Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Each new wave of technological innovation produces extremes of utopianism and despair. The collection of essays from the Social Register, for decades one of the pre-eminent sources of intellectual and strategic enquiry for the international left, skewers both of these delusions. Instead, what Marx termed the "constant revolutionising of production" and "disturbance of all social conditions" is presented as both a response to and generator of capitalist crises, against a backdrop of distinct social relations and forms of class struggle. Through a series of trenchant critiques spanning more than five decades, Capitalism, Technology, Labor shows how technological change has led to a recomposition of the global working class and international production chains. Only if we are attentive to this evolving terrain of class struggle can we hope to devise a political strategy that can win meaningful victories.
Synopsis
The Socialist Register has been at the forefront of intellectual enquiry and strategic debate on the left for five decades. This expertly curated collection analyzes technological innovation against the backdrop of the recurrent crises and forms of class struggle distinctive to capitalism.
As we enter what some term the "fourth industrial revolution" and both mainstream commentators and the left grapple with the implications of rapid technological development, this volume is a timely and crucial resource for those looking to build a political strategy attentive to sweeping changes in how we produce goods and live our lives.
Synopsis
This volume offers a radical critique of techno-utopianism, instead seeing innovation as a field of ongoing class struggle.