"Assesses economic and political impacts of the worldwide revolution in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics and proposes policies to benefit jobs, working conditions, and incomes in the Global North and the Global South"--

In Confronting Dystopia, a distinguished group of scholars analyze the implications of the ongoing technological revolution for jobs, working conditions, and income. Focusing on the economic and political implications of AI, digital connectivity, and robotics for both the Global North and the Global South, they move beyond diagnostics to seek solutions that offer better lives for all. Their analyses of the challenges of technology are placed against the backdrop of three decades of rapid economic globalization. The two in tandem are producing the daunting challenges that analysts and policymakers must now confront. The conjuncture of recent advances in AI, machine learning, and robotization portends a vast displacement of human labor, argues the editor, Eva Paus. As Confronting Dystopia shows, we are on the eve of—indeed we are already amid—a technological revolution that will impact profoundly the livelihoods of people everywhere in the world. Across a broad and deep set of topics, the contributors explore whether the need for labor will inexorably shrink in the coming decades, how pressure on employment will impact human well-being, and what new institutional arrangements—a new social contract, for example, will be needed to sustain livelihoods. They evaluate such proposals as a basic income, universal social services, and investments that address key global challenges and create new jobs. Contributors: Vandana Chandra, Mignon Duffy, Dieter Ernst, Vincent Ferraro, Martin Ford, Juliana Martinez Franzoni, Irmgard Nubler, Robert Pollin, David Rueda, Diego Sanchez-Ancochea, Guy Standing, Stefan Thewissen

Video games permeate our everyday existence. They immerse players in fascinating gameworlds and exciting experiences, often inviting them in various ways to reflect on the enacted events. Gerald Farca explores the genre of dystopian video games and the player's aesthetic response to their nightmarish gameworlds. Players, he argues, will gradually come to see similarities between the virtual dystopia and their own ›offline‹ environment, thus learning to stay wary of social and political developments. In his analysis, Farca draws from a variety of research fields, such as literary theory and game studies, combining them into a coherent theory of aesthetic response to dystopian games.

We have an obsession with broken societies set in futuristic worlds, curious but terrifying new technologies and post-apocalyptic dusty wastelands where survivors grow more desperate every day. Dystopian themes are becoming ever more popular and this is the book to show the art, fiction and movies.

This Element reviews varieties of capitalism (VoC) developed by Hall and Soskice and subsequent extensions to emerging markets. The author suggests that by reinvigorating existing ideal types and creating new ones through an analysis of its five variables in a variety of countries VoC can be used to evaluate the viability of economic reforms in each country, based on lessons from other countries belonging to their ideal type. It illustrates the utility of VoC in understanding how reforms will differ across countries by examining how the future of work is likely to differ across nations depending on the degree to which the five institutions explored in this approach promote the standardization of tasks. It analyzes how these institutions shape degrees of standardization in the United States, Germany, and Brazil, offering suggestions for reforms in each of them.

The book makes a unique contribution to civilizational theory. It traces contemporary social and political crises in Western and Eurasian societies to a process of civilizational decline initiated by war and revolution last century and now being completed by globalization.

An accessible and comprehensive introduction to key concepts in globalization written by leading authors in the field In the comprehensively revised Third Edition of Globalization: A Basic Text, distinguished researchers and authors George Ritzer and Paul Dean deliver an up-to-date introduction to major trends and topics related to the study of globalization. The book includes accessible and rigorous material on the key theories and major topics in globalization, as well as modern developments like the rise of populism and far-right political groups, Brexit, migration and backlash to it, trade negotiations, social media and the spread of misinformation, climate change, social justice issues, and COVID-19. The new edition includes a greater focus on the structures of inequality that encourage or discourage global flows. Additionally, new examples and sources from Central and South America, Africa, and Asia are used to illustrate key concepts, and round out the international coverage of book. Throughout, the authors use clear and helpful metaphors including solids, liquids, gases, and flows to introduce and explain the complex nature of globalization in an engaging and understandable way. Readers will also benefit from the inclusion of: A thorough introduction to globalization and related processes, including imperialism, colonialism, development, and westernization An exploration of neoliberalism, including its roots, principles, criticisms, and Neo-Marxist alternatives A practical discussion of global political structures and processes, as well as global economic flows of production and consumption A concise treatment of negative global flows and processes, including dangerous imports, diseases, crime, terrorism, and war Analysis of the changing nature of globalization and de-globalization, and the social movements and technological developments driving these changes More images, charts, and graphs to help illustrate and highlight the concepts contained in the book Perfect for advanced undergraduates studying globalization across sociology, political science, geography, anthropology, and economics, Globalization: A Basic Text, Third Edition will also be essential reading for students taking courses in culture, economy and inequality, and migration taught from a global perspective.