In this episode, we journey from the collapse of Rome through the Gilded Age to uncover how every economic system—feudal, mercantile, industrial—has relied on human labor to keep the wheels turning. But what happens when today’s emerging AI and robotics mean the wealthy no longer need a workforce at all? By retracing the bloody births and brutal shifts of past economies—from peasant revolts to robber barons—we reveal a stark new reality: labor has always held some power because it was indispensable. If the elite can automate everything, that power collapses. Join us for a riveting crash course in history that sets the stage for a potentially dystopian near-future—and challenges you to imagine a world where the everyday worker is optional.

CITATIONS:

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2. Zhu, Z. (2011). Analysis on American industrial workers in the Gilded Age. Productivity Research. 
3. Hoogenboom, A. (2000). The Gilded Age: A history in documents. History: Reviews of New Books, 29(1), 10. 
4. Orser, C. (2011). Beneath the surface of tenement life: The dialectics of race and poverty during America’s first Gilded Age. Historical Archaeology, 45, 151–165. 
5. Campbell, B. C. (1999). Understanding economic change in the Gilded Age. OAH Magazine of History, 13(4), 16–20. 
6. Mackay, K. (n.d.). Notable labor strikes of the Gilded Age. Weber State University Faculty. Retrieved from https://faculty.weber.edu/kmackay/notable_labor_strikes_of_the_gil.htm 
7. Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Gilded Age. In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilded_Age
8. Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED). (n.d.). Distribution of household wealth in the United States. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Retrieved from https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WFRBST01134 
9. Statista. (n.d.). Wealth distribution in the United States as of 2024. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/203961/wealth-distribution-for-the-us/