Transcripts For CSPAN2 Book Discussion On People Get Ready 20160604

If we want to intervene early and have more robust interventions. Number two sometimes its not quite clear and number three its not capturing the agility. Its capturing how the brain is manifesting. So the potential of this is extremely well and to target not only the system but other parts of the brain and collective the responses with the eeg and brain waves is that you can apply to children from handheld babies all the way to whatever age. The same way in animal models. So were doing these studies. Its a really important thing because it is showing the physiological difference in autistic brains such as he said its a measurable with a tool as opposed to an expression of opinion asking questions. Thats one of the things that we have been wanting for a long time and autism, the development of biomarkers and i think that is a cool thing. So i have to thank all of you for coming. This is actually our only time because we are here in boston together with us talking together with you folks about tms and the switched on story. So this is like the one and only place that we are both here to sign my book and this story would have never been possible if it would not have been for alvaro and lindsay. And really all of the brilliant people that the Israel Medical Center in the harvard medical school. And i think they they should just stand up and be recognized for that. Its a really cool thing. You can stand up to. He scared to stand up. But you know, its a cool thing. So where are we going to sign books . Are we signing books back there or are we going downstairs . The signing will be at the table. I will have your lineup. Domicile to my right if youre exiting you can exit to my left. We like to thank both of you so much for being here and thank you all for being here. [applause]. [inaudible] you are watching the tv and cspan2 with top nonfiction books and authors every weekend. Book tv, television for serious readers. This weekend on book tv, we are live tomorrow with author and publisher steve forbes. For three hours mr. Forbes to talk about his books and answer your questions. On afterwards, Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell discussions his life and politics. Sixty minutes correspondent leslie stall looks at the changing role of grandparents. Also this weekend, the son of late author and journalist Hunter Thompson remembers his father. Former state Department Official reports on the growing influence of china and india. Book tv visits las vegas to talk about local authors and tour the citys literary sites. That is just a few of the authors on book to be this weekend. For complete television schedule, book tv. Org. Book tv, 48 hours of nonfiction books tv, 48 hours of nonfiction books and authors. Television for serious readers. [inaudible] i get the pleasure of introducing our exciting guest, local hero, radio personality extraordinaire, educator, actor, thank you very much for welcoming my friend. [applause]. [inaudible] [inaudible] these two men are telling the story today, they tell me story today about how they met. They met on a local radio show, tv show, thank you for correcting. And a radio guide. On the issues that were talking about that day the exact opposite was 20 years ago. [inaudible] it was a powerful book and what is happening to our country, our policies that are being taken over and to do all that work not just making Public Policy but history. So on this book People Get Ready and it really is [inaudible] [inaudible] and what we like to change. There is always talking about a political change that can occur. [inaudible] [inaudible] so happy st. Patricks day. We may begin for the people out of ireland. Im going to talk first. First of all i want to thank mark steiner. We could not pass any group of people in the world, without mark knowing them and everyone knows this guy. It was took like a half hour to go one block traveling through baltimore. Id also like to im originally from Madison Wisconsin where we know the importance of local, nonprofit, cooperative institutes be in the heart and soul of the community. Youre very fortunate to have institutions like this which are the lifeblood of culture. So thank you for hosting us, we really appreciate it. And speaking of institutions, i really like i really like cspan, thank you for recording this show. As your going to get arguments of the wall street journal page, so having cspan give authors like ourselves across the political spectrum exposure is really crucial to ideas getting out there, getting in play, having influence, and making you aware what were talking about. So thank you. A little over two years ago the ceo of then, google was given the keynote address at the big they said something rather extraordinary, he said that google was presently working on a number of projects that were going to significantly reduce the number of jobs in the economy. And im not sure his a direct quote but he said these are not going to happen right away but they were all pretty close to her wish and and as a result of the work that google is doing and other highTech Companies, the issue of unemployment and underemployment will be the single, most important issue of the coming two or three decades. It will overwhelm will overwhelm Everything Else not just the United States but the world. That got our attention. That was a striking statement. Here he was taking on the position and he didnt want to be an alarmist by any means seeking out a position of what was coming down the road. And john ever we first heard about this and thought about it we thought this was something that was not being discussed at all the news media, by politicians and conventional debate. There is no discussion on this issue. Then we started then we started to study and look into it and we found out there getting incredible attention by engineers, business executives, computer scientist, tons of, tons of literature on this. Lots of work being done. In fact what eric schmidt was saying was not a controversial thing at all, it it was like letting the cat out of the bag where all the people to work on, this was about to hit and hit hard. In fact one ceo of the major European Industrial one of the largest industrial firms of the world, not long ago had a private meeting in germany in a questionandanswer period he was asked to do actually get rid of the workers in your factories . His response was, yes we have the technology right now to eliminate all of our factories worldwide income including in germany where we have 100,000 workers thousand workers where we can make a fully automated. The only Thing Holding us back is politics. Because if we would automate our factories the middle class in germany would burn. It would wipe out the middle class of germany and leave a critical upheaval the likes of which we dont like to see in germany and other countries. So without what is this gonna mean for young people in all people want to retire for some point, for everyone. What will it mean for political democracy . Part of the reason my is its not like the last 20 years have been so golden age of capitalism in the United States of the world. We have been admired and very slow growth, not much private investment, incomes have been falling, inequality falling, inequality growing, unemployment and a dirt employment are greater now with significant percentage of workers i have left the labor market altogether in the last decade. Its much lower figure now. So its a group situation, rising inequality, much greater insecurity and precarious of people who do these jobs were taxing. To add to this we are going to throw in a wave of automation that eliminates half the jobs in the economy. That strikes up even if it and thats whats the book. Thats my long introduction of whats in the book. Now you do something not supposed to do and talk like this number to cut you in on some of what we ended up with. Our argument is that this is a political problem not a technological or economic one. It is going to require basic political solutions, its going to fundamentally reform our economy if were going to make these workforce not against us. So in research for the book we came to the conclusion of studying other countries and history that its a very high unemployment and it is the center of the political system through corruption and other problems and it loses its credibility. You you see the rise of two things. When we should expect this for the knighted states. You should see young people get more interested in politics. You should see a dramatic increase in tristan socialism. Process will only continue to grow and this will be a trajectory, oh, thank you. Going to be a trajectory and experience it all in this room, and my children, and your children and grandchildren. Its going to be this, there will be fewer jobs, more unemployment. People will still is need to work in a tremendous pressure on wages and benefits. Even more than there is now. More and more people desperately trying to vote themselves in a scavenger economy. Sounds like a terrible mel gibson movie at this point. [laughter] and theres a lot of reason to think that. That that is exactly where were heading. But it doesnt have to necessarily be that way. Our book is youre going to be shocked and could be a golden edge and will be if we do the right politics. S its a solvable problem nothing that we cant fix and fix relatively easy with no solution. But i do to give you a sense of why this is taking place, and the main reason is there has been a vast increase of the Power Computers in past 50 years its almost difficult to explain how strong computing is the term that is often used is morris law, the idea that computer doubles every year and a half or every two years. You see both terms used and you start morris law back in 1660s and after two years computer power and get up to the 30th psych physical two to the 30th power get out your calculator and do that see how much stronger a computer gets, you are getting into like outer space numbers that our minds cant comprehend and thats the period were in now. Growth of power is so great that its almost difficult to comprehend. And, in fact, the