to follow you on Substack. Tyler Cowen provides the unexpected answer and makes me think. Thanks for a great interview. I have begun exploring what I think about tech as the medium that becomes an overwhelming force. I do not think that tech can cure all ills but believe that as it merges with the life sciences, it will allow us to leap forward yet again the same way the transistor has been the wave for 75 years now.
Do you know the work of Jason Hickel ( a degrowth theorist) - who offers a view from the South - See his books 'The Divide' and 'Less is More' I think he probably blogs too. Might there be a globally relevant way out of stagnation based on technological advances to deliver 'degrowth' - greening technologies like Tesla cars and Space X satellites are part of this - but only if we can also find a better universalist, more inclusive and fairer if neo-realist form of international politics on which to base it all ....
Fabulous Noah and Tyler. I was on the Internet in 1972... at geek school. And since that time I see few new unpredictable things..just derivatives. Which are awesome. Smartphones are clever..but just a creative assembly of 50 year older technologies for the most part. Certainly software might be argued as innovative..but..I would say not so much.
I've been interested in a concept I called years ago... "Frontier Theory". Which may be a thing today. Simply said.. it's a necessary growth outlet as humankind grows and progresses ever forward. Those were the Colonies, the Western movement in the US, globalization eventually. But equilibrium approaches as local economies have developed.
Eventually equilibrium. Productivity itself, extrapolated makes an additional complexity. As one Foxconn factory makes a billion phones a year... for example..there is just going to be less work for people.
So a 25 hr mandatory work week with a living wage must come along i believe. An equilibrium has been approaching.
I think our models of work, political theory will have to adapt down the road
I lived in Spain for 7 weeks last fall; it was the highlight of 2021. I totally agree that traveling abroad can be eye-opening!
Look at Noah bringing the goods!
Why move to Japan in particular?
Good interview and Tyler's an interesting thinker, but this is categorically untrue:
"Tyler is a highly eclectic thinker, drawing his ideas from a vast array of inspirations and stubbornly refusing to allow any particular ideology or school of thought to limit the scope of his theses."
I've lived in Israel for just over 20 years. Curiously, things go wrong simultaneously in both countries, then diverge in unpredictable ways. When we got here, Bush Jr. and Arik Sharon had each just taken over. You know how that went. Then years of boring political stasis in both countries, each developing immobility to a high art. With recent defeats of both Trump and Netanyahu, governments in both countries are now standing motionless, blinded by the sudden light, unable to figure out what to do next...
He didn't answer your question about Floyd and BLM. No mention of MMT, and the common refrain from Conservatives: "how are you going to pay for it", and its relationship to crippling hyper=partisanship. My verdict on your discussion: navel gazing.
Great stuff! I found myself wishing you would get a little more aggro, though. Cowen is great, but maybe partly because he's so great, he rarely has to face "hostile" questions. You two have a lot of points of disagreement and it might have been interesting to focus on those.
Great interview!
FYI the link to https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2021/09/16th-and-17th-century-protestantism-that-was-then-this-is-now.html is missing its final character and 404-ing
Tyler is spot-on. Everyone should live in another country for awhile. Because it doesn’t just expand your worldview. It helps you understand yourself better when you have to think about and work at being understood in another culture. Which won’t happen if you stay in the same place your whole life.
I’m not sure I understand the last comment about Canada?
The quality and depth of your friendships and insights is wonderful. When I was beginning to lose faith altogether in Twitter, I began following you and enjoy your takes. You have even brought me to follow you on Substack. Tyler Cowen provides the unexpected answer and makes me think. Thanks for a great interview. I have begun exploring what I think about tech as the medium that becomes an overwhelming force. I do not think that tech can cure all ills but believe that as it merges with the life sciences, it will allow us to leap forward yet again the same way the transistor has been the wave for 75 years now.
Writing here to let Cowen (and Smith) know I’d happily take them on a tour of Hasidic Boro Park (in Brooklyn, NY) if they want to see other cultures.
Also, I’m not sure it’s fair to characterize Emergent Ventures as a foray into venture capital, as he doesn’t get any profits.
Otherwise, loved the piece.
A beautiful back and forth between two prominent and quite similar intellectuals. I'd say though:
There's not a lot of substance to significant African countries getting worse politically - it's pretty much the same/getting better.
And to deregulation, there needs to be more regulation in certain areas. Antitrust law for instance.
Do you know the work of Jason Hickel ( a degrowth theorist) - who offers a view from the South - See his books 'The Divide' and 'Less is More' I think he probably blogs too. Might there be a globally relevant way out of stagnation based on technological advances to deliver 'degrowth' - greening technologies like Tesla cars and Space X satellites are part of this - but only if we can also find a better universalist, more inclusive and fairer if neo-realist form of international politics on which to base it all ....
Again with a Japan tease and no updated guide.
My heart breaks…