Plamondon Stephanie
J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, United States.
Front Res Metr Anal. 2022 Jul 29;7:980677. doi: 10.3389/frma.2022.980677. eCollection 2022.
With technological advance has come the possibility of a new era of abundance. Technologies like 3D printing and robotics promise to lower the costs of production and distribution of goods and services, presumably making these goods and services readily available to those across income and wealth spectrums. This undoubtedly is a good thing. But what will be the effect of these technologies on existing wealth inequalities and the psychological and societal burdens they impose? Can we expect that this newfound abundance will help remedy the current historic levels of inequality in the U.S. and other western countries? Unfortunately, the answer is likely no, for two reasons. First, history suggests that inequality often persists even under conditions of abundance due to dynamics of power and politics and ongoing impacts of structural inequalities. Having more than enough of a particular good or service to go around does not guarantee that all will have access to this good or service. Second, even if the new abundance enabled by technology extends into all levels of the socioeconomic spectrum, enabling individuals to access goods and services (and their attendant benefits) previously beyond their reach, the harms that attend unequal societies will persist. Increasing evidence suggests that these harms, including increased violence and decreased health, arise not from access (or a lack thereof) to particular goods and services, but from the adverse psychological consequences of living in an unequal society. This is a psychological burden shared not just by those at the losing end of the inequality equation, but also those who enjoy a relative advantage in society. Unequal societies are psychologically harmful to all who live in them, regardless of where these individuals fall on the socioeconomic spectrum, and largely independent of the particular goods and services they enjoy. The upshot is that society cannot rely on new abundance technologies to automatically solve problems of inequality and the social and psychological burdens that plague those who live in unequal societies. Indeed, depending on how society responds to questions of access to these technologies, their introduction might exacerbate various forms of inequality. In light of this, it is crucial to address conditions of inequality head-on, so that the new era of abundance promised by technological advance can lead to real gains in individual and societal wellbeing.
随着技术进步，一个富足新时代的可能性已然到来。3D打印和机器人技术等科技有望降低商品和服务的生产与分销成本，想必能让这些商品和服务为不同收入和财富阶层的人们所轻易获取。这无疑是件好事。但这些技术会对现有的财富不平等以及它们所带来的心理和社会负担产生何种影响呢？我们能否期待这种新出现的富足会有助于弥补美国和其他西方国家当前处于历史高位的不平等状况呢？不幸的是，答案可能是否定的，原因有二。其一，历史表明，即便在富足的情况下，不平等往往仍会持续，这是由于权力和政治动态以及结构性不平等的持续影响。某种特定商品或服务供过于求，并不保证所有人都能获取到该商品或服务。其二，即便技术带来的新富足延伸至社会经济的各个层面，使个人能够获取此前无法企及的商品和服务（以及随之而来的益处），不平等社会所带来的危害仍将持续。越来越多的证据表明，这些危害，包括暴力增加和健康状况下降，并非源于获取（或无法获取）特定商品和服务，而是源于生活在不平等社会所产生的不良心理后果。这是一种心理负担，不仅为不平等等式中处于劣势的人所共有，也为那些在社会中享有相对优势的人所共有。不平等的社会对所有生活在其中的人在心理上都是有害的，无论这些人在社会经济层面处于何种位置，且在很大程度上与他们所享用的特定商品和服务无关。结果是，社会不能指望新的富足技术能自动解决不平等问题以及困扰生活在不平等社会中的人们的社会和心理负担问题。事实上，取决于社会如何应对获取这些技术的问题，它们的引入可能会加剧各种形式的不平等。有鉴于此，直接应对不平等状况至关重要，这样技术进步所预示的富足新时代才能切实增进个人和社会福祉。
