How Capitalism Quietly Revolutionized Everyday Life
Virginia Postrel discusses the forgotten innovations behind modern conveniences, why discontent drives progress, and the political forces resisting change.
Today's guest is Virginia Postrel, former editor in chief of Reason, former New York Times columnist, and author of The Future and Its Enemies. She currently co-hosts Everyday Abundance with Charles C. Mann, a podcast exploring the hidden histories of everyday technologies and activities. Postrel examines how innovations driven by the pursuit of profit have transformed ordinary life, often with unexpected social benefits.
Nick Gillespie talks with Postrel about how self-service supermarkets helped reduce discrimination against shoppers, why Americans embraced exercise as a recreational activity, and how washing machines revolutionized household labor. They also discuss why dissatisfaction drives progress, the dangers of trying to control technological change, and how the ideas in The Future and Its Enemies apply to today's political movements.
0:00—The Abundance Institute
2:30—Supermarkets and shopping carts
8:01—Exercise and fitness
17:14—Washing machines
24:44—Disposable diapers
30:59—The Prometheus myth
35:30—Technologists and optimism
41:43—The Future and Its Enemies
49:06—Political climate