Jul 28, 2017
Tyler Cowen is author of “The Complacent Class: The
Self-Defeating Quest for the American Dream.” Tyler first noticed a
problem in America when he began traveling after the financial
crisis and saw how “comfortable” life had become for many
Americans. People were not taking risks anymore and when risk is
taken away, what is left?
There is no way to deliver upward mobility in a society once risk
taking, innovation and a sense of urgency has diminished. Americans
seemingly have lost the ability to envision a future different than
the reality in front of them. Innovation is suffering, travel is
disappearing, and people are changing jobs much less than ever
before. Tyler describes this shift in mentality as people losing
their sense of restlessness and change. There is no feeling of
opportunity costs.
Why is this happening? How can American’s not imagine something
better? American lives have become safe and comfortable — risk is
the only factor that can help transition Americans away from their
own complacency. Unfortunately, it won’t happen with people pushing
for it, it will have to hit them. We are investing less in science,
have obvious issues with cyber vulnerability and infrastructure is
not advancing. American culture is lacking and nothing is getting
better. Why have people stopped creating? Will there be a great
reset in government and on Wall Street? These questions and more
are answered throughout the podcast.
In this episode of Trend Following Radio:
- Complacency
- Elon Musk
- Innovators
- The millennial generation
- Democracy as a medium
- American culture on the decline
- Illegal and legal drug use
- Online matching from dating to shopping goods
- Lifting people out of poverty
- Jack Ma