Defense Research project and people ho funded a lot of research that led to the internet and worldwide web and a lot of stuff we do it now with the computers, for the last ten years they had a project on robotic to take advantage of this increasing computer power and try to harness it to be used to replace human labor so much as possible and retire ared last summer and he wrote an article in academic journal and an article with a series of changes coming that are going to hit very soon, and these change it is in our official intelligence and robotic will fundamentally change humanity in ways that we cannot fathom and the term wee use for this he says that what humanity is about to enter very quickly is equivalent of the cambrian explosion. Now i havent heard that have. I thought that was an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie when i got it. But i looked it up and preferred to periods 440 million years ago with a 20, 30 million year period on earth which went from very simple toll exploded and everything of complex life emerged. Very quickly no we didnt have a long two billion year line but a flat line, explosion and then, where we are now. And he said were about to hit a cambrian explosion. Well you look at that it means no idea about whats going to hit us. It is sort of wild stuff. But you say one thing he can guarantee us, mosts jobs are going to be gone. Thats immediate commercial application of these technologies an they benefit by great incentive to do it and thats the right now. Thats how strong computers have gotten if automobiles speeds that increase since 1971 as much as computer power increase that increase at the same right fasters in the world today will travel one tenth of the speefd light. One tenth of the speed of light how much computers have grown. If building since 1971 increase in height as much as computers increase in strength the tallest building in the world would go half way to the moon. So this basic sense that is possible of what were talking about in terms of how strong the dub computerring is in other capable of doing. So for example like Driverless Cars five or ten years ago that was science fiction, like yeah. Very hypothetical. Now thats yesterday technology. Theyve got that one pretty much down. With google, theyve got 10,000 Driverless Cars every day on the road. Now its a political issue for them to get peopled to eto do it. But illustrates the society, on one hand, you can make a very good argument that a driverless car can do wonderfully say that is great for the environment. You can establish shared car system and call for car wherever you need it and it will come take care of you so city living you get rid of traffic jams all sorts of good things. You can make that argument. But in our economy, that argument is fail by another argument. You know what number one job is for men in the American Economy . Driving a vehicle. A car, a truck delivery van. A bus, a cab. Remember when john and number two, number three theres also receiving votes. Driving a vehicle is really crucial to the American Economy. He said you have businesses say we can do better with driverless vehicles. Whats going to rate up in the board. You have a major problem in our economy. Thats the crisis were going to face which is the capitalism of Economic System we live under is entirely ill equipped to deal with this technological revolution because the immediate effect is to throw people out of work lessen people incomes. Meaning to have much less money to buy stuff which means businesses have no incentive to stuff because they cant buy it. So stagnation were living in now could gets much, much worse and its irony capitalism cannot deal with potential that it spad itself and thats the moment were in. In a moment with we have the post Scarcity Society but we dont have a academic u city thats the dilemma. This is a radical idea. A radical change in your economy its not an idea put forth by radical. Most of our great economists understand that capitalism was a timedated system. John king greatest economist wrote an essay a letter to his grandchildren, in which he said, capitalist it is, the economy. 100 years from now will be so powerful that very few em will be needed to produce everything people need to live a comfortable life. He said because of that capitalism will have to fundamentally change and human nature will have to change so first time humans will not have to be tied to a job for their survival they can expand beyond that something better. And incase they have profound he said that even though well have this ability there will be a period of great upheaval and be a psychologically traumatic period for humanity because our existence is predicated on our labor and tough to find a different way to understand ourself it is from doing, required labor isnt the way we understand our role and function in the world. But thats the moment thats coming and i think its a credit to cane. See that 1930s 2030 seems like a good e. T. A. Of what were talking. So what do we do and how do we solve this problem and make is so we have an economy that usings these technologies for all of the benefits and doesnt use them to enrich those who own the academy and the googles, and of the world. Well our argument is very simple this is not a technological problem, its not a problem of the economy. Its really a problem of democracy. More democratic our society is more participation there is in politics from everyone in society. The better we can reform our economy, recreate our society, so it has a happy ending to a story. So less we do that, theless likely it is to be happy ending. And in the book we spend a lot of time talking about that. I have to briefly explain a little bit what we mean by democracy and how that place out. When we talk about economy, we oftentimes use Term Economic infrastructure you hear had politicians talk about it. A very important ideas. You want to start a bookstore like redd coauthor of business it makier job necessary to be a transportation infrastructure, communication infrastructure, water, energy, you need all of these things to build your place, place your enterprise on top it is hard. They have to do all of that other stuff. They have to build roads to get here and power line and so you have to have an economic infrastructure with a credible advance to economy. Well same thing is true with democracy just take them through the citizen. Hey look at me im a citizen doesnt mean a lot unless theres a democratic infrastructure that means a credible news media with book stores like this, and Education System so everyone a quality education that means you dont have any corruption. Theres a whole range of things political scientists agree on that you have to have to have a viable democracy and in an argue of the United States todays months of those criteria have been wiped out or under direct attack and in the wrong direction. We have to reverse course and reare jiewfer nate juve is rejuvenate our infrastructure and on this topic we find this battle over our democracy and how the infrastructure is built, with who can participate an how strong the news media will be, and who it will serve and education. These trouble states are the beginning of the republic. All of the constitutional fights this is what is underneath all of them and all of the state constitution and the federal constitution. And american shiers one of constant battle over these issues. Good, bads guys depending on your perspective but never one way or just the other and if you look at the a United States between 1900 and 1970s the United States became a vastly more democracy country. The percentage of americans who can vote in 1900 was pretty small. By 1970 on verge of having universal adult suffrage and we have things that limited corruption in equality thingses like progressive income tax, labor union, social security, medicare. Universal high Higher Education by late 19 how 60s that was almt free. And pretty much goarches not saying we won everything but there were struggles in that 7year period. Since then unfortunately its been a step backwards detail on that, the sort of the near liberal, government should serve those aside top and skew those at bottom. Far more prominent in the past 40 or 50 years. There are two restore call periods that we think are really crucial for all of fuss looking for the to solving this problem that we face. And they took place in the 20th century. The first one is in the great battle of the segdz world war and remember 1930s worldwide had something similar to what were having now increasingly. Which is a massive unemployment under employment all of the countries of the world. All of the cap list countries of the world and led to collapse in most countries and raise of basically too phenomenon to address unemployment. Well, it was the new deal in the United States. Social democracy in western europe which is idea of the government should tax or bold low Interest Rate and capitalism isnt being invested it should build up unions, raise wages basically enhance bottom of the society make it profitable for businesses to invest, and then you have a growing economy with closer to full employment and, obviously, generallyizing here. Other o size of the coin, though, during this period is the way you get for employment is to do on o sit to become a state and to create new jobs through military and full employment without democracy. And you have a government that worked very closely with the large Testing Companies in the economy. Both in germany, and in italy, and in japan. So those are two options for the human race. Built right into fascism was militarism. There was no other way to spend money but create jobs in a depressed it country. It was central to it and war. And fdr Second World War basically a battle of democracy against fascism and so Franklin Roosevelt or president during the war was obsessed with making sure that fascism qowld not return to the world not just in germany, japan, but in the United States as well. In 1984 we voted it length in the book it is worth seeing entire thing onis line but book has juiciest parts is entire state of the Union Address is can we stop fascism and how do we stop it