Can We Build a Middle Class Without Factories? - ft. Dani Rodrik

Podcast: Capitalisn't (LS 53 · TOP 0.5% what is this?)Episode: Can We Build a Middle Class Without Factories? - ft. Dani RodrikPub date: 2026-01-22Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationIs the era of manufacturing-led growth officially over? For decades, the path to a stable middle class was paved through industrialization, but today, even manufacturing giants like China are losing millions of factory jobs to automation. In this episode, Bethany McLean and Luigi Zingales sit down with Dani Rodrik, Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy at Harvard and author of Shared Prosperity in a Fractured World. Rodrik argues that we have "no other choice" but to look toward the service sector to anchor our future economy. But there’s a problem: we still treat these essential roles as "bottom rung" jobs in terms of pay and respect. Is it possible to elevate a job’s status and pay simply because society needs it to be better? As Rodrik argues, it’s a future we must learn to navigate if we want to preserve a stable society. Subscribe to our Youtube Channel Follow Capitalisn’t on Instagram & TikTok Send us your questions or comments by emailing [email protected]  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from University of Chicago Podcast Network, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.