The Mechanic and the Luddite: A Ruthless Criticism of Technology and CapitalismThis short book demystifies how the two systems of technology and capitalism work together and equips readers with practical tools to dismantle them and build a better world, bit by bit. Our society is constantly made to serve the needs of two systems: technology and capitalism. Neither exists outside humans, but both are treated as above and beyond us. The Mechanic and the Luddite offers the critical tools needed to deconstruct these systems—how they work, whom they work for, and what work they do in our lives. With signature style and energy, Jathan Sadowski presents a provocative one-stop shop for understanding the political economy of technology and capitalism. Each chapter breaks down key features of technological capitalism, offering sharp, synthetic, and authoritative analysis of topics like innovation, labor, data, and risk. It's not enough to know how the machinery of capitalism is put together and how its parts operate; we must also know whom the machines serve and when they should be taken apart, to be rebuilt for new purposes or destroyed for good. The Mechanic and the Luddite provides the political guidance needed to make these crucial decisions. |
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Accessed 12 accessed 24 April accessed 9 Algorithms analysis artificial intelligence assets August automated Big Data Big Tech billion Cade Metz capi capture chapter chatbot ChatGPT claims corporations Cory Doctorow created critical crypto Cultural Data & Society data capital datasets David David Graeber digital platforms dominant dynamic dystopia Elon Musk engineering extraction Facebook fictitious capital funds future futurist global https://www human innovation Insurance investment investors Jathan Sadowski labor landlords logics London Luddism Luddite machine learning Marc Andreessen Marx Metaverse Neoliberalism OpenAI operations Potemkin predict production profit real estate rent rentier capitalism Review risk governance risk scores Science September 2023 Silicon Valley Smart social start-ups Surveillance tech companies tech sector techno technological capitalism technology and capitalism things tion utopias valuation VC industry venture capital venture capitalists Verso Web3 workers xkcd York