from returning to the world especially here in the United States . He didnt think it was just a german curse. He thought we should be concerned about it here in the United States and argue was that fascism could only succeed with a weak democracy and krupght and people have lost faith in its ability to work. That is his core argument. He said you cannot have corruption, thats absolutely unacceptable if youre going to have a credible democracy government. And so had said but we need to do to prevent fascism are from returning strengthen democracy so question of to expand our constitution. We have to have a second bill of rights put in the u. S. Constitution, and these included the right to a job in a living wage. The right to health care in you heard that one recently. The right to education. The right to housing. Not right to pay and a price but the right to have them. You have to guarantee these right ares to everyone. Jobs and living wage guaranteed, health care, education, he also said one other thing should be in the constitution. A prohibition on economic groups that in so large her dominate markets and can dominate the government. Low business should be allied to become close to monopoly that should be in the constitution. That was his plan. So this is what we do so safeguard americans and prevent fascism here and to strengthen our democracy. Well, he unfortunately, died soon after and never got off the ground and cold war, and sort of pushed out of the way the United States. And whats striking about that period such importance to us today is first of all, Eleanor Roosevelt took wording of the second bill of rights from 1944 and made it much of a language of the universal declaration of human rights which was then ran by every country. In addition United States wrote the constitution for japan, and helped write the constitution for germany when they occupied immediately after the war. And at that time, very u few people in the world thought germanses or japanese could ever be a democracy that they were hopelily barbaric dictator freaks who loved war and so yowpghted to give them a constitution that made sure everything to prevent them from rurnging to fascism. And they did, in fact, in japan we wrote the constitution and handed macarthur said sign here. We did it entirely and roosevelt 19 bill of rights he put all of that in the japanese constitution. Much of is in the german constitution as well. Now those countries are far from perfect. But no one should have any illusion that countries are credible democracies today. By world global standards, in fact, economist magazine which ranks all of the countries in led world in how democracy they are nations to the population of 50 million or more in the world which 25 or 30, germany and japan ranked one and two of the most democracy nation of the world by criteria and those constitution play no small role in giving them that power. The other reason why that period is really valuable for us to understand in the 1960s randolph and Martin Luther king, jr. Developed what was called the freedom budget this was their viftion how america should be structured to really bring true democracy and jtsz to this country. Its an extraordinary document it should be mandatory reading in schools in my opinion. But if you look at it whats striking is it is basically lifted large part much it from fdr1944 state of the Union Address, economic bill of rights which was the core of Martin Luther king, jr. s vision of america. For social just america in the 1960s, and then to bring it full circle where we started, Bernie Sanders gave his speech in november 20815 at Georgetown University explaining what he meant by democracy socialism hes goated that he wasnt a solemnist and talked about fdr first starch address and economic bill of rights. This is what i mean by democratic socialism. Everyone is guaranteed in basic rights in the society. So it is an enduring vision that said global prominence and i think thats the vision that ought to be thinking about as we move into this new world order of massive unemployment and poverty. Thats a way to think our way through it. Now finally the last periods that i want to talk about in the book quite a bit is the 1960s. The reason why the 1960s is important is this is when the automation craze really hit big and theres much more literature about automation and are tbhots 1960s than any other decade including this one. In american history. It was such a serious issue that president johnson included top ceo and labor officials to study automation would end jobs in america, and this is really a serious issue at the time. And the idea to live in a post scarce society where in other, fewer work became thing that people were thinking about very seriously at that time. Lyndon johnson president and until may of 1969 gave a famous speech at the commencement of michigan and announced the Great Society. Term associated with his administration. And the Great Society is post Scarcity Society where not everyone would have to work as much and poor, working class people can enjoy more leisure, more free time and ability to go to college. Take the great wealth of the society that would be produced and this is the environmental problems at the time cleanedded up our environment. 1965 as well as build magnificent cities and build up the infrastructure. So we found in the 1960s was there was a lot of people thinking very creatively about how do you take our ability with technology and make it work for us not have us just be unemployed and poor Reform Society that benefits of these technologies handle investors in the firm but accrue to all of us, and ting that those st thats a discussion that we have to take up again and recreate that of what a hopeful future is because theres no reason this has to be our Worst Nightmare of everyone selling apples to each other on the street or giving rides in cars to each others homes in uber. Theres no reason that has to be the future for all of us. Instead this can become a magnificent opportunity to create a limitation of Human Experience and both places where everyone can live an extraordinary life not just with you. On that note, i want to turn it over to my partner and fellow author john nicole. [applause] you. Im the told that will bob did this wrong. Got it mic in here. I hope i got it right. This is the power of cspan. Collective i think ive got it all in. I hope its strong and probably it will collapse. Thank you so much for coming out tonight. Im absolutely delighted to be with all of you folks and im delighted to be in an institution named for emma goldman. With sister, Affairs Anyone that could have let us out of this wilderness it was probably emma goldman because she told us that first thing weve got to start thinking about is one another. Rather than those folks at the top. Because theres nobody at the top thats going to be watching out for us. And this is a fundamental understanding of the book that bob and i wrote. We were inspired toy this book by an odd phenomenon in our lives. And that was that our previous book which did pretty well in america and had had, you know, a little bit of academic interest, a lot of activist interest,let led to formation of po. Or at least helped the movement. For media reform and some help defeat in democracy movement, but in america our books books e always tengded to be treated as maybe activist manual, or a little bit eve of reference for those on the outside trying to get in. In europe our books were not treated for instructive for those that were in power. They wanted to have discussions about what would happen if we lost joirchl and if it literally died out. What would happen if democracy was severely diminished, what would happen if we didnt have a constitution that guaranteed free and open election, and that absolutely made sure that our votes mattered more than a handful of peoples money, and so we got, tried to get invited to these conferences in europe, and they were fabulous i want to tell you they have some of the best mineral water. Its not red emma mineral water but it was very good and everybody dressed in nice suits and some of the places we went to even had swans in lake around them. It is very entertaining and we felt welcomed occasionally listened to remark about media, democracy and host of other issues. But there was an interesting thing, several of these conferences after i spoke i would sit become and listen back to everybody else speak. Ceos of major it can companies, the heads of think tanks of places like oxford some of the most powerful people in the world includings some of the biggest thinkers in the area of Technological Advancement. The top experts on Artificial Intelligence, and the digital revolution and automation, and these were incredibly smart and able people, and frankly many of them were very pleasant to hang out with. However, in their remark what i was struck by was how often they talked about implementing new technologies that would get rid of a lot of jobs. Not just, you know, well were going to be a little more efficient here. Going to be a little more efficient there. No, they were talking about elimination of whole industries. Literally a trrnlings transformation of our society and no one who didnt say this, that it was going to be a bigger deal, more transformational than the First Industrial revolution to the society and second tier that played out so much in the United States and really saw the development of factory towns from up in new england through the great lakes all the way out o across america down to places like baltimore. They said what was going to happen was so much bigger than that and it struck me as someone that covers politics fulltime who works in the thick of american media, who writes for newspapers and magazines, and even appears now again on television, i didnt hear anybody talking about this. I didnt hear our media saying you know, tonight were not going to dwoat devote a show to Donald Trumps hand. Tonight, were going to talk about whether your children and grandchildren are going to have jobs. I didnt hear them say well, tonight were not going to talk so much about, you know, what nickname donald trump is given to marco rubio. Tonight, were