The Wealth of Humans: Work and Its Absence in the Twenty-first Century
Ryan Avent
'Ryan Avent is a superb writer ... highly readable and lively' Thomas Piketty
'A pleasure to read. This is an important argument on a subject that will shape the coming decades' Duncan Weldon, Prospect
To work is human, yet the world of work is changing fast, and in unexpected ways. With rapid advances in information technology, huge swathes of the job market - from cleaners and drivers to journalists and doctors - are being automated: a staggering 47% of American employment is at risk of automation within the next two to three decades. At the same time, millions more jobs are being created. What does the future of work hold?
In this illuminating new investigation of what this means for us, Ryan Avent lays bare the contradictions in today's global labour market. From Volvo's operations in Sweden to the vast 'Factory Asia' hub in China, he offers the first clear explanation of the state we're in-and how we could get out of it.
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Reviews for The Wealth of Humans: Work and Its Absence in the Twenty-first Century
Martin Vander Weyer
Telegraph
Midway through Ryan Avent's The Wealth of Humans, I found myself marking "H" in the margin, to stand for heresy, so thick and fast do the counterintuitive insights arrive ... I found the virtuosity with which Mr Avent knocked down possible solutions disquieting
Economist
Timely ... the author is a confident guide ... deft at exploring the economic, political and social changes triggered by technological progress and the abundance of cheap labour
Financial Times
Ryan Avent is a superb writer ... highly readable and lively
Thomas Picketty Compelling and troubling... In popular commentary on the future, there is an unhelpful view that one day each of us will turn up at work and find a robot sitting in our chairs. Avent's alternative account, of a slow but persistent decline in the importance of work and a fractious search for a new political settlement, is immeasurably more plausible
Daniel Susskind
Sunday Times
In the world of economics, Ryan Avent is simply one of the sharpest and most intelligent writers around. Nobody is better placed to tell us how technology is shaping our economy and our lives
Tim Harford An important argument on a subject that will shape the coming decades
Duncan Weldon
Prospect