An article in Time this week seems to have a valuable perspective on the economic situation for the American middle class. Two forces seem to be at the bottom of pressure the middle class is feeling: globalization and technology. In a sense, those two forces might be considered to be just one: technology.
I have heard about technology for about 40 years. I know roughly some of the steps in the progression from being nude, shivering and starving in the forest, to being comfortably clothed, warm and well-fed in a house with electric lights and a car in the garage. For a while, I taught a course on what the future might be like. Many of the students would took the course were majors in the College of Natural Resources, people that in today's world might be called "green", that is, interested in preserving the purity of the earth's water and the species of plants and animals. Quite a few of them dreamed of a life as a forest ranger, possibly in Alaska or Montana or some wilderness area, where everything was going to be quiet, pristine and lovely.
It is true that humans, and especially Europeans, have a tendency to try to solve problems or even little bothers and irritants, with systems and machines. Along with later Europeans transplanted to the Americas (by means of several technical inventions that enabled navigation on the seas and flight through the air), they invented faster looms to make clothes and central heating to avoid winter. They spread the use of automobiles and steam ships and planes and railroads to move goods all over the country. They built school systems for all children, extended the years of publicly supported education to 12, founded universities for both advanced schooling and every sort of research. Whether it was dominating India, manipulating China, colonizing the Americas and Africa, they have been quite successful in establishing themselves and arranging matters through various means to their advantage.
But through the natural course of events, countries all over the world have learned how they too can make, sell and ship things, from cars and steel to HD tv's and iPods and movies.
What can Americans do? The article above mentions some steps to take but they are not the sort Americans have had to focus on for a long time. First and foremost, we need to focus on investment instead of consumption. Many of us are not very sure of what that would even mean. How about spending on research, technology and development? Not ways to make better toys out of cheaper materials. Infrastructure and education are not as sexy and exciting as fast boats or second houses but they are needed and will pay off better.
The article's author grew up in India and visits there still. In Mumbai, he finds an upbeat feeling, a can-do feeling which contrasts sharply to the downcast attitude he finds in New York. It will be interesting to see what we do over the next 10 to 15 years.
