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Recent warnings from Government ministers that artificial intelligence could threaten employment and even undermine the welfare state may be seen by many as a crisis. Yet viewed through the lens of localism, they may also be an indication of a profound economic transition already underway.

For over two centuries, society has been organised around paid employment. People travelled to work, earned wages, paid taxes and relied on national systems for welfare, healthcare and pensions. Economic growth provided the fuel that kept this arrangement functioning.

However, if AI increasingly replaces human labour, that model begins to weaken. Government concerns are focused on the loss of tax revenues and the increasing cost of supporting people who are no longer employed. The result could be growing pressure on public finances and on the welfare state itself.

Localism suggests a different interpretation.

As employment opportunities decline, people do not simply cease to be productive. Instead, many begin to redirect their time and effort into activities that are useful within their own locality. Food growing, home maintenance, repair services, care for older people, local trading networks, community enterprises and small-scale self-employment become increasingly important.

Much of this activity may not appear in GDP statistics and may not generate significant tax revenue, but it still creates value. Indeed, throughout history many communities functioned successfully with far less dependence on formal employment than is common today.

The growing number of unemployed people may therefore become one of the drivers of localism. Rather than being entirely dependent upon national welfare systems, localities may gradually develop stronger networks of mutual support and practical economic activity.

This does not mean that national government disappears. Essential services such as defence, railways, specialist healthcare and national infrastructure will still require central organisation. However, the everyday economy of food, care, maintenance and local services may increasingly move closer to home.

In this sense, the rise of AI and the prospect of technological unemployment may accelerate a trend that is already visible. As the growth economy weakens, local economies become more important.

What appears to be a problem from the perspective of the national economy may also be a sign that society is evolving towards a more localised form of economic life.

The unemployed may not simply be the casualties of technological change. They may become the pioneers of the next stage in the development of localism.