
The War on Normal People
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Narrated by:
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Andrew Yang
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By:
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Andrew Yang
About this listen
From entrepreneur Andrew Yang, the founder of Venture for America, an eye-opening look at how new technologies are erasing millions of jobs before our eyes - and a rallying cry for the urgent steps America must take, including Universal Basic Income, to stabilize our economy.
The shift toward automation is about to create a tsunami of unemployment. Not in the distant future - now. One recent estimate predicts 13 million American workers will lose their jobs within the next seven years - jobs that won't be replaced. In a future marked by restlessness and chronic unemployment, what will happen to American society?
In The War on Normal People, Andrew Yang paints a dire portrait of the American economy. Rapidly advancing technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation software are making millions of Americans' livelihoods irrelevant. The consequences of these trends are already being felt across our communities in the form of political unrest, drug use, and other social ills. The future looks dire - but is it unavoidable?
In The War on Normal People, Yang imagines a different future - one in which having a job is distinct from the capacity to prosper and seek fulfillment. At this vision's core is Universal Basic Income, the concept of providing all citizens with a guaranteed income - and one that is rapidly gaining popularity among forward-thinking politicians and economists. Yang proposes that UBI is an essential step toward a new, more durable kind of economy, one he calls "human capitalism."
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2018 Andrew Yang (P)2018 Hachette AudioCritic reviews
"In this powerful book, Andrew Yang highlights the urgent need to rewrite America's social contract. In a call to arms that comes from both head and heart, Yang has made an important contribution to the debate about where America is headed and what we need to do about it." (Alec Ross, New York Times best-selling author of The Industries of the Future)
"This book is a must read. Andrew Yang is tackling one of the biggest challenges facing our country the way only an entrepreneur can, but unlike most, he sees the big picture. Making money is good for you - but building a strong society and strong people is good for all of us. The topics Andrew addresses in this book aren't about some dystopian future way down the road. These things are happening today, and every entrepreneur should read this book to understand the challenges of the next decade." (Daymond John, star of ABC's Shark Tank, best-selling author of The Power of Broke, and founder of FUBU)
"Andrew Yang is one of those rare visionaries who puts dreams into action. The War on Normal People is both a clear-eyed look at the depths of our social and economic problems and an innovative roadmap toward a better future." (Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO of Thrive Global)
"A sobering portrait of a crumbling polity...[and] a provocative work of social criticism." (Kirkus Reviews)
The book is a powerfully personal plea by a successful entrepreneur for a "human capitalism" to alleviate the social decay and psychological disruption caused by the creative destruction of capitalism. He argues for a Universal Basic Income as a cushion for the savaged working class.
What I most liked about the book was the brutal, honest and shocking writing style. He reveals more about himself, and about America, that most people would be comfortable with. Even though the author apparently has political ambitions, there is nothing sugar-coated about his words. This is hard talk about harsh realities.
The book is just as long as it needs to be. The first half is clearly superior to the second. It prognosticates about a dystopian future where robots do most of the work and whole regions are abandoned to joblessness, crime and waste. A doomsday prophet is always better at scaring people than at offering remedies and hope.
The book is at its best when it makes the reader s--t her pants. The UBI solution is offered as the remedy. Yang calls it, loftily, a "freedom dividend", which provides unconditional cash transfers to all people. I agree with his solytion, although he doesn't add much new to the burgeoning debate around UBI. He openly lifts his proposal almost wholesale from Andy Stern's recent (and impressive) book, Raising the Floor. This is fine, since Stern has it right.
Where the book falters is where it attempts to dabble in broader, speculative policy proposals. These range from misguided moral panic in his efforts to blame the free markets for the failures of governments (such as Wall Street bail-outs and America's corrupt health care system) to promising, but underdeveloped, ideas in new institutional arrangements (such as the idea of energizing dying cities with government-backed time banks and other social credit arrangements). It's all very rough, very hit and miss.
Despite his occasionally wild and silly proposals, and despite his relentless dystopianism, I found his raw message to be hard-hitting and very important. I don't think we have any choice than to implement UBI and embrace technological change.
There's an uncensored urgency to his message. It slaps the reader in the face. Good job, Yang, you have my attention.
PS..Andrew Yang reads his own book, which is very personal, so it feels doubly intimate.
Bleak but promising
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Extremely important book
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Essential listening
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A thorough and well researched argument for UBI.
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This man is an inspiration
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Presidential
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Something definitely needs to change if we want to avoid what appears to be an inevitable future.
Andrew provides some very positive heart warming solutions, which I just hope more people would consider, rather than attempting to block.
Enlightening & Scary
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An Interesting Character
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A breath of fresh air
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I highlight the six leading causes and point out that if this thinking and approach prevails, where markets are placed before humanity, then, when we usher in this new epoch of Man - the AI and Robotics epoch, we are all screwed.
This absolutely excellent book by Andrew Yang backs my hypothesis with all the disturbing facts. This book should be mandatory reading for everybody involved in determining social and economic policy. Unfortunately, it probably won't because it involves a fairer, more balanced outcome for the majority; something the rich elite don't want and will resist with all their considerable might. They want it all, yet our long-term success depends upon looking after the welfare of all.
The chilling future we face unless we change now.
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