- Noam Chomsky observed that most workplaces are 'totalitarian systems' where individuals lack democratic control over conditions like salary and surveillance, making them subordinate.
- The promise of human capital theory—that education leads to security—is failing: higher education advantages are eroding, with many graduates underemployed or unemployed in wealthy economies.
- AI is bypassing the educational bargain by substituting human labor, reducing entry-level hiring, and undermining professional pathways, yet policies still focus on employability and skills.
- Worker insecurity benefits the economic order, as noted by Alan Greenspan, and is a sustained feature, not accidental, in a model dependent on anxiety to prevent wage demands.