Automation: Fear of the Past, Economists’ Mistakes, and More

1. “This Already Happened” Is Not a Good Argument

In the debate between techno-optimists and luddites, the techno-optimists think: We’ve been automating work for over 200 years, and yet look at us! Full employment! This time will be the same.

What I’ve argued in past articles is that this time is not the same. But even if it is, we shouldn’t feel good abo…