[Podcast] Stuck@Om with Author, Economist & Columbia School Professor Jeffrey Sachs

In this episode of Stuck@Om, I’m joined by world-renowned economist, professor, and best-selling author Jeffrey Sachs. A central topic in our conversation is Jeff’s newest book The Age of Globalization and the impact of digitalization on our culture and economy. 

Photo Courtesy: Jefferey Sachs

We dissect how COVID-19 has clearly changed office culture — and how it won’t be the same after this. Coronavirus has taught us that 80% of our work can be done anywhere. We are recognizing that we can function with a decentralized workforce. How will that impact how people live and function in society? 

We also talk about the inaccuracies being portrayed by the stock market. We’ve seen over 40 million people apply for unemployment, yet the stock market is up. Jeff notes that the stock market isn’t a snapshot of the economy — it’s a snapshot of a piece of the economy at the exclusion of the losing side. 

We talk about social media and how it has helped us become more stupid. Our systems cannot process information, deliberate socially, and reach rational outcomes. Jeff emphasizes that deliberation and the pursuit of serious knowledge and problem-solving needs to come back into the core of our politics. 

We peruse so many topics, from a lack of meaningful communication in our society to potential dystopian or utopian futures. Be sure to listen to this episode for a wide-ranging conversation about pertinent global issues that our society is facing.

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Outline of This Episode

  • Jeff’s Book: The Age of Globalization
  • How COVID-19 has clearly changed office culture
  • How humanity has dealt with pandemics throughout history
  • The economic inaccuracies being portrayed by the stock market
  • The dramatic acceleration of the digital economy and adverse effects
  • How digitization makes a large positive contribution to overall productivity
  • Most everything that we want done can be done by AI
  • The need for new institutions to handle digitalization
  • How society defines the worth of a man or woman
  • The Scandinavian ideology of social democracy
  • A continued shift towards working less and enjoying life
  • The next phase of globalization and the possibilities that come with it
  • The benefits of science and technology should be widely shared
  • How communication is a key part of globalization
  • The pursuit of serious knowledge and problem-solving needs to return

Resources & People Mentioned

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Om Malik is a San Francisco based writer, photographer and investor. Read More