I just want to draw your attention to the above article by financial analyst Henry Blodget. Blodget’s article supports the point I make in my post of November 15th, 2011, entitled “US Banks: A Modern Frankenstein’s Monster Representing Both Problem and Solution.” In my earlier post I argue (using Elaine Graham’s work as a background) that the current Occupy protest effort is centrally about casting US banks in the role of a monster. According to Graham’s work, the monster throughout history typically represents the transgression of some sort of socially accepted boundary. The monster simultaneously points out a particular demarcation, and that that demarcation has been transgressed in some way. In my earlier post I argue that the “Occupy” boundary (if you will) is about the demarcation between back workers and brain workers. Simply put, as we continue to enter the digital age (and along with it a digital economy), back workers will be devalued while brain workers increase in value (think Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg and all of their billions). To make matters worse, we are witnessing a cruel and insidious game of musical chairs: back workers are marching around a very limited number of brain worker chairs. As Blodget points out in his article, Apple’s huge data storage facility only created 50 jobs, almost all of which were brain worker jobs. As the title to Blodget’s article suggests, this is the US’s problem in a nutshell. This is the monster in a nutshell.
What’s the solution? I’m not sure there is one. The digital, brain worker age is upon us (see Richard Florida’s book Rise of the Creative Class for more on this theme). There’s no turning back. The back worker–brain worker boundary has been transgressed. How things will look on the other side is anyone’s guess. But it is a safe guess that we can expect more monster data centers like the one Apple just completed. Equally, we can expect that these huge monster facilities will create very few jobs, almost all of which will be brain worker jobs.
Comment on: THE COUNTRY’S PROBLEM IN A NUTSHELL: Apples Huge New Data Center In North Carolina Created Only 50 Jobs
THE COUNTRY’S PROBLEM IN A NUTSHELL: Apple’s Huge New Data Center In North Carolina Created Only 50 Jobs.
Henry Blodget|November 28, 2011|Business Insider
I just want to draw your attention to the above article by financial analyst Henry Blodget. Blodget’s article supports the point I make in my post of November 15th, 2011, entitled “US Banks: A Modern Frankenstein’s Monster Representing Both Problem and Solution.” In my earlier post I argue (using Elaine Graham’s work as a background) that the current Occupy protest effort is centrally about casting US banks in the role of a monster. According to Graham’s work, the monster throughout history typically represents the transgression of some sort of socially accepted boundary. The monster simultaneously points out a particular demarcation, and that that demarcation has been transgressed in some way. In my earlier post I argue that the “Occupy” boundary (if you will) is about the demarcation between back workers and brain workers. Simply put, as we continue to enter the digital age (and along with it a digital economy), back workers will be devalued while brain workers increase in value (think Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg and all of their billions). To make matters worse, we are witnessing a cruel and insidious game of musical chairs: back workers are marching around a very limited number of brain worker chairs. As Blodget points out in his article, Apple’s huge data storage facility only created 50 jobs, almost all of which were brain worker jobs. As the title to Blodget’s article suggests, this is the US’s problem in a nutshell. This is the monster in a nutshell.
What’s the solution? I’m not sure there is one. The digital, brain worker age is upon us (see Richard Florida’s book Rise of the Creative Class for more on this theme). There’s no turning back. The back worker–brain worker boundary has been transgressed. How things will look on the other side is anyone’s guess. But it is a safe guess that we can expect more monster data centers like the one Apple just completed. Equally, we can expect that these huge monster facilities will create very few jobs, almost all of which will be brain worker jobs.