Problem
It is difficult to learn from our own lives because, as humans, we tend to "gloss over" complex situations and arrive at easy (i.e., automatic, simplistic, biased) interpretations of situations.
But a second obstacle we face is that we tend to think in extremes with regard to our own situation. Sometimes we think of our experience as more unique than it really is, because this enhances our identity. But at other times we think of our experiences as being more common than they are, because being a part of a larger community is also important to us.
In the course we have considered how the future of work depends, in part, on a fit between the broader context and the expectations of workers. I am asking you to use your own experiences as a participant in the US labor force to imagine how the US economic system might change in the next 10-15 years. To be clear, I am not asking you to engage in an ego-centric exercise. Rather, I want you to think of yourself as one in a "group" of workers, distilling the particular characteristics of that group of workers and their expectations, to explain how the US economic system may change.
To engage your reflection of the US economic system, you can select any dimensions that you think will matter most to you. It could be things as different as wage policies by companies, taxation policy by government, early child education support, the unemployment system, unionization, or other topics. The key is to think about how the current system meets or does not meet your needs, your expectations, and how the economic system might change because of that.
As our reminder of our stance, the important thing here is your reflection and analysis, not your predictions. Your reflection should focus on the ways in which you are similar to others and how that informs your thinking about the future of the economic system, as well as how are you different and how that informs your thinking. Thus, here your analysis will be about how you are a representative of worker expectations.
Also be sure to cite the ideas you use appropriately, so that the logic you are using in your analysis is clear.
A. Describe a dimension of the current economic system that does not work for you. Explain how this is based in your expectations of how the world should work.
B. Explain how, in this dimension, you are similar and different from others in the workforce. How common is your point of view? Who are the people that share this point of view? Who disagrees with it?
C. Describe what change would help solve this dissatisfaction. Explain what it would take for this change to occur, considering technology (including our notion of ideas as one form of technology), people, and context.
D. Lastly, what do you think your personal situation can teach you about the future of work? What does it teach you about how others might react to their dissatisfaction with the economic system? Here, I ask that you avoid simple answers. Instead, take seriously that your dissatisfaction means something, that there are good reasons for feeling this way, and that this has an impact on how the future of work will unfold.