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 decadence


Why does everything feel so joyless? Welcome to the age of decadence without pleasure Michèle Mendelssohn and Charlie Tyson

The Guardian

Why does everything feel so joyless? Do you want to have a good time? You know, really enjoy yourself? Click here, and tell us your desires. Maybe it's a new outfit, or some exotic cuisine delivered anonymously and steaming hot to your door. Perhaps you prefer the infinite scroll, the endlessly unfurling ribbon of glossy images and videos starring people you'll never meet doing things you'll never do. Or maybe you favor talking to a chatbot who will assure you that you are the most special of all its users.


Donald Trump not destroying GOP, decadence is

#artificialintelligence

Decadence, not Donald Trump, is defeating the Republican establishment in the primaries. The dominant wings of the national party -- neo-conservatives, as represented by Jeb Bush, John Kasich and several others, and the Tea Party, as represented by Ted Cruz -- are simply clueless to the economic and cultural forces transforming America. Globalization and technology -- fair and unfair trade, legal and illegal immigration and automation and artificial intelligence are destroying jobs, lowering wages and rendering obsolete the skills of millions of prime working age Americans. Coupled with lower birth rates among whites and the absolute failure of educational institutions to keep up with the times, these are creating a poorer, more unequal and radically more ethnically and religiously diverse electorate. Ivy League and elite state university graduates jump to six figure jobs in engineering, law, finance and the like, while the much larger army of diplomates from non-descript private and state colleges are often not decently prepared for entry-level professional and managerial positions still available in our slow growing economy.