Globally there is less inequality, but locally that’s not how it feels.  To counter this, ‘we should pay more tax’ say the Patriotic Millionaires in the US.  AI could save the world. Tea pickers in Kenya don’t agree. There are some rules, but no one-size-fits-all, regarding how much is enough in terms of socialising. 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“People tend to care about their status in relation to those around them, not necessarily with respect to others far away, whom they will rarely meet.” (Branko Milanovic in the article of the week)

ARTICLE OF THE WEEK

Branko Milanovic, The Great Convergence
(Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2023)
A formidable précis from one the world’s most prominent experts in the field. The dominant narrative about inequality is the following: across the globe, the gap between the rich and the rest has widened year after year, spreading anxiety, stoking resentment, and roiling politics. The reason? Globalization has enriched certain elites, but while hurting many others, making them susceptible to populist politics. This narrative is true, but only if we look at each country on its own. At the global scale, the story of inequality in the twenty-first century is the reverse: the world is growing more equal than it has been for over 100 years. This means that people in the lower-income groups of rich countries (who’ve historically ranked high in the global income distribution) are now being overtaken, in terms of their incomes, by people in Asia. Implications are consequential because different global income positions correspond to different consumption patterns (paywall that requires prior registration – 10min-ish).
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Marc Andreessen, Why AI Will Save the World
(Andreessen Horowitz, June 2023)
This is from a prominent investor in AI and one of its greatest ‘evangelists’. We’ve expressed so many times a more balanced, if not opposite, conviction, that it’s worth reading what Andreesen has to say. His view in short: “AI will not destroy the world, and in fact may save it.” A must-read to grasp what the AI enthusiasts believe – great on the upsides of AI but contains zero analysis on its existing and potential downsides (free access – a long read of 30 min+ but with a table of content for shortcuts).
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Jennifer Ludden, These millionaires want to tax the rich, and they’re lobbying working-class voters
(NPR, 13 June 2023)
A segway to the first article. This is about the nonprofit Patriotic Millionaires in the US. For more than a decade, they’ve lobbied Congress to make changes because they see inequality as a danger and worry that ‘big’ money is corrupting politics and driving civil unrest. But they haven’t had much success and are now trying to convince people their voice matters. Will this work? Read on (metered paywall – reads in 5-6 min).
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Martin Siele, Kenya’s tea pickers are destroying the machines replacing them
(Semafor, 15 June 2023)
A counterpoint to Andreessen’s overly optimistic take on AI. It will ultimately bring benefits, but not without much pain in the process. This story is reminiscent of what happened with the Luddites in the 19th century. In Kenya, tea pickers are destroying machines brought in to replace them.  The violent protests highlight the challenge faced by workers as more agribusiness companies rely on automation to cut costs (metered paywall – reads in 5-6 min).
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Allie Volpe, How much social interaction do you actually need?
(Vox, 13 June 2023)
The crux: the dangers of loneliness are innumerable, but too much social interaction can be equally draining. In truth, “humans need a balanced diet of social nutrition, including time alone, to thrive.” Fending off both loneliness and social exhaustion is a highly specific endeavor; yet, as research shows, many people don’t have the self-insight to figure out “the right dose of time spent with others”. An interesting insight: the more “relational diversity” or the broader the “social portfolio” a person has in their social repertoire, the higher their wellbeing. The bottom line: feeling socially fulfilled is very much an idiosyncratic process – some rules apply but everybody is different (free access, reads in 5-7 min).
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