Ditto on the teacher-union bashing objections. I have seen some cases where unions have overstepped, but in the teaching world, in general, this is not the case. Salaries are nowhere near on a par with other professions that require equivalent initial and on-going educational credentials and often less time and effort. And the vilification doesn’t help.

Also, as has been stated more clearlly than I can manage, the Amazon situation is exactly whey we need unions.

However, the points you make are most easily digested by people who have the luxury to spend time thinking about them. Yes, lots of amazing changes are happening very quickly and power is diffusing rapidly in ways people couldn’t even imaging five years ago but there’s also the fact that millions of people can’t find work and that the world’s economic leader, the United States, has traded social inequality for economic inequality.

These same corporations that you trumpet as being leaders are the same entities that, using the methods of the “1%,” have boosted economic production to pre-2008 levels but have done it by closing the doors of employment and economic opportunity to millions of people in the process.

I challenge you to convince me that things are getting better, not worse, especially when a single corporation like Goldman Sachs can drive millions to the brink of starvation by betting on grain futures or when the 7 billionth person is born on earth and people bake the family a cake instead of demanding more access to contraceptives, family planning services, and education.

As a teacher who was treated with respect only because we had a strong union, I regret the author threw in, without any reason, the attack on “selfish” teachers who demand to paid for their work. How indecent we are!

I cannot relate to a human being (the manager) who treats others this way.

Successful societies are about balance – in this case the balance of power. Amazon has too much power over the workers (a temporary workforce is unable to form unions). Conversely, in many government bodies unions have too much power and prevent any kind of change, even that which is necessary.

Ultimately balance is disturbed when groups become too large. They become overly powerful and less in-touch with events. Huge unions forget about protecting the futures of the individuals they supposedly represent, huge corporates chase shareholder profits (as they are legally obliged to do) at the cost of the welfare of their staff.

With an increasing globalisation, larger corporates and super-states (e.g. EU) this problem is going to get worse, not better.