A person’s future is one of the hardest things to predict when it comes to life because many factors, good or bad, could arise to swing its outcomes. However, this statement is not only suitable to humans but is also applicable to a country as a whole. This statement shines even brighter when people evaluate a country’s growth and economic prosperity. No one knows this better than Robert Reich. He is one of the most talented philosophers and economists of our time. He successfully predicted and foresaw many of the challenges facing our modern-day labor market in the late 1990s, way before the rise of e-commerce, through his unique perception of the future economy and the world at large. He is also an individual with a wealth of knowledge and titles, both academically and politically. He initially served as a faculty professor at Harvard University before being nominated by former President Bill Clinton to serve as the U.S Secretary of Labor from 1993 to 1997. After departing from his role as the Secretary of Labor, he joined the University of California, Berkeley, serving as the Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy (C-Span Robert B. Reich). One of his most notable works is his writing assessing Why the Rich Are Getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer. In this writing, he repeatedly stressed the need for a more educated labor workforce while reiterating the values of human labor. He also mentioned that the most daunting issue facing the current labor market is the rise of autonomation and globalization. With that said, let us explore some of these ideologies and see how they relate to modern society.

At the beginning of the writing, Reich mentioned that the only competitor within a workforce, regardless of industry, is the workers themselves (Reich 713). This section highlighted that one needs to become more skilled to remain competitive in the labor workforce. Those skillsets should also be tailored explicitly towards higher-paying jobs. He calls those people who possess unique skillsets and those who innovate symbolic analysts. Those workers who refuse or fail to adapt to the ever-growing and changing economy will eventually become unemployable, rendering their fate less clear-cut and meaningful. He further noted that all workers would roughly be on the same leveled playing field before any policy changes or economic shifts could significantly impact them. Sadly, however, those workers usually do not have a critical mindset to spot those changes and adapt to them quickly enough. They are more likely to continue to do the same thing repeatedly without any ambition to strive for the better. Eventually, they will fall victim to technological advancements. By the time they realize that their existing work functions are obsolete, all will be too late. An excellent example of this concept in our modern society is the increased number of excel skill requirements in job postings in recent years. In a news article published by CNBC last year, they found that the knowledge of excel is among the top five most desired skills among employers when they screen for potential job candidates (Malinsky 5 in-demand skills job seekers should include on resumes, according to a labor economist). Unfortunately, most of the labor workforce do not exhibit this particular skill. When technological advancements catch up to replace their routine job functions, they will be at a considerable disadvantage. Therefore, the existing working population needs to learn new skills while also sharpening their existing skills to keep up with their competitiveness.

Reich continued to draw a contrast by comparing the current labor market to those from the nineteenth century following the first industrial revolution. He concluded that because the various innovations during that period required human oversight or manual operation, it drove a tidal wave of demand for human labor (Reich 714). Reich further noted that because of the increase of demand for manual labor, employers had an incentive to keep their workforce happy by paying them a sustainable wage to prolong their motivations. For the reason that, if the employers do not do so, the sudden loss of workers will directly impact production. Those lost productions will create unimaginable disarray, cut further into the companies’ bottom lines, and stir even more pain for the investors.

Reich further stated that the massive influx of growth during that same period also paved the path for a thriving American middle-class. As the middle-class population grew, the buying power among these American consumers also rose to an all-time high. Thus, it provided a more robust market for those companies looking to expand and generate more profits. In turn, it provides additional incentives to keep their employees, or in this case, the workforce, happy. An excellent example of this concept in action was within the textile industry during that period. Prior to the first industrial revolution, textiles were hand-made in cottages, where the necessary materials would be gathered and brought back to the cottage workers for further processing. However, the gathering process is a time-consuming job, and the transportation was not advanced, so there are significant delays between the two phases of production. Thus, the cottage workers often also had control over their work schedules, which created a highly inefficient and decentralized means of production (Farago The textile industry during the Industrial Revolution). After the first industrial revolution, though, the textile industry was fundamentally changed from the ground up. The industrialist eliminated much of the original standard of operations and transitioned entirely to weaving and loom machines to significantly increase productivity and output.

In addition, Reich also touched upon the trend of globalization and how it was growing at an alarming rate while also identifying the potential for increased dependency on foreign goods (Reich 714-715). He stated that as the business dealings became ever more global, companies started to explore ways to cut down on the cost of transporting finished products across the globe. The best way to achieve this goal is to utilize localized manufacturing plants. This method will significantly help the companies to reduce their overhead costs associated with storage and import tariffs. They have also strategized to make their products more “modular” and standardized so that they would only need to produce parts of a product that they deemed a trade secret. All while offloading the non-critical but essential parts to other overseas manufacturers to produce. These overseas countries will almost always have a significantly lower standard of living than the United States; hence, it helps further reduce labor costs. A well-documented example of such a company is Apple. Apple is a pretty fascinating company because Apple does most of its manufacturing inside of China. However, they do it not just because it has a significantly lower labor cost than the U.S but also due to the sheer size of the skillful working population. In an interview article piece written by the Inc. back in 2017, Tim Cook, the chief executive officer of Apple, once said that China has the densest population of skilled labor ever. Therefore, it is a highly desirable place to manufacture iPhones because all skilled workers are in one location (Leibowitz Apple CEO Tim Cook: This is the no. 1 reason we make iphones in China (it’s not what you think)). On top of that, Apple will also achieve a more standardized procedure across a wide array of skilled labor forces.

In Reich’s point of view, the best way to alleviate the wealth disparity between the rich and the poor is the better educate the blue-collar working population with specific skills that they could use to make a living. That skill must also be helpful in the long run and not easily replaceable. He also stressed for the working population to step out of their comfort zone and actively learn new skills that may help them stay ahead of competitions if their current job does go under due to autonomation or globalization. He also encourages the general population to stay ahead of the ball game and use their creative minds to innovate. After all, good-paying jobs are the fruit of innovators, while low-paying jobs come from protecting outdated industries that the market will eventually eliminate.

Works Cited

C-Span. “Robert B. Reich.” C-Span, http://www.c-span.org/person/?16203%2FRobertBReich.

Malinsky, Gili. “5 In-Demand Skills Job Seekers Should Include on Resumes, According to a Labor Economist.” CNBC, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2020, http://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/07/5-in-demand-skills-job-seekers-should-include-on-resumes-according-to-labor-economist.html.

Farago, Alli. “The Textile Industry during the Industrial Revolution.” GlobalEDGE Blog: The Textile Industry During the Industrial Revolution >> GlobalEDGE: Your Source for Global Business Knowledge, 18 Oct. 2017, globaledge.msu.edu/blog/post/54483/the-textile-industry-during-the-industrial-revolution.

Leibowitz, Glenn. “Apple CEO Tim Cook: This Is the No. 1 Reason We Make Iphones in China (It’s Not What You Think).” Inc.com, Inc., 21 Dec. 2017, http://www.inc.com/glenn-leibowitz/apple-ceo-tim-cook-this-is-number-1-reason-we-make-iphones-in-china-its-not-what-you-think.html.