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Public Domain
Virtual Town Hall: California Feudalism – Addressing California’s Inequality Crisis
/in California, The Economy /by videoJoin a presentation on Kotkin and Toplanksky’s research brief —California Feudalism: A Strategy to Restore California’s Middle Class— discussing California’s inequality crisis and how to restore our state’s dream.
Triumph of the Oligarchs
/in Politics, The Economy /by Joel KotkinAlready ascendant beforehand, tech oligarchs are riding the current pandemic crisis to unprecedented dominion over our ever-weakening Republic.
The Green Civil War
/in Politics, The Economy /by Joel KotkinLike many contemporary social movements, the environmental lobby has pushed the “science” as something settled and immutable. Yet in recent months, there has been growing criticism about the current green orthodoxy, including from people long associated with environmental causes.
Neo-Feudalism in California
/in California, The Economy, Urban Affairs /by Joel KotkinRather than the vanguard of a more egalitarian future, California has become the progenitor of a new form of feudalism characterized by gross inequality and increasingly rigid class lines.
The Rebellion of America’s New Underclass
/in Demographics, The Economy, Urban Affairs /by Joel KotkinLike so many before them, our recent disorders have been rooted in issues of race. But in the longer run, the underlying causes of our growing civic breakdown go beyond the brutal police killing of George Floyd. Particularly in our core cities, our dysfunction is a result of our increasingly large, and increasingly multi-racial, class of neo-serfs.
A New Age of Feudalism for the Working Class?
/in The Economy /by Joel Kotkinmany of the pioneering firms—such as Hewlett-Packard, Intel, and IBM—were widely praised for treating their lower-level workers as part of the company and deserving of opportunities for advancement, as well as benefits including health insurance and a pension.
From tragedy to opportunity: We could live better when today’s mayhem ends
/in California, Demographics, The Economy, Urban Affairs /by Joel KotkinBeyond the depressing statistics, the deserted malls, the looted or abandoned Main Streets, lies the potential to use the pandemic to create the impetus for better, more sustainable and family-centric communities.
Coronavirus: Why California’s Small Businesses May Not Survive
/in California, Politics, The Economy /by Joel KotkinWhatever the medical benefits achieved from the prolonged coronavirus lockdown, California’s small business community will be suffering severe symptoms, likely for decades to come.
Pandemics and Pandemonium
/in Demographics, The Economy, Urban Affairs /by Joel KotkinThe rage ignited by the death of George Floyd is symptomatic of a profound sense of alienation among millions of poor, working class urbanites. The already diminished prospects facing many workers have only been worsened by the unforeseen onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic and the policies devised to combat it.
How Coronavirus Pandemic is Bringing a Return to Feudalism
/in Politics, The Economy /by Joel KotkinThe COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many things, but also accelerated America’s descent into a new form of feudalism. The preexisting conditions of extreme economic concentration, inequality and reduced social mobility already were painfully evident before, but the pandemic has made them considerably worse.