We analyze the importance of the educated class for the persistence of mass consumption societies in an economy with a hierarchy of needs.Through the demand for managerial talent (which is needed to operate advanced industrial technologies), the latter generate their own demand for skills. In...

This paper examines the potential for automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to induce a broader economic decline, impacting not only labor but also the owners of capital and advanced technology. While automation has traditionally favored skilled over unskilled workers, recent advancements...