Dignity in a Digital Age: Making Tech Work for All of Us
Ro Khanna
Simon & Schuster (February 2022)

How technology can advance democratic patriotism bv respecting the dignity of every American

I agree with these observations by the late Indian Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen in the Foreword: “What is important is to be guided by carefully examined human values related to the process of development. Democratic reasoning has to play a central role in examining and celebrating the opportunities that people benefit from — without their having to be personally flung across the world to make use of what exists. There will be much to discuss on how exactly to proceed, but that is the nature of democracy, particularly — as John Stuart Mill has taught us — when we learn to see democracy as ‘governance by discussion.’ We have reason to be grateful to Ro Khanna for the insights he presents in this splendidly written book.”

Splendid indeed.

These are among the passages in Part I of greatest interest and value to me, also listed to suggest the nature and scope of Khanna’s coverage of the twenty-first-century economy:

o Democratizing the the Digital Revolution (Pages 1-4)
o Building Common Purpose (10-15)
o Part I: “Twenty-First-Century Economy” (15-17)
o Part II: “Twenty-First-Century Citizenship” (18-20)
o The Economics of Innovation (26-31)

o The Virtual Workplace, and, Computer Science for All (34-36 and 43-44)
o Democratizing Capital (48-50)
o American Centers of Technology (50-51)
o Reimagining What Is Possible: Silicon Valley Meets Jefferson, Iowa (54-58)
o Restructuring Tech Companies (65-68)

o Starting Early (72-75)
o Tech as a Tool for Rehabilitation (81-83)
o Employee Bargaining Rights (100-104)
o Retirement Income (104-105)
o Worker Voice (107-113)

o Affordable Housing (115-119)
o Progressive Capitalism (120-123)
o Universal Higher Education (132-134)
o The Least Well Off (143-145)
o Opportunity for All (147-148)

I also commend to your attention the last chapter in Dignity in a Digital Age, “Democratic Patriotism” (Pages 273-286) in which Khanna cites a speech by Frederick Douglass in 1869, “Our Composite Nationality,” in which Douglass passionately supports the inclusion of Chinese immigrants “while also offering perhaps the most compelling vision for a cohesive multiracial, multireligious America.” Later in the chapter, Khanna adds:

“A key attribute of democratic patriotism, building on Douglass’s insights, is that our national ‘aims and ends’ must continually evolve, remaining as fluid as the people comprising our nation, with room for an array of communities.  There is no fixed national identity. Our national identity must be a radically democratic process subject to continual debate and examination.”

And then Khanna reaffirms the benefits, indeed the compelling need for dignity in a digital age: “Douglass’s vision informs this book, which, at heart is an attempt to imagine how technology can advance democratic patriotism which is predicated on respecting the dignity of every American. The book shares Douglass’s faith that we can be a composite nation — that we can embrace a holistic, resplendent American identity that is more than just a  formal contract.”

Obviously, no brief commentary of mine could possibly do full justice to the value of information, insights, and counsel that Ro Khanna provides in this book. However, I hope I have at least indicated why I think so highly of it.

Dignity in a Digital Age is a brilliant achievement. Bravo!

* * *

In school, college, and then graduate school, I learned more and learned it faster when I discussed material in a group with 3-5 others taking the same course. I also recorded key Q&As on 3×5 file cards (based on course material, whatever the subject) with a Q on one side and the A on the other, held together by a thick rubber band. I carried them with me and reviewed the content whenever I had a few minutes to spare.

Here are two other suggestions to keep in mind while reading Dignity in a Digital Age: Highlight key passages, and, record your comments, questions, action steps (preferably with deadlines), page references, and lessons you have learned as well as your responses to key points posed within the narrative. Also record your responses to specific questions posed, especially at the conclusion of chapters.

These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will facilitate, indeed expedite frequent reviews of key material later.