going to talk about how we organize a fair and just society in which our traditional jobs are no longer there and what we the people will do to live out the rest of our lives. Didnt hear that. And as i covered the 2012 campaign, and really you know we have a Permanent Campaign now in america it never stopped. As i covered that campaign and as weed into this campaign, i didnt hear a single political leader give a speech on the technological changes that are taking place. And so what i realizeds was that we have a bizarre discussion going on in America Today. We have an elite discussion above a certain line where everyones in on whats going on. They know all about it. They share the information. They share the report. They look at what is going on and then they begin to implement the changes. And theyve already done, you know, we start the book by saying that we live in the future. This isnt something coming ten years from now. Its nots something coming 20 years from now. How many of you have heard of kodak . Thats right well there you go. Even some of the younger people have heard of kodak that was a company synonymous with photography in america. It literally did everything we knew about pictures. Kodak in 1988 had 145 ,000 employees in the United States. Largely unionized. Very, very good job. It held up whole cities it was the heart and soul of whole American Cities and Research Departments that were fabulous. Their Research Departments actually developed the technologies they use or at least advance some of them. They use to take pictures with your phone. And that you use to move your phone, pictures over to your computer. They did all of this incredible work, and they kept putting money back into research. Back into their communities, back into people 145 thowx of them remember that number in 2012 co went broke. They went bankrupt. About this sad story death of an American Company that reshaped a little bit. It now exist as a tiny fraction of what it was. One of the companies that really did a lot or starting company that did a lot to undermine kodak to take its technology and put it into other form, Companies Like instagram and most of you have heard of instagram. Like snapchat all sorts of companies and different operations that have come up happen haded it in 2012 one of these Major Companies was sold. Same time that kodak was going bankrupt. This company sold for a billion dollar because you know these new tech giants or monopoly they dont come up ideas they buy companies that compete with them and they bring ideas in to make sure that that competition doesnt exist. So this company got bought by facebook. Billion dollars they have to reveal how many employees they had. 13. They understand the company 25, 30 years ago had 145,000 employees. Lots of unionize putting back into the community wiped out by companies that employ 13 people. Now, im sorry, im the not that good with math. But inthat if our future is getting rid of companies that employ 145,000 people request good wages and replacing them with companies that employ 13 people, that trajectory doesnt look good for a lot of us. And then you ask how can that work with done, did anybody here have a cell phone . Does anybody got a cell phone . There you go what do you do when you take a picture . You take it, now you size it, now you edit it. Now you send it on, you do the work. That used to be done by all sorts of other people. Its then put down into your phone. Thats okay right thats the future. Except for heres an interesting thing, you do the work an you redistribute wealth up to these companieses. So effectively youre paying them for the opportunity to do the work and they collect your data and they sell it to other companieses and give it to powerful people to manipulate how you live your life. Now on balance this is not the best calculation for building a future and yet we will see this across the board. S thats not the path. Thats now. When people describe the 2016 race i hear pundits on television they say i dont get this. Why are people so angry . Why is this such a bullet tile Election Year . Why are the people so revolting . Well they never have an answer do they . Its always the people i dont know, theyre not grateful at all but great things that are happening stock market was up today. Isnt everybody happy about that . Tech billionaires richer now than theyve ever been. Isnt everybody happy about that . Well, heres the bottom line. Well, we have that group above the line, right all of the very wealthy people talking about the future. Then we have a line here below that we put the politician, and our media. They never talk about it. They never get serious about it. We live in the middle. And weird thing is, even though theres that line above us, we have actually so some of this we know we dont have jobs that we did have. We know that many of our Older Americans have been put out of one job via globalization. Put out of another job via automation. We know that our young people grown up literally marinated in technology, technology all a around them, they know that potential of these these new technologies. They know where its going. The fact of the matter is, that people are having thoughts and discussions that are deeper than our media or our politics. And so this year, if i dont the explanation for whats going on, if you want to know why all of those young people are showing up at those Bernie Sanders rallies, and why theyre not bothered by word socialism. Why theyre not bothered by a discussion of alternative to capitalism that they know its because they actually see the future a whole lot more clearly about that our political and media leads care to discuss and if i dont to know why a 58yearold man shows up at a donald trump rally, somebody has been laid off from their autoplant job, then retrained to work in a warehouse, then after that, you know, replaced by a robot working at the quiktrip or gas station, thats why hes there. Now, i know our media will tell you that everybody at all donald trump rally is something you know we dont understand him. We dont know why they listen to this guy. We dont know why we find anything appealing in him. And you know, i share that view im no fan of donald trump. But the fact of the matter is donald trump slogan is making America Great again. The term again is the operative one that phrase hes running around this country promising people to take them back before all of these changes took place. Bernie sanderss slogan is a future you can believe in. His offer is, theres going to be a lot of change but at least were going to try to make it humane but the fact is, lets move behind the politician. Lets move behind the parties. Lets move beyond our failing media and our failing political systems and understand that these people that are showing up at these rallies, these people that are voting in ways that are destibblizing an shaking up our politics theyre responding to realities that are becoming increasing burdens on their lives and the only question that shows is this, is this the last election of the 20th century . Or the first election of the 21st century is . Thats what were sorting out right now. And its really unsettling. And its really scary because times like these can be unsettling and scary but times like these have occurred before. The fact of the matter is we have been wrenched out of existence that we know and forcedded to experience radical unsettling, economic, and social change. And we have struggled with it and it has not easy but we have seen is our way through. Best example historically to this and this in our book we resurrect a groupful people and make them heros start in the 19th century in the north of england everybody been to england . Yeah. A few of you. Ever go to a swirl along . They have these nice little places with a churchyard and its green and its a pleasant land. Well in the north of england most lifed in villages and they were craft people. Incredibly talented they knew how to make things that folks wanted to buy. So they didnt make a lot. They use their skill and made clothing they made different pieces of what we now see as a greatest craft pieces of art almost. And they have their children around them. They were not wealthy. But they had decent lifers and then industrialist came around and they said you know what, we could make a whole lot more money if we got all of these people out of the villages and question put them in cities. And we let them live in slums. And we let them work in what William Blake described as dark mills. Literally where they would work before dawn after nightfall working on looms, working on the machinery of making clothing. Crowded into them if their children were theirs because their children were forced to work with them. The existence they knew was being destroyed and they understood that that destruction was not in their interest. Wasnt even in the interest of their craft. It was the interest of incredibly wealthy people who wanted to collect them together to increase the wealth of those rich people but not to do anything for the great mass of humanity and so the [inaudible] we treat them today as tools, as backyard we use that term to talk to somebody who doesnt know how to use their phone. It was some of the most indust industrious people and they went into factories and they wrecked the machines. They destroyed the machines. They had a hero a guy named captain swing, they thought of him as a imaginary character so strong that with one sing is his hammer he could destroy one of those machine miss a dark mill. They didnt have a very forgiving attitude toward the wealthy and powerful. They would drag owners of the mills out, put them on a stand and try them for crimes against humanity. The British Government was not impressed, in fact, we write in the book when they were fighting napoleon they often had had more troops in north of england to keep down the rebellion. But they did keep them down because as bob said industrial, technological change jarring is almost always linked to militarism to a strong government that puts down and hold it is down people using military force so they lost. But the incredible thing is when they went to work in