Vol.4 DRIVERLESS CARS

We hear much these days about advances in robotics. Within a few decades, we are told, at least half of the jobs people do today will have been eliminated by automation. But one type of technology which promises to do away with human labor is already with us: autonomous vehicles. Nissan is already testing driverless cars in London, while Tokyo aims to have them on its streets by 2020. The cars are equipped with cameras, radar and laser sensors which enable them to negotiate city traffic and change lanes both safely and efficiently.

To some people, driverless electric vehicles represent the future of transportation. All we will have to do is press a button, and the car will take us to our destination. We will not have to suffer the stress of driving, we will be able to relax on our way to work, and there will be far fewer traffic accidents. In rural areas of Japan, driverless buses and “robot taxis” are already being tested. These will surely be of great benefit to elderly people, and could enable many unprofitable bus companies to survive, since they will cost much less to run.

Software companies and car manufacturers are now racing to develop driverless technology as fast as they can. After all, the industry will be worth one trillion dollars by 2025. But should we not consider the long-term effects of these changes? In the UK, not only could 750,000 drivers lose their jobs, but driverless cars may do nothing to prevent congestion. Perhaps we should reconsider the merits of old-fashioned public transportation systems like electric trams, which are both environmentally friendly and take up much less space.

QUESTIONS

1. How many of our jobs might robots be doing by 2050?

2. What kind of technology stops driverless cars from having accidents?

3. Why are driverless buses good for bus companies?

4. What are two adverse effects that driverless cars might have?

5. Does the writer think driverless vehicles are more suited to cities, or the countryside?

COMPOSITION TOPICS

1.

Many cities suffer from severe environmental problems due to transportation: for example, congestion, noise, air pollution, and the destruction of communities by big roads. In your opinion, what kind of transportation do we need in order to make cities peaceful, quiet, clean, and pleasant to live in?

2.

Do you prefer traveling by car, or by train? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Vol. 3 BASIC INCOME

How would you like to receive a monthly salary from the government for free? For many people, this is an idea too good to be true. For others, it sounds immoral: surely, if people were paid for doing nothing, they would refuse to work, and the economy would collapse. Yet this idea, known as “basic income”, is being seriously considered in many countries around the world. Currently, one of the candidates for the presidency of France believes in it strongly.

Under a “basic income” system, most social welfare payments and pensions, as well as tax allowances, would disappear. Instead, everyone in society, both young and old, would receive a fixed amount of money every month. This money would be just enough to live on, but not enough to discourage people from working. You would receive it as a right, and it could not be taken away, whether you had a job or not. The supporters of “basic income” say it will be necessary in the future, as jobs become increasingly scarce, and we become more and more dependent on automated systems and robots.

The idea of a basic income is a very old one. 200 years ago, Thomas Paine thought everyone deserved it as a right, because so much land was owned by big landowners that many people had no land on which to grow food. Today, it might enable people to do work they really enjoyed, rather than work they were forced to do in order to survive. In some European countries, as well as India, Canada and Brazil, it has already been tested on a small scale, with some success. Who knows? Perhaps it is an idea whose time has come!

QUESTIONS

1. Why do you think the income is called “basic”?

2. Why do some people object to the idea?

3. Would people doing highly-paid jobs also receive a basic income?

4. What is one reason why basic income may become necessary in the future?

5. Have the experiments with basic income had good results?

COMPOSITION TOPICS

1.
What do you think of the idea of “basic income”? Are you in favor or against? If the system were introduced, what benefits, or disadvantages, can you imagine?

2.
How do you think robots can help us in our lives? What kind of work would you like robots to do for you in the future?

Vol.2 CHILD POVERTY

Foreign visitors to Japan are impressed by its prosperity and high standard of living. People are well dressed, their homes are clean and well-equipped, and we do not see slums in the cities, or people begging for money on the streets. Yet recent statistics show that the gap between the rich and poor in Japan has been quietly growing for years. In terms of income equality, Japan now ranks 34^th out of 41 OECD countries, and 16% of all children, including around half the children of single parents, are growing up in poverty.

Single mothers often have unstable, irregular, and low-paid jobs. This means they may not have enough money to keep their children healthy or feed them adequately, let alone pay for school lunches. Neither can they afford all the extra expenses, for things like uniforms, equipment for club activities, or field trips and excursions, that might enable their children to have normal school lives. Poor children do less well at school than their classmates, and this affects their job prospects, which then perpetuates a cycle of poverty.

It is not only Japan that is experiencing a widening wealth gap. In the UK, for example, one in four children are now living in poverty. One reason is that, although people’s wages are not rising, the government is cutting welfare payments and laying off public servants, in a policy called “austerity”. But famous economists like Joseph Stiglitz say that such policies do not make economies grow. Is it not possible to have an economy which works for everyone, rather than one which makes only some people richer, while consigning so many others to poverty?

QUESTIONS

1. Is the wealth gap in Japan obvious to foreign visitors?

2. Why is the poverty rate so high among single-parent

families?

3. Give some reasons why poor children may do less well at

school than their better-off classmates.

4. Is the proportion of children living in poverty higher in the

UK, or in Japan?

5. Does the writer agree, or disagree, with Joseph Stiglitz?

COMPOSITION TOPIC

How do you think the government could make it easier for people on low incomes to raise their children? Make some policy suggestions.

Vol.1 OVERWORK

The Japanese are renowned throughout the world as hard workers. It is well known, however, that a good work-life balance is essential to our physical and mental health. We were reminded of this last year, when an employee of a large advertising company committed suicide as a result of overwork. There are rules which limit the number of overtime hours workers can work, but may companies seem to bend them, and workers under-report the number of hours they have actually worked.

The situation in Japan contrasts with that in some European countries. In France and Germany, for example, people work several hundred hours less every year than they do in Japan. Yet Europeans still think they are working too hard. In Sweden, efforts are being made to reduce the working day from eight hours to six. It was found that a six-hour day not only makes workers happier but also makes them work harder and get sick less often. As a result, staff turnover is reduced, while productivity rises.

Why is it so difficult for Japanese companies to reduce working hours? Of course, managers generally think that the harder their employees work, the more their profits will increase. But could it also have something to do with Japan’s corporate culture? At one well-known company, workers are told that they should never give up on their tasks, even if the effort kills them. In Japan, company employees are still sometimes seen as warriors fighting for victory over their rivals, rather than as individuals with private lives outside of the workplace.

QUESTIONS

1. Do companies always stick to the rules on overtime hours?

2. In what way is Europe different from Japan?

3. What happens to Swedish workers who work less?

4. Why is the 6-hour day good for Swedish companies?

5. Why does the writer think people work so hard in Japan?

COMPOSITION TOPIC

In the future, would you rather work longer hours (more hours a week) and earn more money, or work shorter hours (fewer hours a week) and earn less? Give reasons for your choice.