December 2016 Italy's populist opposition is shaking up the
establishment
They're days away from a referendum that
could spell the end for the Italian government and make it the latest domino
in the toppling international order Around the world populist leaders are
connecting with voters fed up with politics as usual and exploiting anger
at an establishment out of touch with ordinary people but giving voice to
people's frustrations is one thing offering them real answers is quite
another
Jeff Segal grew up in New York but moved to Italy 40 years ago
He's trying to drum up support ahead of the referendum
like millions of Italian voters
jeff has turned his back on mainstream political parties. He now campaigns for
the populist five star movement its sought to build a following less through
policies and more by challenging everything about italy's political class
Five Star's anti-establishment message is resonating with voters
it is now Italy's biggest opposition party the country has been crippled by
recession and stagnating wages with rates of inequality among the highest
in Europe many people feel left behind by globalization and let down by
political leaders now the populist sense there may be an opportunity to bring
those leaders down a referendum on constitutional reform
has become a vote of confidence in the ruling elite
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has said he will resign if the country votes no
He's the latest politician to find himself in the firing line
tonight thousands of five-star supporters are gathering at a rally in
Turin some are starting to ask what they might do with success
Virginia Raggi is one of the first leaders leaders of five-star to win power as the new mayor of Rome she's already under
pressure to offer actual solutions
But Raggi is just the warm-up act there's one man that everyone has turned out to see
Five stars leader and showman Beppe Grillo
A former stand-up comedian Grillo knows the buttons to press. It's his appeal to
peoples emotions that has helped turn five star into a real force
Beppe Grillo has vowed to get rid of political parties but he certainly knows
how to start one
Grillo's success has come through impassioned charges against the corrupt
elites and global forces he blames for Italy's woes but five stars leaders may
soon have a harder note to hear a
question of how they would tackle unemployment and inequality
two days after the rally Italians overwhelmingly voted no in the
referendum Prime Minister Renzi made good on his promise to stand down
it's another victory for populism as across the world charismatic leaders
defy expectations they're finding success selling deceptively simple
answers to difficult questions
they almost always blame
the failings of free trade and mass migration for rising inequality but is
this the right target
few cities are immune to the uneven impact of globalization here in San
Francisco is another more conspicuous driver of change it's not just trade
that's transforming the global economic order it's technology
the latest venture from a San Francisco startup has the potential to turn one of
America's most iconic industries on its head
last year uber paid 680 million dollars for Otto a company whose technology
could fundamentally change trucking forever it allows a truck to drive
down a highway with nobody at the wheel
the company claims it could save the industry billions of dollars a year
reduce emissions by a third and eliminate the driver errors that cause
up to 87% of truck crashes but this bright sounding future has a dark side
a series of studies have found technology not globalization to be the
biggest driver of inequality in developed countries
there were three and a half million people employed in trucking in America
and with their industry seemingly the next in line for automation many face an
uncertain future
Robert Calista has driven trucks since the 1980s both his parents were truck
drivers before him
populist leaders have been able to capitalize on a growing sense of them
and us as inequality grows in Western democracies wealthy California has
become one of the most economically unequal states in America as technology
has displaced many lower skilled jobs
Russell Hancock runs a think-tank in Silicon Valley sponsored by some of the
state's biggest tech companies
An alienated public turned on the
establishment because it failed to provide answers
as some tech giants become as powerful as that establishment it's a lesson
they're starting to learn so they're going back to school if technological
change is part of the problem the people behind it are asking how they can offer
solutions
Hadi Partovi is the CEO of code.org
backed by some of Silicon Valley's biggest firms he campaigns for children
to be taught computer science in schools
It will need help from governments and business to ensure retraining isn't an option reserved for those with the time and resources
technology itself can help too Sebastian Thrun used to be in charge of
Google's self-driving car project now he runs an education company offering quick
training programs online
an ongoing online education could be one
way to start relieving the pressure on people who today feel left behind
because in the long run technology has the potential to create more jobs than
it destroys
For too many people in western democracies progress is still something that happens
to other people wealth does not spread itself an
underclass appears beyond help finding a way to reconnect with them and provide
an alternative to populism will be at the top of the agenda for the political
and business leaders of tomorrow