mills sometimes before dawn and worked after nightfall, even in their exhausted state on full moon night in the north of england, they would gather on top of hills or down country lane and form clubs to discuss their circumstance and gathered so they could walk sometimes the miles they had to go and see their way. Even though they were being worked literally to the end of their endurance they continued to meet and talk and struggle with this. The verse they said machines are enemies. Then they said that peel who own machines are our enemies. Then they said our real enemy is fact that we have no power to shape our future. We arent at the table. Were not even in the process and slowly great historian dorothy tomp ton teaches us they begin to transform their anger and their passion into a radical democracy moi. People died in the name of movement and they demanded universal suffrage everyone can vote. They demanded competitive election. They demanded a political process that responded to them. Success so great it ushered in the trade movement and ushered in child labor laws eight hour day, transforms of work not to perfection but they wrestled with changes and they made themselves a part of the shaping of the future. And they say that will only happen in england. No, that is a history of what happened in america with our Industrial Revolution at the start of that a period in the late 70s, 80s, 90s, trade unionists were mowed it down and literally killed. Children were taken into worst of circumstances it was a horrible dark time. And out of that came a populous movement and had little success. But then a Progressive Movement to begin to make political form and opened up democracy and elected u. S. Senate. Votes for women, transformational politics that led and ultimately when that economy crashed down because it was inhumane and did not work well when Franklin Roosevelt came to power he ushered in reforms that radically changed the very character and nature of our economic life. And he said of those who october od, said giving people the power over their Economic Future. Those who objected to idea of economic democracy he said to those who wanted to push the people back once more i welcome their hatred because he said this was a rev institution their battle against economic royalism as evil and as dark as anything that they have to battle in the north of england fact of the matter is again, again, again through history when we have faced tech no change that made our life less humane our response has been to organize for power. Dont be against technology it wont get you anywhere. The future is coming and dont even imagine that you can talk some billionaire into giving up his unimaginable wealth so that you can have a little piece of it. Understand this. Those who control our economy today, those in a top of things, they believe that they can eliminate the jobs that we know and that you will cobble together existence driving your cars down the streets of a city, trolling in the middle of the night trying to finding somebody you can pick up and give a ride to for a few bucks, taking a room in your apartment and renting it out as airbnb and cobbling out of bits and pieces of a broken up economy, getting enough money just to get by. And then using that money to buy a new iphone. Theyre pretty sure that you will keep redistributing wealth upward for a long, long time to come. Even as your existence gets darker and more satanic to quote mr. Blake. But theres another figure in the time 200 years ago, and ill conclude with him. He becomes a hero of our book lord byron wealthy and powerful person who took up cause and lord byron said in a debate in the house of lords, that to point at which those who had been displaced and dispossessed began to understand the struggle they were in was when they realized that the hard work of the industrious poor was a far less concern to the powerful than the enrichment of a handful of wealthy men. That is the fundamental unctioning with which we begin. And then when we know that, we understand that we must replace those or o at least get next to these making decision about our Economic Future and we must put ourselves at those tables we dont make a fundamental, political change now, in this time then our children and our grandchildren will be doomed to an existence that will be dramatically less than it should be. But if we do make that change, if we make that change, we realize the promise of every great investor and every great thinker in our history we write about tesla, einstein, and what did they say when new technologies were developed . They said that point of those technologies was to free people from drudgery. What had did they say about the point of moving forward of progress, it was so human beings could work less and enjoy life more. Brothers and sisters those were not false promises. Those were promises that were made and they were real. We can work less and enjoy life more. We can have a civil and Humane Society in which we are creative in which we have time for our children, in which we have time for our community, it can work, but it cannot work if we let the promise of technology be locked up and wealthy people, it can only be worked if we embrace that promise of technology. And say this is going to be our future not theirs. People get ready. Theres a change a coming. You dont need any money to get onboard. But you do have to get onboard because the future is not going to be shaped by someone else. It is going to be shaped by us. Thank you. Oh, there you go. Woman up front who cant be heard by the cspan microphone that i dont think youre passionate enough. You know the truth of the matter is bob and i had another book projects we were working on and we love the project we were working on, but as we began to get into the discussion about these issues as we began to see what was coming we tore up our book and tore up the project and contacted our publish and said we want to do something very, very dirchts to our great blessing our great look and publisher did that that was totally an act of passion. Wedge that this discussion if we can open it up we can transform future as much as any Technological Advancement because theres never going to be any technology that is more transforms than the power of the people through democracy. Were going to open up the conversation. So because of the logistics of opportunity were going to leave microphone here, so max you can come on up. Nobody has ever met you before. Hey. [laughter] happy to start make sure you got that mic close. Happy to start the conversation im going to start with bob said earlier about his place of experience which i think was very similar to mine. I worked in a Grocery Store for five years ive been engineering degree and i was paid a dollar 75 an hour and like all cost of education and i had a job when i left. And as you were speaking i was thinking of King George Bush the first who was elected i think it was hager he goes into a Grocery Store people dont know this story and never seen a scanner before. Yeah. He was just astonished from he did not know this. You know, it was just baffling to him, and people elected this guy. And then i wont even talk about his son. But well i really wanted g to is that i dont think a lot of people many this room probably understand what theyre facing today with this economic burden if youre trying to get an education i dont have to tell the both of you that right now the degree is almost useless for getting any type of job that you can live on it if it brings you a living wage i have a m. D. And thats not helping a lot even though im not looking for anything but peace work. Other o issue i wanted to put on table that you both talked about was today we have 60 of our federal budget discretionary specking going to militarism. And i will argue in just in town here two weeks ago at John Hopkins University that he agreed that it is responsible so curious if you talk about Climate Chaos in matters in the book. Thank you very much for the presentation. I really appreciated it. Great point and start with militarism and hand off. You get a lot. You know we talk about militarism and one of the things thats striking and something that fdr talked about hello okay. [inaudible] sorry about that. There we go. Now im in the zone. In the book one of the things that was striking to us when we were looking at the founding of this country we knew it before but in more detail more with frames they have problems and we talk about them in the book but there were a couple of things that were strong on, and one of them was i would say nothing short of a discussion to limit militarism in our society. Militarism seen as a cancer that was most fundamental thing to undermine republican own democratic rule and called it warfare germ of problems that destroy democracy, and for that reason, we have two of the amendments in the bill of rights called the antimilitarism amendment that makes it very hard toll have continual warfare, and fdr knew this too and he u did four freedommings related to second bill of rights and freedom from fear people have to have a right to not live in fear of militarism thats something that we have to eradicate to have a healthy society, and i think those are truer words never been written and i think history bears that out and given place that we are now with militarism and the technology it is that we have its all the more important and ill add one more final depressing note in the briefly book. One of the ways that is sanitized now is theyve made it robotic, automated to fewer human beings on the fending company have to be killed receiving country another matter. But not the same price to be paid by a country to blow the crap out of another country but do it by automation and people study warfare say that the rise of robots and Artificial Intelligence in military right now is the equivalent of the two other great revolutions in warfare in human history. Gunpowder and nuclear weapons. This is a related issue to our book. It is an absolutely central issue politically going forward. Me take a little bit here question talk about technology and not quite sure is how to use their microphone. But we take just a