[Book Review] The war on normal people - Andrew Yang

Rating : 9/10

Anyone who is interested in future and world would be able to enjoy this book.

Also, people who feel hopefuless might find a reason why through this book.

But if you are depressed, you might want to skip this.

It can show you how things could become worse, although it suggests some solutions to that.

 

1. Who is Andrew Yang?

 He is democratic presidential candidate for 2020 election in US. One of his main policies is Universal Basic Income, which means $1,000 for every American adults every month.

 He used to be an entrepreneur. He also founded a non-profit organization called Venture for America, whose mission was to create more jobs by connectimg new college graduates to startups and training them to start new businesses across America, especially in dwindling cities. 

 

2. What is this book about? 

 This book summarizes his ideas for future world. A world without jobs. It is already here, and he gives a lot of examples and data to support his argument. First of all, he argues that automation and Artificial Intelligence will swip out many jobs across America. More and more repetitive entry jobs are disappearing. In fact, it has been going on for a while.

 Secondly, he talks about his ideas for future. The future he suggests sounds very unlikely at first, but I see that there is no way that we can prevent this trend, and it could lead us to some sort of dystopian future. He talks about UBI, social credit system, health care system, educational system, etc. for the solutions. I thought some of his ideas are too unrealistic at first, especially social credit system. But I thought it through, only to realize that there's no other way. Maybe there could be other ways that didn't occur to me, but I can see how Andrew Yang is a reasonable and logical person to suggest such ideas even though many people would mock at first. He is a long shot candidate, but what he brings to the table is something people actually need. At least some of his proposals will survive and change the political climate.

 

3. Do his ideas apply universally?

 Even in South Korea, where I live, I see a lot of kiosks. I see them in restaurants, diners, McDonalds, Burgerkings, and even cafes. They are everywhere. One of my students once told me that it's very difficult to get a part-time job. She thought it was because of increased minimum wage in Korea. So I told her, no, it's not that, it's machines. I see them everywhere in Korea. Especially considering how everything is so fast in Korea, the change is massive. I see a lot of 'self-serving' diners. You order something with kiosk and pick up the food yourself. No servers. No hiring. It's where we are going. 

 Recently, South Korean prime minister read this very book. I hope Korean government realizes what's going on and do something for the future generation. I believe that when America changes to the better, other countries will follow. So I hope America to accept and understand what is going on, for the whole world, hopefully sooner than later.