People Get Ready

The Fight Against a Jobless Economy and a Citizenless Democracy

Contributors

By Robert W McChesney

By John Nichols

On Sale
Mar 8, 2016
Page Count
368 pages
Publisher
Bold Type Books
ISBN-13
9781568585222

Humanity is on the verge of its darkest hour — or its greatest moment

The consequences of the technological revolution are about to hit hard: unemployment will spike as new technologies replace labor in the manufacturing, service, and professional sectors of an economy that is already struggling. The end of work as we know it will hit at the worst moment imaginable: as capitalism fosters permanent stagnation, when the labor market is in decrepit shape, with declining wages, expanding poverty, and scorching inequality. Only the dramatic democratization of our economy can address the existential challenges we now face. Yet, the US political process is so dominated by billionaires and corporate special interests, by corruption and monopoly, that it stymies not just democracy but progress.

The great challenge of these times is to ensure that the tremendous benefits of technological progress are employed to serve the whole of humanity, rather than to enrich the wealthy few. Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols argue that the United States needs a new economy in which revolutionary technologies are applied to effectively address environmental and social problems and used to rejuvenate and extend democratic institutions. Based on intense reporting, rich historical analysis, and deep understanding of the technological and social changes that are unfolding, they propose a bold strategy for democratizing our digital destiny — before it’s too late — and unleashing the real power of the Internet, and of humanity.

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$15.99

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$20.99 CAD

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  1. ebook $15.99 $20.99 CAD
  2. Hardcover $39.00 $49.00 CAD

Robert W McChesney

About the Author

Robert W. McChesney is the Gutgsell Endowed Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the author or editor of 23 books. His work has been translated into 30 languages. He is the cofounder of Free Press, a national media reform organization. In 2008, the Utne Reader listed McChesney among their “50 visionaries who are changing the world.” He lives in Madison, WI.

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John Nichols

About the Author

John Nichols is the national affairs writer for the Nation magazine and a contributing writer for the Progressive and In These Times. He is also the associate editor of the Capital Times, the daily newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin, and a cofounder of the media-reform group Free Press. A frequent commentator on American politics and media, he has appeared often on MSNBC, NPR, BBC and regularly lectures at major universities on presidential administrations and executive power. The author of ten books and has earned numerous awards for his investigative reports, including groundbreaking examinations (in collaboration with the Center for Media and Democracy) of the Koch brothers and the American Legislative Exchange Council.

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