second to address our good friend question there about Climate Change. When we were writing this book we add we like just the best at titles, i happen to think. Not everything but we love our titles. And but we didnt have one for this right away we have to wait for curtis to help us out, and our working title on this book based on our friend naomi klein brilliant book this changes everything was this changes Everything Else. And it is our belief that you cannot delink the stuff were writing about here from the stuff that im knee has written about. Shes been a friend and support of many of the things that weve done and we cherish of her work and informed by her work and one of the things we point out is automation and Technology Change could actually have a big role in addressing the climate crisis. But thats only going to happen if people who are in charge of a lot of whats taking place, a lot of that change are interested in addressing the climate crieses sis that it becomes central to their work. That again is only going to happen if we democracyize the process and if we recognize that one of the things we talk about in this tour is that you know we have a reference a lot to big data. We talk a lot about big business. But we talk very little about big democracying. And the fact of the matter is it is beginning to take big democracy to deal with these problems. What had is big democracy mean . Its not just political democracy. It also has to be economic democracy. We have to give people a role in defining their Economic Future and thats how we begin to address Climate Change. Its also how we begin to address a jobless future and ill just leave you with one political note here. One of the biggest dangerous at a moment like this as you move toward fewer jobs, is that had there will be political hux who come along an say well i know how to solve the jobs problem. All we have to do is burn the planet. But theyll say it in a nicer way but theyll tell you if we can just dial down our response to Climate Change just a little bit. If we can kind of back off on addressing these issues, that will be better for creating jobs. But people are scared, lie it is like that can get you a long way politically. And so one of our jobs as people understand the vital importance of these issues and understand that theyve got to be interlinked if were going to get anywhere is toe never allow a debate about the future of jobs to get in the way of the fight to save our planet. We have to link this up. And the only way we will ever link it up i promise you only way it will ever happen is to understand that we the people have got to be in the middle of that discussion and we have to make dramatically big bigger demands than we have made up to this point and demand a future where our jobs dont destroy the planet. And we have to demand a future are profiteers dont get richer by destroying the planet and destroying our jobs. Hi, the end of this year of of finland is going to phase in a guaranteed income. Do you address that in your bock and if not, do you have any opinion about that . Yes, we do address that in the book, and yes we do have an opinion about that. The guaranteed income idea started in the 60s with the first automation crisis. [inaudible] im talking into it the first automation i wish i was 4 foote 11 right now. Okay trying to do the limbo dance up here. So in the 60s losing his job. How does this economy work, and the idea to give everybody a guaranteed basic income. They wont starve to death and wont break into rich are peoples houses and theyll sort of might get out of our way, and then we can be on the society and do whatever we want, that was presented in somewhat a better use of public language that i did that it was ever right are to the income even if they dont work unattached to human labor. And this is a big idea for conservative economist who is promoted this, and reason why is that basically youre saying were going to buy off significant percentage of the population with a relatively small amount enough to keep them from starving and with a roof over their heads as long as they dont bug us. And then the good news is theyll spent all of that money because theyre desperate on products that companies produce so you get it right back but also the idea is, though, that Milton Freeman vision this is a way to get rid of the government and social services so with your now individual income your guaranteed income youll go out and buy health care, shop arranged for your health care, and your voucher for your Public School or private school. It leads to a whole new everything is run by market an buying off this sort of sue part. And i think you know, if were going it fight to get our guaranteed income for people, lets fight to be actors in the drama not bit players. Lets fight for the cake not the crumbs. Lets fight to recreate society so it will be something great not just thank you for giving me a 50 check to get loaded while you run the world. I dont think thats successful. Now not saying that is how it would work but in finland you have a welfare state and i would have to assume theyre planning to dismantle that. If they were i would think it would be outrageous. But it isnt the right way to go. Not necessarily know about that. What i will say is this. There is a tremendous amount of organizing and a tremendous amount of political work that is going to have to occur. I do not want our organizing a political work to be for a 1 increase in a guaranteed minimum income. That puts our focus back on getting by. The fact of the matter is the changes that are coming are so revolutionary, i would argue for, yes a social welfare state. Heres a good way to begin. If you are in a gig economy, if youre racing around trying to cobble together a future and you are going to get may be some pick up people in your car and read your room out, maybe do a little bit of gardening. You may make enough money to get by but it is unlikely you are going to make enough money to buy even into a healthcare pool. Even into the most available elements of the healthcare reform that weve had so far. I actually believe that what is coming is going to force us as a country to adopt singlepayer medicare for all, healthcare that actually is available to everybody. I think were going to have to do Something Else too, because work is going to be less available, harder to get to, i think we are going to have to make transportation free. I know that some of our friends get all upset and they say Bernie Sanders is running for president , he is promising people a lot of free stuff. I am in favor of a lot of free stuff. I think free stuff is a really good idea because you know who has gotten a lot of free stuff for a long time . The really rich people. They got a lot of free stuff from us. They we distribute most of our wealth. When they crashed the Global Economy we gave them a lot of free money. The fact of the matter is there is enough money for us to finance a functional, social welfare state that then provides a cushion for people going through a lot of struggles and then, the final thing is that we talk about this in the book, the last chapter is all about solutions. We talk about ending the fantasy that you are going to draw some big new pool of jobs into your town by giving some Multinational Corporation a bunch of Economic Development money. We believe the future of Economic Development is no money going out of town, all of it staying at home and investing in worker owned community center, cooperatives and workplaces that really would do respect human beings. This is not some fantasy. It is happening all over america right now. We write about write about incredible work that is being done. You know the fascinating thing is . Some of the most innovative, new Tech Companies are operating on a cooperative, locally controlled model. Theres one company we write about and madison where we are front, they do all sorts of incredible innovations, they are cooperatively owned, they were locally controlled and always. They are sponsoring all that robot and automation clubs at the high schools in town because they want to talk to the kids that are going to come up as engineers and tell them, you do not have to make a society where your incredible creativity is simply directed into making some billionaire richard. You can use your incredible creativity to make it better and more Humane Society. We can do that, and that is what our Economic Development money should be spent on. [applause]. My name is tim, im 11 of the worker owners here. I will try to keep this brief. Toward the end of your talk you discussed the unwillingness for the cooperatives to give up power they have accrued over these years of bankrupting and eluding us. Youll have to forgive my cynicism on the matter. Historically what has made you think that they will give it up . They have it in both have a firm grip on it. That is not like, we talk about the democratic processes and night not going to lie, even my like hardnosed have been softened a little bit by watching the political campaign. Ive never watched it before. So this is a first. But, im skeptical, like on the far side of skeptical. I do not really think that even with the Bernie Sanders presidency that the money classes are going to do anything differently. Like i am just curious what you have to say about that, if if you could expand on it please. I will start your ego. This is the technology. I am not 6foot eight. I think people in power are never going to do anything because it is a good idea because they are nice people. I know you know that. You get social change by forcing people to do so. It has always been that way. Civil rights, everything we rights, everything we hold, labor unions, social security, we and come up with Something Like oh i want fame are taxes to help poor people. They say if i dont pay more taxes im in trouble. I look out the window, the politicians who got elected save you dont do your gonna go to jail. But to put something up tremendous organizing to win. I still think organizing wins. If the people of the country. Participating you take down governments. It happens all the time. When good things, that that depends on the quality of