Unemployment

After a BIG announcement (!!!), your hosts David and Ellie get into the economic and psychological features of the state no one wants to be stuck in: unemployment. How does capitalism structurally construct “wageless life” while nonetheless treating it as a personal failure or unhappy accident? What’s the connection between unemployment and reactionary politics? And is AI going to put us all out of a job? Correcting misconceptions about automation, UBI, and more, your hosts take you through some significant arguments about the impacts of unemployment and reflect on why this socially-constructed position can make us feel so worthless even when we know that we’re not the problem. In the Substack bonus segment, Ellie and David reflect on the end of Overthink and share some reasons for it. Works Discussed: Aaron Benanav, Automation and the Future of Work Aaron Benanav, “Is the AI Bubble About to Burst?” Eloundou et al., “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models” Charles Babbage, On the Economy of Machines and Manufactures Michael Denning, “Wageless Life” Wendy Brown, In the Ruins of Neoliberalism Regina Bateson, “Perceptions of pandemic resume gaps: Survey experimental evidence from the United States” Start your business today with the industry’s best business partner, Shopify. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at shopify.com/overthink Elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to Quince.com/overthink for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too. If you’re ready to stop talking yourself out of finding care and making progress, then head to rula.com and take the first step. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.