[chefandy]

Maybe. I don't see any reason to assume the US won't continue to successfully a) escalate police power to keep citizens under control, b) continue giving people just enough crumbs to keep them from getting violent, and c) propagandize the hell out of the idea that societal mismanagement is a matter of personal responsibility. China has done pretty well while clamping down on civil liberties, and the US has always been better at obfuscating and spinning similar tactics to be more palatable to its citizens. And you only need to look at the rust belt to see what happens when US business leadership decides to follow the cheaper option.

Though, regardless of ensuing social unrest, the fact that the people involved are human beings should be enough to not treat them like used condoms when computers figure out how to do their jobs. Should be.