Inventing the Future

TL;DR: work is dying, and we should help hospice it. Automation is actually good, capitalism isn't, and we have to address both at once. The struggle for a better world must include strategies which are long-term and wide-scoped in addition to the more familiar spectacular events we associate with leftist action. Another world is coming, we can help shape which.

I read this book 10 years after it was published; the analysis, arguments and proposals presented in the book seem to have only matured with time.

The book incorporates a lot of Marx (analysis of capitalism) and Gramsci ((counter-)hegemony). Piketty, Žižek and Fisher are mentioned. The book still very much "belongs" to the authors. Although this is a book of politics, analysis and theory, yet goes surprisingly far into practice.

It begins with a critical analysis of the contemporary left, coining the term "folk-political" to describe a combination of localism, prefiguration, horizontalism, demandlessness and power-aversion, and arguing that folk-politics cannot deliver new universal common-senses to replace those of neoliberalism. It continues with an investigation of how neoliberalism went from a fringe economic position in the 20's to the Mont Pelerin Society in 1945 to hegemony in the 1980s when Keynsianism was heavily challenged by stagflation: this was a long game with diverse tactics (supported by deep pockets). Next comes the call to reclaim the future, citing the great optimism of the early Soviets and the radical feminism of the 70s - "There is no alternative" must be reasonably challenged for a positive goal, instead of reactionary defence against capitalism. The demands for the future are then set out: 1) Full automation 2) The reduction of the working week 3) The provision of a basic income 4) The diminishment of the work ethic. Then comes a dive into Gramsci's theory of hegemony (which came out of the observation that the working class weren't revolting, contrary to Marx's predictions) and how to change it. Finally the ideas are sketched out into actionable steps, involving the familiar actors such as parties, trade unions and grassroots, but a lot more.

This is a really solid book! I learned a lot about working history and the current state of work. Especially now with LLM/AI new high point, it really feels like the emperor is wearing no clothes regarding the work ethic we still have - the sections on reconfiguring/abolishing the current work ethic are particularly relevant. The scope is very ambitious, and does a great job of justifying that level of ambition.

The prose is certainly quite materialist and rational. This makes it wonderfully clear, and the sentences quite quotable. Yet this form sometimes struggles against the utopic grandeur it portrays. That's fine, I know the mytho-poetic can be off-putting to some, but I think it would not have hurt. (Contrast to the almost dream-like story weaving of Graeber) Commons are scarcely mentioned, which as a fan makes me sad: I wonder if the growth in popularity in the last decade would have seen a greater focus. I would also add that the book, as with so many published books, could have been more concise, and this would have concentrated its value. The criticism of folk-politics is nuanced, but still comes across a bit paternalistic and exaggerated. Perhaps because it has indeed been my milieu, described our tacts. But I was glad for this strong take, it describes a lot of criticism I have very well. Lastly, the authors do fall into a bit of the "left = good" binary. While I'm in there personally, I do think we need to make a world for all to live in, and there simply is a spectrum of openness, extroversion, etc. In fairness, I think this is addressed with the authors making space for "good" hierarchical structures as part of an organizational ecology.

Reading this was sobering and clarifying. I have talked to everyone who was near me about it and it's still working on me now.