Name: Robert Reich: Understanding Your Split Brain
Uploaded: 2020-04-10T16:37:48.000Z
Duration: 22 min 24 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Modal verbs - A2

And class if you could just welcome back our visitor, just hello.

We are going to begin an inquiry into why all of this is happening, why it is that income

and wealth, and, to some extent, political power are becoming more unequal.

Who is to -- I hate to use the expression "blame," it's not a matter of blame -- but

Are you interested?I hope so because if you're not.

Probably the best way to begin, because you remember last week we talked about your values

about really the kind inequality you thought was inappropriate or what you expected the

inequality was, and the gap between the reality and the ideal.

And you participated as well, you also voted about what you wanted, and we found out that

it turns out there is a huge gap between the degree of inequality of wealth actually in

the United States and what people thought it was, and also the ideal people had in their

And it wasn't just Berkeley, and it wasn't just all of you, but it really was a random

So we are going to take another cut at all of this, but what we are going to do now is

-- we are just beginning our inquiry into why all this has happened.

And I would like you, we're just going to do a couple of clicker votes, and you don't

have clickers, but we're going to figure out, I think we've figured out a way for you to

Now, before you vote on this, let me explain why.

This is a matter of mapping some of your values, and the first question that I'm asking you

is how is it to you to preserve neighborhoods with small shops and bookstores.

And this is just -- in terms of the kind of environment you want.

And the two choices here: Quite important or not really important at all?

Let's just see what you think in terms of importance.

Well, 82% of you, 82% of you, 605 of you say, it is quite important: preserving neighborhoods

And about 18% of you, 129 of you, say it's not really important at all.

I don't know whether you feel the same way but we'll see, to tell the basis of what you

Now, let me ask you another question, and this is again mapping your preferences.

That's all we're doing now is mapping your preferences.

And the second question has to do with steady jobs and good wages.

How important is it to maintain steady jobs and good wages for American -- and I just

selected some workers -- retail workers, manufacturing workers, airline workers.

How important is it to you to maintain steady jobs and good wages for a bunch, a lot of

Is it quite important, A, or not really important at all, B. And let's go.

And you participate as well, I'm assuming you're going to be part of this poll.

So 94% of you saw that it's quite important, quite important, 94% of you, to maintain steady

jobs and good wages for these retail workers, manufacturing workers, and other workers.

I don't know who you are, but you cold-hearted people, I don't.

I could have asked you a number of questions, but I have a little bit of a mapping going.

But now I want to ask you a different question.

[Laughter] Now wait, I want to explain this.

I just want to ask you, I'm not trying to make you feel bad about yourself, I just want

to ask you, do you shop online for a lot of things, alright.

Are you shopping online on for a lot of things?

End the bidding there and let's just see.

So three-quarters of you do a lot of shopping online.

What I'm going to ask you, and I don't mean to make you feel bad about yourself, but do

In other words, you really, most of you, really value small shops and you value bookstores,

That's what you said, but you're also shopping a lot online.

And the inconsistency that I want to point out in case you are missing it is that buying

a lot of things on line, while I understand it completely, and I do it too, you are perhaps

having an effect on small shops and bookstores.

I say this, in part, because I have a personal interest.

I write books, and when I started writing books, you know, in the 20th century there

Most of my books were sold in bookstores and now most of my books are sold I guess through

I mean the three dozen books I sell are sold through Amazon.

My books, by the way, I have to tell you a little bit of the story.

I went to a social event at somebody's house that I didn't know.

Subtitles ListPlay Video

Robert Reich: Understanding Your Split Brain

extent

environment

sacrifice

blame