[Theoria]

Innovation creates displacement. Colt allowed the weak to defend themselves; made men ‘equal. Look around. There is less need for past social structure to survive. The machine replaced the strong back. It is hard to have social cohesion and norms when the speed of innovation are ever increasing.

[yesthatjallen]

Innovation creates displacement. Colt allowed the weak to defend themselves; made men ‘equal. Look around. There is less need for past social structure to survive. The machine replaced the strong back. It is hard to have social cohesion and norms when the speed of innovation are ever increasing.

I agree with you regarding the speed of change.

Industries that employed people for decades disappeared overnight and new companies come and go in a blink of an eye. This is part of the great upheaval leading to social and economic instability. Innovation is accelerating (think robotics) and things will likely get worse for some people who can't readily adapt to the rate of change.

But at the heart of this NYT story is a dysfunctional family that failed their children. The Depression caused dramatic social, political, and economic turmoil but most families didn't collapse under the weight.