Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work

A major new manifesto for a high tech future free from workNeoliberalism isn t working Austerity is forcing millions into poverty and many into precarious work, while the left remains trapped in stagnant political practices that offer no respiteInventing the Future is a bold new manifesto for life after capitalism Against the confused understanding of our high tech world by both the right and the left, this book claims that the emancipatory and future oriented possibilities of our society can be reclaimed Instead of running from a complex future, Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams demand a postcapitaiist economy capable of advancing standards, liberating humanity from work and developing technologies that expand our freedoms. Best Read [ Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work ] Author [ Nick Srnicek ] – kino-fada.fr This book is particularly useful for its comprehensive history of neoliberalism and especially how it went from an ideology that at one time was very much on the fringe and understood as belonging only to the loony right to becoming central to our society and virtually common sense The authors here say the left needs to similarly have a long term plan to change the paradigm our society takes for granted and therefore to chang...The first half is a convincing and much needed critique of left wing localism horizontalism, holding up the left s inadequacy in contrast to the success of the neoliberal project I enjoyed the macroeconomic approach, looking at the bigger picture from pre industrialism into the future, and found that the concept of surplus in the labour market provided a very simple and useful way to explain the dire need to move beyond the industrial work ethic, into a new kind of common sense In taking this The first half is a convincing and much needed critique of left wing localism horizontalism, holding up the left s inadequacy in contrast to the success of the neoliberal project I enjoyed the macroeconomic approach, looking at the bigger picture from pre industrialism into the future, and found that the concept of surplus in the labour market provided a very simple and useful way to explain the dire need to move beyond the industrial work ethic, into a new kind of common sense In taking this bigger picture macro view, the authors manage to avoid any really thorny issues The call for a long term counter hegemonic project is totally valid, but by nature is a rather fluffy concept that might leave some seekingshort term concrete suggestions beyond campaigning for UBI and increased automation A muchserious flaw is the lack of any discussion about the environment It seems a little ridiculous to be discussing a long term manifesto for the future with climate cha...Universal Basic Income, full automation and the end of work presented as a leftist technological utopia Interesting the critics of folk politics of occupy movements and the narrative of the actual neoliberalism supremacy Clever approximation to the feasibility of powerin ecos...When did modernisation become a euphemism for life getting worse in the interests of the rich Why do Conservatives now advocate change, while the left is too often reduced to mere resistance or a desire to turn the clock back What happened to bold visions of a better future for everyone This is a brave and necessary book, which makes a powerful case for a serious rethink Disdaining the current trend for folk politics , though sympathetic to the urges behind it, they sensibly note that When did modernisation become a euphemism for life getting worse in the interests of the rich Why do Conservatives now advocate change, while the left is too often reduced to mere resistance or a desire to turn the clock back What happened to bold visions of a better future for everyone This is a brave and necessary book, which makes a powerful case for a serious rethink Disdaining the current trend for folk politics , though sympathetic to the urges behind it, they sensibly note that The reality of complex, globalised capitalism is that small...sums up my own thoughts on what they call folk political tendencies in the current popularity of anarchist and anarchist like radical formations like The Invisible COmmitte and Tiqqun, the popularity of locally produced goods, etc However, it focused on its limitations while not looking at its potentials for organizing and establishing counter hegemonydemand automation demandfree time the book s insistence to go beyond the old demands of labor to accommodate new realities i sums up my own thoughts on what they call folk political tendencies in the current popularity of anarchist and anarchist like radical formations like The Invisible COmmitte and Tiqqun, the popularity of locally produced goods, etc However, it focused on its limitations while not looking at its potentials for organi...So I m someone with a technology background who recently got into leftist politics, and I feel like this book was written for me It s a short book less than 200 pages before endnotes and so it s obviously not meant to be a comprehensive guide to how to get to a post work world, but rather an outline of what we d need to consider in order to make one a marathon not a sprint, etc I found it very inspiring and I think it would resonate even with those who haven t read any other Verso books be So I m someone with a technology background who recently go...In order to regain our ground as Leftists, we must recognize the limitation of folk politics Folk politics politics of immediacy fetishizes activism for activism s sake without regards for long terms strategy and goals and is insufficient to challenge neoliberal capitalism s global hegemony Hegemony necessarily requires long term, strategic planning across the board, traversing not only institutions both inside and outside the state but also infrastructure as well With the aim of constructi In order to regain our ground as Leftists, we must recognize the limitation of folk politics Folk politics politics of immediacy fetishizes activism for activism s sake without regards for long terms strategy and goals and is insufficient to challenge neoliberal capitalism s global hegemony Hegemony necessarily requires long term, strategic planning across the board, traversing not only institutions both inside and outside the state but also infrastructure as well With the aim of constructing a new counter hegemony to neoliberal consensus, Nick and Alex calls for the creation of a broad based popular coaliation constituency to wage a POLITICAL struggle for Universal Basic Income, reduced working days, repurposing existing and emergent technologies and means of production for non capitalist ends, and full automation full employment.For instance, the UBI scheme that the authors...This is a superb book, precisely the sort of analysis that the left is lacking at the moment.Srnicek and Williams start with a critique of the modern left After the collapse of communism and the manifest failure of social democracy in the face of the neoliberal assault of the last 30 40 years Srnicek and Williams show how the left has retreated into defensive tactics that lack any sense of overarching strategy The term they use for this approach is folk politics , meaning a defensive withdraw This is a superb book, precisely the sort of analysis that the left is lacking at the moment.Srnicek and Williams start with a critique of the modern left After the collapse of communism and the manifest failure of social democracy in the face of the neoliberal assault of the last 30 40 years Srnicek and Williams show how the left has retreated into defensive tactics that lack any sense of overarching strategy The term they use for this approach is folk politics , meaning a defensive withdrawal into resistance characterised by horizontalism and localism Small scale local protest is valued over large scale challenge to the overall system Organisation is horizontal exemplified by the Occupy movement based on direct democracy and consensus decision making The emphasis is on defending gains made over the last century from the drive of neoliberalism rather than seeking new gains Meanwhil...The gist is rather than embracing folk politics like crunchy Occupy make no demands bullshit, the left should be embracing a modern vision of the future work should not be mandatory to survive and most human labor should be automated Capitalism i...I approached it eagerly because it belongs to a broader genre postcapitalism, postscarcity, cyberutopianism, autonomism, etc that s the main focus of my current research It was well worth reading for their positive agenda, but requi...

• English
• 07 February 2018
Nick Srnicek
• Paperback
• 245 pages
• 1784780960
• Nick Srnicek
• Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work