Introduction

In July 2016, an article in the Wall Street Journal declared “Election 2016 is propelled by the American economy's failed promises” (Hilsenrath and Davis, 2016; see also Beams, 2016). The article effectively acknowledges that the political economic orthodoxy of the day – for which the Journal has long been a primary proponent – is in tatters and that anger at economic dislocation is creating seismic shifts in Americans' political outlook. Among the failed promises that the article lists is that of technology in the ‘knowledge economy’, namely that “Technology would lead to rising incomes and broadly shared prosperity.” The reality is that “Productivity and output growth have slowed and technology has been polarizing the workforce.”