the organizing of the vision. Im not saying i think the idea that we cant put people in power to change their course through showing our political strength is not true. Better not be true because thats the only way wherever gonna do it. The other point i would like to make of this is an important point in the book that we didnt get a chance to talk about enough. We have come to a long dark period in american history, politically. In which a voter turnout is plummeted, apathy has risen, is plummeted, apathy has risen, interest in politics is much lower. And for lots of reasons people feel powerless so i torture yourself by knowing how powerless you arent getting involved in politics. No matter who you vote for your going to get screw. I get get there, theres a fundamental way people operate. When i came of age in the late 60s and early seventies, i was sort of their right is the Student Movement was fading on american campuses. I was there in the early 70s and been interested in politics on trying to be like on cool it was kind of a weirdo thing. Since then there is been this along deepfreeze where the interest in politics was frowned upon. Its like something is wrong with you especially leftwing politics. So that was not an accident. That was exactly what people around the country wanted. They were keenly eager to see most americans, especially Young Americans to now politics, think it was worth that they were encouraging it. You did not see big business running campaigns to get people to vote, young people to learn about the issue. Not a penny was spent there. We chronicle a penny was spent there. We chronicle some of this in the book. We are deeply concerned in the 1960s about the growth of the Student Movement and this great interest by young people in the interest of the planet. It wasnt sympathetic to business so they said we have to get rid of these guys and they succeeded. I think for that reason and ive been a professor for 30 years roughly. In dealing with with young people constantly, not to mention my own children. I can see the frustration that young people felt as theyre coming to college and this is another world where youre in a political world or a political actor and your feel powerless and you turn it out. I think that moment is over. That moment lasted for 40 years. Its now officially over. Its over for the reasons you read about in the book. Briefly understand, were not on these campaign payroll here but someone said why are you interested in politics, and he said while a guy won an election in germany and 15,000,000 people got killed and that got my intention, maybe politics is important. When you have 20 unemployment, politics gets really important suddenly. Then its not just some matter of pissing matches between two clowns making up a lot of garbage it has no effect on you. And we are in that moment now. Were entering it it quickly. Both feet hitting the ground. Thats why we are seeing extraordinary increase in interest in politics by young people. That is the key to the future. I dont say that in a romantic, kids are great thing, that is a historical record. Social change has always made by young people. Always has been. Martin luther king was 39 when he died, malcolm x wasnt even four. These he died, malcolm x. Wasnt even four. These were young men when they are hitting their prime. There is a place for geezers like me and some of my grayhaired comrades in this room. But the momentum, the energy that changes always goes to people in their 20s and thirties. Always. What we are seen in this country right now is incredibly heartening in the last year. Black lives matters come all the movements, the sanders campaign, this stuff so many told me two years ago this would happen, i would say like what are you smoking, it wouldve been on thinkable. And now were taking it for granted. Im very optimistic that we are on the verge of a political moment that will change the world. Let me add one quick note and then well take another question. I know its getting late and we will keep you here all night. I take my brothers question seriously. I know we should be skeptical, skepticism is an act of hope. So when you are skeptical you want somebody to explain how this thing is going to work. Youre saying, i am not just going to buy into this, anymore. Eugene said if i could leave you to paradise i would not do it. Because if i could the jew in someone else could lead you out. The fact of the matter is, we have to take this into ourselves. This is the important part of it. I know we talk about a little bit about president ial politics, but lets get away from it just for moment away from it just for a moment and understand that what is haening this year is being driven by economic changes that were in play before and that will accelerate after and also whats happening this year is based on realizations that we came to a while ago. In 2008, a bunch of wealthy people crash the Global Economy. And they set us on pace for massive unemployment. High unemployment for all americans but for people in some urban areas, depression level unemployment. Something. Something that was scorching and awful, and people. Instead of doing anything we could to alleviate that pain and to address and hold into account those that caused the crisis, we gave those who caused the crisis hundreds of billions of dollars. I think that was a wakeup call for america and i think people are still hearing it to this day. I think that we have movements afoot in this country today that are the most inspiring movements of modern time. I think the lack lives Matter Movement that says africanamerican young people have a right to walk the streets in safety is transformational. I think the fact that that black lives Matter Movement is linked to struggles to and massive incarceration and to address mass unemployment, this is a big deal stuff. I think the fact that we have a 15dollar minimum wage in them Union Movement and it is often linked to cities across this country to the black lives Matter Movement. This is big deal stuff. I i think the fact that we have the most vibrant immigrant Rights Movement in the history of this country, this is big deal stuff. It is all out there, it is happening. There are people there are people organizing in all kinds of ways. One of our least imperfect president s, Thomas Jefferson said in 1798 at a point when this country was in utter chaos, john adams was jailing his political pose. A friend said what are we going to do its all falling apart. The american experiment itself is falling apart. Jefferson wrote back and said, in a short amount of time the reign of the witches shall pass. Their spells shall be lifted and we will, for a moment look around us and see all of the people who are under attack, all of the people who are threatened and if we ourselves together we will see them off. Brothers and sisters, we we are in a moment of amazing transformational activism across this country that goes far beyond electoral politics. If we we begin to hoop these new movements together we have a tremendous ability to have a transformational political moment. It is going going to come no matter what, i guarantee that. The only question is whether we are ready when the great mass of americans turned to us and say what is your answer to a jobless future. Some rightwinger or billionaires went have an answer. We have have to be there with an answer to. Our answer ought to be that we will have a democracy where you have the power to shape not just politics but economics where you have the ability to push her way into that room for the decisions are made and say, these decisions must be made on behalf of of those who do not have today because you have taken too much from us. And we are going to shape the future where all of us have what we need. [applause]. We have time for about three more questions. With such professional speakers we only have time for one more answer. So what im going to do because three people have been waiting for a long time is ask if you would take the three questions at once and then try to synthesize your answers to them. Is is that acceptable to well of you . And then im going to get out of here. Can we do a big round of applause for our fabulous facilitator here [applause]. So my question comes from the history that i have lived. I was active in the Freedom Movement in the 60s i was part of the student nonviolent donating committee. After the 60s were over i took a factory job in baltimore and thats why im here. I took a factory job in 1972, i worked in the factory until 1980 thinking we would organize workers to make the transformational change. So while i share your optimism about the black lives Matter Movement in the fight for 15 in all of the other things, im happy to be connected to an Organization Called showing up for Racial Justice which is calling why people into work for right supremacy issues. What i want to know i guess is, can you give me some sense of, and maybe the technological changes that you talk about is the hope that these movements will not end up being what i call transactional movements. In other words we have had a fight to raise the minimum wage we have done it 30 times, i dont know how many times, making that up. So yes, how do you see, where do do you see the organizing, the people developing the power that are beyond the traditional structures . That was a good question. My name is jennifer. Thank you for your talk, it was very good at presenting all of the issues that i experience in my life and that i see unfolding in the world around us. One thing that you didnt mention that i thought was interesting especially in light of your talk about politics and political process is the problem that citizens versus the Citizens United are created, it is just created a situation where our votes and input into the political process really has no meeting or can make no traction because of the amount of money that has been poured into campaigns. This is really created a problem. However i want to let people know that there is a group working on this, there is going to be a march from philadelphia april 2 to washington d. C. , march, it is 140 miles, people are marching and will arrive in d. C. On apri. On