The argument in said video, mostly tied to the writings of Peter Turchin, is that we produce too many “elites,” and thus not enough people to do the fundamental jobs of society, i.e. social workers, nurses, building homes, cops, etc. I would generally agree with this, but like I said, it’s complicated. There are a few things going on, including:
Cost of living: As this continues to rise, you almost need to be “an elite,” or at least “an elite” in the sense of having a well-paid white-collar job, just to keep your head above water. The truth is that our collective mental health would probably be better if more people worked with their hands and could see the output of their labor, but those jobs often pay shit and you have to be outside in sweltering heat for 11 hours, so we’d rather manage spreadsheets to buy fancy cheese. I get it. I am guilty of it too. The cost…
