Power and progress: our 1000-year struggle over technology and prosperity
Simon Johnson, bestselling co-author of 13 Bankers, will be discussing his latest book at our special event. Together with coauthor Daron Acemoglu, they deliver a bold reinterpretation of economics and history that will fundamentally change how you see the world.

A thousand years of history and contemporary evidence make one thing clear. Progress depends on the choices we make about technology. New ways of organizing production and communication can either serve the narrow interests of an elite or become the foundation for widespread prosperity.

The wealth generated by technological improvements in agriculture during the European Middle Ages was captured by the nobility and used to build grand cathedrals while peasants remained on the edge of starvation. The first hundred years of industrialization in England delivered stagnant incomes for working people. And throughout the world today, digital technologies and artificial intelligence undermine jobs and democracy through excessive automation, massive data collection, and intrusive surveillance.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Power and Progress demonstrates that the path of technology was once—and may again be—brought under control. The tremendous computing advances of the last half century can become empowering and democratizing tools, but not if all major decisions remain in the hands of a few hubristic tech leaders.

With their breakthrough economic theory and manifesto for a better society, Acemoglu and Johnson provide the vision needed to reshape how we innovate and who really gains from technological advances.

Simon Johnson is the Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at MIT and a former chief economist to the IMF. His much-viewed opinion pieces have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Atlantic, and elsewhere. With law professor James Kwak, Simon is the co-author of the bestsellers 13 Bankers and White House Burning, and a founder of the widely-cited economics blog The Baseline Scenario.

Please note that this event will be followed by a drinks reception.

Copies of the book will be available for purchase on the evening.
Date: 30 May 2023, 17:00 (Tuesday, 6th week, Trinity 2023)
Venue: Oxford Martin School, 34 Broad Street OX1 3BD
Venue Details: Lecture Theatre
Speaker: Prof Simon Johnson (MIT)
Organising department: Institute for New Economic Thinking
Organiser: Susan Mousley (INET Oxford Admin Team)
Organiser contact email address: events@inet.ox.ac.uk
Booking required?: Required
Booking url: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/simon-johnson-power-and-progress-tickets-626319788347
Booking email: events@inet.ox.ac.uk
Audience: Public
Editor: Susan Mousley