april 11 which is monday, we plan to have a sit in in the halls of congress to demand and undoing of Citizens United to take the money out of politics. I have flyers about that were in need of housing, food donations for the stops in baltimore in the northern part of maryland. I want to know if you think Something Like that would really make an impact on the political process. Yes. We have one more question, this is our good friend, this gentleman is here when they were setting up. I guess the only question i have is it seems like as educators and scholars that you are evading a particular piece of discussion so its like to what and, to what and if youre talking about intercapitalism and talking about developing something that is totally contradictory to capitalism. So if you can speak on that i think that would be the essence at the end of the day when people leave here theyll be clearing clarity in terms of what youre saying. Brilliant question. Let me take a couple of bobble finish it off. We love this model of multiple questions but also know the danger of it which is of course, the speakers can always select a question they choose from the next. Were not going to do that. No in fact i have them right here and i went to leave some for bob because i know i know what hes gonna go here. You talk about these organizing issues and how do we organize, whose are good sister who asked about organizing. He said what the future organizing. We write about this a quite a bit at the end of the book is an important thing to understand. One of the most exciting things that is happening in America Today is a new model of organizing that excepts this reality of our changing work lives. It excepts that we are cobbling together existences and all sorts of places. Also these terrible threads that if you do organize enough you might get hit with automation. So so if you ask for more wages they might tell you now we can replace you with the machine, all of these pressures and the pressure of globalization. What we argue is a big part of the future is going to be needs based organizing. We have had work organizing and theres a lot to be said about that. Were passionate about that ends there we believe theres a great future for. We also believe it needsbased organizing will start organize people based on what they need, on what they have to have to live. We have seen a wonderful example. In fact we have worked a little bit worked a little bit with and hope to work more with emma we have celebrated groups that do different kinds of organizing. New media like yes magazine, local community stations are taken up these issues and talking about them for theres a group a group in seattle called seattle transit riders union. There organizing people who have to get to work, there organizing them around to different ideas for better transportation and a vision of Free Transportation so you can get to work without going broke. The other thing to think about is the last election cycle in seattle they endorsed a group of candidates including a socialist member of the seattle city council, none of their candidates one. They also endorsed in one a Referendum Campaign to get money for trance. Theyre having success in this concept of needsbased organizing. We see a real future a real future there. Second element i will take an you asked about Citizens United. There is a lot in our book about that. We have a Supreme Court in america right now that goes out of its way to make it harder to vote and easier to buy an election. That is an antidemocratic model. Model. That is a model that undermines democracy itself. So we believe this is one of the most critical things people need to work on when we talk about rebuilding a democratic infrastructure. We think there should be at least two amendments to the constitution. Amendments to the constitution are easy. Everybody thinks so you cannot amend the constitution that the hardest thing in the world itll never happen. It was written and handed down on a tablet of stones and michele bachmann. The fact of the matter is, that is not the case. We have amended it dozens of times. We have amended it sometimes for rapidly and moments of dramatic change. We amended the constitution three times between 1913 and 1920. One amendment. One amendment gave us an elected u. S. Senate. The next amendment gave us the right to tax corporations and to create a tax system. That allowed us to have all sorts of abilities to have minimal control over wealth and power. The third amendment gave the right to vote women. So he took half of humanity and brought them into the political process, we did that seven years. Im not promising you is easy if people were organizing before, but when we get to pivot moments in history we actually amend the constitution a lot. In the 1960s we amended the constitution to end the poll tax to remove the wealth barrier to voting and a couple of years later we amended the constitution to say that 18 21yearolds could vote in elections because we didnt think they ought to be sent off to work and not have a right to vote on those wars. The fact of the matter is, constitutional amendments are necessary and real. We just dont have enough of them recently. We have a couple of amendments for you and those organizing going on right now over this country and part of this awakening is the rage, the passion and power on these issues. 16 states and over 600 communities have already asked congress to amend the constitution to get money, big money out of politics to say that our elections should not be organized around the principle that money a speech, or that corporations are people but around the principle that our votes automatically than their dollars. Amend the constitution to get money out of politics and at the business of it, why dont we amend the constitution to say absolutely that every american has a right to vote and a right to have that vote counted based on their humanity not based on some game played by some state to make it harder to get an id or just say that if you got into a little bit of trouble with the law you cannot vote in the future. Brothers brothers and sisters, money out, voters in. [applause]. Let me address the last piece which is to what end of the question. I think its clear from our work that capitalism as we have known, system based on pursuit of profit by investors competing with each other to maximize their returns, that system is not going to work well and with the technical logical evolution were in the midst of. Its having problems right now but is going to have to be changed dramatically. We think the only way to change it is going to be through a democratic process, where we end up i dont know. I think its clear that it will be closer to what is traditionally called socialism which is when the wealth of the economy is determined socially and democratically. When you say that its an abstract answer, doesnt really tell you a great deal. I think the details which the devil is in the detail, that is going to be taken place and communities who experience things like this here like the coops in cleveland that are talked about, youll see what works i can imagine that there are some private property, some small businesses, i dont think its all black or allwhite, i think there is some gradation there to be determined by Human Experience and democratic practices. I know that sounds like a lame answer, but thats really where i can understand it. If someone says i have the answer here its in an envelope, okay. [inaudible] you guys are so cool, we love you. With love you for coming out and filling up this place and listening to us talk about these issues, this is something were so excited about because this is what we know. It is why we are going across this country to communities all over talk and in churches and schools, evening coffee shops named for emma goldman. It it is why we are going across this country because we believe the greatest movement of our time will be the movement that says the future belongs to us, not to somebody else and we are going to make sure that future is humane, decent, and kind, that it gives us all what we need and it make sure the benefits of technology to not belong to someone we never met. That the benefits of technology belong to each and every one of us. Thank you. Solidarity. [applause]. Thank you so much for coming out. Thank you for speaking. I have ready have my book so i can get it signed first. You can get years over here. Do not forget that if youre not a member of a labor union or even for tonight the seattle Transit Union you get a 10 discount on your book. Come and get get them. Thank you so much. [applause]. [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] republican president ial candidate donald trump recently talked about books he is reading this summer. First, unlikable by edward klein, former editor of the New York Times magazine, taken a critical look at democratic president ial did it hillary clinton. He is also rereading the novel, all quiet on the western front First Published in 1929. The book 29. The book by the late eric is an account of german soldiers serving in world war i. He described it as one of the greatest books of all time. He mentioned that he is reading a biography of former president richard nixon. That is a look a look at what donald trump is reading the summer. Youre watching book tv on cspan2, television for serious readers. Heres a look at what is on prime time tonight. We kick off the evening with the son of the late author in journalist who remembers a life with his father. Then at 830 p. M. , former state Department Official, on yet manual talks about the growing influence of china and india. Michael peach, ceo of the Publisher Book group talks about his publishing career at 9 30 p. M. Eastern. At 10 00 p. M. On tvs afterwards program, Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell discusses his memoir, the long game with senator lamar alexander. We finish up our prime time programming at 11 00 p. M. With neil bascom who recalls the nazis race to build a nuclear bomb and the allies efforts to destroy their plan Nuclear Facility in norway. That all happens tonight on cspan twos book tv. First up, [inaudible]