“19th century view of the world in which everyone is either a “rich” Robber Baron capitalist or a “worker” in some grimy factory living hand-to-mouth”
You’re absolutely right. This is a pathetic article by someone with a Political Science 101 insight worthy of Barak Obama. The world he’s talking about ended in the 70’s when the smoke stack industry coalition of decadent “economic elites” and the old Labor unions could no longer compete with the Japanese auto industry, and the American steel industry fell behind Japan and much of Europe technologically.
The next industrial revolution started in California of all places, with the invention of the microprocessor in the early 70’, followed by the development of personal computers, and the biotech industry in the 80’s. These industries catapulted the US way ahead of that of a resurgent Europe by the 1980’s.
Why we couldn’t sustain our techological preeminence and are now facing an economic decline that lead is a complex issue. But I think it has a lot to do with our silly educational system and general cultural decline along with the debilitating factors you discussed.
One thing is for sure. Our decline has nothing to do with “Robber Barons” of the kind that produced greatest transformation living standards in human history more the than 100 years ago and almost did it again 30 years ago.
This misconception is commonly held because the microchip manufacturers themselves chose to headquarter in California in the early 80's. The tech' industry revolution, however, started in Texas.