Hannah Arendt hates you

As AI companies race to rid the world of gainful employment, we now face the question of what it would even mean to be human if labor itself becomes obsolete. For their latest book club episode of the podcast, Jerusalem Demsas and Matt Yglesias read Hannah Arendt’s The Human Condition, which considered this very question in 1958. Arendt, who spent years as a stateless person during the Holocaust and surrounding years, had a unique perspective on the nature of human agency and political freedom. She suggests that the practice of participating in discursive democracy is more important than any outcomes that process produces — a view that did not sit well with Matt and Jerusalem. Check out their full discussion in the video above.

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Corrections and clarifications:

• Around 48:35, Jerusalem suggests Hannah Arendt was living in Massachusetts in 1957. Arendt moved from Massachusetts to New York in 1941, according to PBS.

• Around 1:14:10, Matt says a takedown of David Brooks’ Bobos in Paradise appeared in Washington Monthly, but the piece he describes appeared in Philadelphia magazine. He also describes the takedown as including an anecdote about finding a Thai restaurant in a mall in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The author actually found a South Asian grocery store whose owner told him a nearby Thai restaurant closed a few years previously.

Show notes:

• The Human Condition, book by Hannah Arendt that serves as the basis for this episode’s discussion: Goodreads page

• “Medieval kings would envy you,” article by Kelsey Piper referenced by Matt: The Argument article

• “The Pundit’s Trilemma,” article by Henry Farrell referenced by Matt: Programmable Mutter article

• “Do environmentalists believe in renewable energy?” last week’s podcast episode referenced by Matt: The Argument podcast

• “The Very Good and Very Bad News on Climate,” Ezra Klein interview with Bill McKibben referenced by Matt: The Ezra Klein Show podcast

• The Origins of Totalitarianism, book by Hannah Arendt referenced by Jerusalem: Goodreads page

• Bowling Alone, book by Robert Putnam that served as the basis for a previous episode: Goodreads page, The Argument podcast

• “Derek Thompson on the antisocial century,” podcast episode referenced by Jerusalem: The Argument podcast

• “Still Muted: The Limited Participatory Democracy of Zoom Public Meetings,” research referenced by Jerusalem: Urban Affairs Review article

• Who Governs?, book by Robert Dahl referenced by Jerusalem: Goodreads page

• Heat, 1995 film referenced by Matt: IMDb page

• “Why women should be techno-optimists,” article by Jerusalem: The Argument article

• Dungeon Crawler Carl, series of novels referenced by Jerusalem: Goodreads page

• War and Peace, novel by Leo Tolstoy referenced by Jerusalem: Goodreads page

• “There aren’t 100 good TV shows,” article by Matt referenced by Jerusalem: Slow Boring article

• “It’s not good but I want it,” article by Jerusalem: The Argument article

• Silent Spring, book by Rachel Carson that served as the basis for a previous episode: Goodreads page, The Argument podcast

• The Feminine Mystique, book by Betty Friedan that served as the basis for a previous episode: Goodreads page, The Argument podcast

• The Everywhere Millionaire: Who Is Really Rich in America and How They Got There, book by Owen Zidar and Eric Zwick referenced by Jerusalem: Goodreads page

• “The truth about rich people in America,” article by Matt referenced by Jerusalem: Slow Boring article

• What’s the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America, book by Thomas Frank referenced by Matt: Goodreads page

• Red State, Blue State, Rich State, Poor State: Why Americans Vote the Way They Do, book by Andrew Gelman referenced by Matt: Goodreads page

• Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There, book by David Brooks referenced by Matt: Goodreads page

• “David Brooks: Boo-Boos in Paradise,” article referenced by Matt (see correction): Philadelphia magazine article

• “One Nation, Slightly Divisible,” article by David Brooks referenced by Matt: The Atlantic article

• You Can See Everything, 2026 film referenced by Matt: IMDb page

• “Our culture is way too eager to embrace deception,” article by Matt: Slow Boring article

• “How do I listen to The Argument podcast without ads in my podcast app?” walkthrough referenced by Jerusalem: The Argument article

Transcript