What we’re about
The Greater Philadelphia Thinking Society is a Meetup group that brings together thoughtful people for stimulating and civically minded conversations.
We meet in a relaxed setting on almost every Saturday and Sunday at 10:30 AM and occasionally in the evening. Most of our events aim for a small group ambiance with about 10-12 participants. Sometimes we use larger spaces with different group dynamics and formats.
Almost all our events engage participants in a group conversation to explore a wide range of topics including society & culture, philosophy & religion, design, science & technology, psychology, politics, economics, and current events.
We organize a safe, facilitated forum of inquiry and exploration.
Our interactive format engages participants to speak up and be heard, to explore our assumptions, to listen and hear others, and to find and build meanings.
We value topics that matter, diverse points of view and ways of knowing, sensitive listening, and your contributions to our explorations.
In addition to ideas and resources posed by the event host(s), our conversations are informed by participants exchanging experiences, interpretations, understandings, beliefs, feelings, values, thoughts, and ways of thinking.
Through discourse and consideration these ideas can reveal a web of relationships which participants can form into meaningful insights and new possibilities.
We start the conversation so come participate and accept your own genius.
We are always looking for new discussion leaders and other volunteers to bring new and interesting topics and perspectives to our group. Please see https://www.meetup.com/thinkingsociety/pages/14433542/Discussion_Leader_Guidelines/ if you are interested.
For more information about our group including our list of Frequently Asked Questions, please visit About the Greater Philadelphia Thinking Society.
Upcoming events (1)
See all- The Myth and the Reality of Manufacturing in AmericaLink visible for attendees
In this meetup, we’ll explore global trade and automation not as isolated economic trends, but as forces that shape how we work, consume, and define prosperity.
The belief that offshoring destroyed American manufacturing oversimplifies the story. While it's tempting to blame trade agreements, 87% of U.S. manufacturing job losses between 2000 and 2010 were caused by automation, not foreign competition. Just as digital technologies influence our daily choices, automation has reshaped the labor market boosting productivity while displacing jobs.
Hopes that robotics will revive American manufacturing reflect a form of misplaced "techno optimism". Despite political rhetoric, the numbers tell another story in 2023, the U.S. had only 295 industrial robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers, far behind China’s 470 and South Korea’s 1,012. Combined with labor shortages and aging infrastructure, this lag highlights the disconnect between visions of industrial rebirth and the realities of today's economy.
Our discussion will center on Augie Picado’s TED Talk, The Real Reason Manufacturing Jobs Are Disappearing, where he challenges the idea that offshoring is to blame. Instead, he emphasizes automation and globally shared production as the true drivers of change. Picado argues that protectionist policies may harm the economies they intend to protect.
Sources
- The real reason manufacturing jobs are disappearing?
https://www.ted.com/talks/augie_picado_the_real_reason_manufacturing_jobs_are_disappearing/transcript - Did international trade really kill American manufacturing? https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qB4DfRdJ0YM0Bpd6kMNva94SZTXy-SQq/view?usp=sharing
- The trouble with MAGA’s manufacturing dream?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rpeudYp-8yByCtZG4-JzxdPR64rvWD-9/view?usp=sharing - How did America's industrial economy decline?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmh57HAQyVs
Questions To Think About
- What are the potential unintended consequences of protectionist trade policies on consumer prices and supply chains?
- How do labor shortages and outdated infrastructure in the U.S. limit the effectiveness of reshoring initiatives?
- Given the data and arguments presented, how should the U.S. strategically position itself in the global manufacturing ecosystem moving forward?
- What does the debate over tariffs reveal about the tension between economic nostalgia and present-day global realities?
- The real reason manufacturing jobs are disappearing?
