Episode 2241: Daniel Susskind exposes the messy truth about the benefits of economic growth

Keen On

Yesterday, we featured a conversation with the British pro-market Conservative, Jon Moynihan, who is unambiguously in favor of economic growth. But Daniel Susskind, author of Growth: A History and a Reckoning, is less of an ideological warrior on behalf of unrestrained economic growth. In Growth, which is deservedly included on the Financial Times’ short list of best business books for 2024, Susskind seeks to navigate between the exuberantly Hayekian Moynihan and “degrowthers” like previous KEEN ON guests Tim Jackson and Jason Hickel. The truth about growth, for Susskind, as I’m guessing for most of us, is tricky, especially in the context of its longer term environmental costs. Thus the importance of Susskind’s nuanced and sensitive treatment of both the benefits and drawbacks of economic growth.

Dr Daniel Susskind explores the impact of technology, and particularly AI, on work and society. He is a Research Professor in Economics at King’s College London, a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford University, and an Associate Member of the Economics Department at Oxford University. He is the co-author of the best-selling book, The Future of the Professions (2015) and the author of A World Without Work (2020), described by The New York Times as "required reading for any potential presidential candidate thinking about the economy of the future”. His TED Talk, on the future of work, has been viewed more than 1.6 million times. And his new book, Growth: A Reckoning, published in April 2024, is currently shortlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year 2024. Previously he worked in various roles in the British Government – in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, in the Policy Unit in 10 Downing Street, and in the Cabinet Office. He was a Kennedy Scholar at Harvard University.

Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.

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