# Robert Gordon American macroeconomist at Northwestern University and one of the most prominent academic exponents of the techno-pessimist case. His 2012 working paper "Is U.S. Economic Growth Over?" and his 2016 book *The Rise and Fall of American Growth* argue that the productivity surge of 1870–1970 was a unique, one-time event unlikely to be repeated — a more rigorous and more pessimistic version of the [[Great Stagnation]] thesis. Unlike [[Tyler Cowen]] (who treats stagnation as temporary) and unlike the [[Peter Thiel]] tech-right (which treats it as a problem to be solved by removing obstacles to builders), Gordon's argument is structural and largely fatalistic. > [!info] Stub > Minimum-viable page. Expand with the "six headwinds" framework, the *Rise and Fall of American Growth* argument, and his exchanges with techno-optimists.