The Complacent Class
by Tyler Cowen · first published 2017
16mentions
5recommended by
13HN commenters
2016–2024first – last mentioned
38% recommend62% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Argues that American economic life has grown complacent, with less mobility, competition and risk-taking; recommended to readers interested in stagnation, regulation and the economics of innovation.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
241 pages ; 25 cm
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…want to look a gift horse in the mouth, I've been involved in post-secondary education for too long, and read too many books on it (Tyler Cowen's The Great Stagnation is recommended, as is his book The Complacent Class), to think that "more money, same system" is the answer. We need comprehensive, systemic reform, starting with the accreditation bodies, before we pour more money in.
on “Why I’m Giving $1.8B for College Financial Aid” ↗…and economic assumptions. This also leaves craftspeople to make numismatically interesting objects, which is a Big Thing - look at Etsy. I like the way it is blurbed in Tyler Cowen's latest book "The Complacent Class": https://www.amazon.com/Complacent-Class-Self-Defeating-Quest... "The problem, according to legendary blogger, economist and best selling author Tyler Cowen, is that Americans today have broken from…
on “The AI Unemployment Anti-FAQ (2013)” ↗…encourage applications from all ages and all parts of the world." Incredibly, they're taking no stake in successful ventures. They're just subsidizing high-reward ideas to encourage them. If you read The Complacent Class and Stubborn Attachments—both highly recommended, you'll get a better idea of where Tyler is coming from and why this issue of decreasing dynamism is an issue he's so concerned about.
on “Young people are funneled into fields that don’t reward risk-taking” ↗…others (parents, partners, etc) is something that decreases core costs of domiciling anywhere you go. That is an excellent method of maximizing revenue while not abandoning your family. Otherwise, see The Complacent Class: The Self-Defeating Quest for the American Dream by Tyler Cowen. https://www.amazon.com/Complacent-Class-Self-Defeating-Quest...
on “What it was like working for Gitlab” ↗…about this subject. The argument boils down to regulatory and cultural pressures have caused innovation to slow down drastically since the 1970s in all areas but ICT. I strongly suggest you read "The Complacent Class" if this is a subject that interests you
on “The US has forgotten how to do infrastructure” ↗Extremely worthwhile question, long overdue. Productivity, especially in relevant areas like administration, stagnated despite computers hitting every desk. I read the Cowen book (Complacent Class) at the same time I was reader Graeber's "Bullshit Jobs." Heterodox writers from both sides of the spectrum. Same observation. On the face of it, it doesn't make sense. How could, for example, a local…
on “Why Doesn't Software Show Up in Productivity?” ↗…BAAAAD!" ( in the manner of Phil Hartman's Frankenstein's monster ). So we have 2% growth targets that we undershoot and low growth. The population has adapted in ways described in Tyler Cowen's "The Complacent Class".
on “Men not at work: Why so many men aged 25 to 54 are not working (2016)” ↗Tyler Cowen's mentions our decreased mobility in his book "The Complacent Class." Here's a bit from an interview in the Washington Post[0]: WP: Some of the lack of mobility is due to high rents in cities, which keeps many people out, right? You cite some research that shows if it…
on “Suicides in Rural America Increased More Than 40% in 16 Years” ↗Dr. Tyler Cowen has a related video series about these issues (Complacent class, New era of segregation, Americanized stasis, Missing men, ..): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-uRhZ_p-BM4Pei6Xlr_A...
on “Men Without Work” ↗Anyone who's interested in more ideas along these lines should look at Tyler Cowen's list of how to be less complacent: http://tylercowen.com/complacent-class-quiz/
on “Eager to Burst His Own Bubble, a Techie Made Apps to Randomize His Life” ↗Tyler Cowen's "The Complacent Class" seems to paint a picture of satiety. I haven't gotten my copy yet so perhaps I missed something. We may get stuck at 1990s desires, except for experience ( and consumption and experience don't share…
on “Robots Are Taking Over Oil Rigs” ↗Yes, no argument that it is his right to do what he wants with his money. I'm thinking about it in the context of Tyler Cowen giving smart people money for moonshots. In his book Complacent Class he touches on how there are less big ideas now and that is leading to stagnation.
on “Startups I Want to Fund” ↗…between one's desired connections vs one's actual connections. It is true that social class is a barrier and less mixing leads to less dynamism in society. This is a themed explored in Tyler Cowen's "The Complacent Class". But it seems to me that does not in itself produce loneliness, because there's still a tremendous number of connections made within the same social classes. My working class friends are the least lonely…
on “Designing cities to counter loneliness? Let's explore the possibilities” ↗…"bullshit" rather than a more precise term, and that frames things. If someone makes a scientific argument, you don't negate it with a legal one. Anyway... I read Graeber's book simultaneously with "complacent class," By Tyler Cowen. I was amused by the serendipity. Cowen's is from the other end of the philosophical spectrum. His book had a Schumpeterian feel. Both were examining areas that are hard to measure, and…
on “The bullshit-jobs thesis may be bullshit” ↗…had a debt fuelled economy , tangible growth and tangibles were able to be had, where as now the debt based economy is a hindrance (rent in booming metros is waayyy through the roof). After reading The Complacent Class and realize things are stagnating, I am kinda wondering where it goes from here.
on “What Place in the World Is Like the US Pre-08?” ↗