E36: Meritocracy, Modeling Globalization, and The Burden of Knowledge

"The Riff" with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg

This week, Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg dive deep into David Graeber's controversial concept of 'Bullshit Jobs,' exploring its validity and impact. They also discuss the future of labor and employment in the era of AI, the intricate dynamics of globalization, and the complexities of corporate governance.

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Intro

(00:20) David Graeber's “Bullshit Jobs”

(11:15) Meritocracy and word origins

(14:01) Convergent evolution

(16:04) Sponsors: Babbel | Beehiiv

(18:39) Public intellectuals and broad theories

(24:30) Automation and future of work

(31:55) Corporate control and voting rights

(38:46) Burden of knowledge

(45:38) Robert Gordons thesis

(52:41) Globalization and resource endowments

(01:00:54) Outro

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LINKS:

Byrne’s writing: https://thediff.co

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X / TWITTER:

https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg (Erik)

https://twitter.com/ByrneHobart (Byrne)

https://twitter.com/TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)