Created by Emil
It is through the science of cybernetics that we find answers to many of the economic and social problems of 20th century socialism. Cybernetics will be instrumental in the building of 21st century socialism and yet it is rarely discussed among the contemporary left. Enjoy!
Part of this list was inspired by cyberneticsocialism.wordpress.com/ which has additional links to articles, podcast and videos that are outside the scope of this list.
Grondbeginselen der communistische productie en distributie by Groep van Internationale Communisten, Jan Appel
5 stars
In Grondbeginselen der communistische productie en distributie (1930) zet de Groep Internationale Communisten (GIC) de organisatie, productie en reproductie van …
Red Plenty by Francis Spufford
5 stars
Strange as it may seem, the gray, oppressive USSR was founded on a fairy tale. It was built on the …
The People's Republic of Walmart by Leigh Phillips
4 stars
For the left and the right, major multinational companies are held up as the ultimate expressions of free-market capitalism. Their …
Towards a New Socialism by W. Paul Cockshott
3 stars
These two authors, an economist and a computer scientist, seek to rescue socialism from its detractors. Socialist planning, they believe, …
4 stars
Che Guevara remains an iconic figure, four decades after his death. Yet his most significant contribution - his work as …
Cybernetic Revolutionaries by Eden Medina
4 stars
In Cybernetic Revolutionaries, Eden Medina tells the history of two intersecting utopian visions, one political and one technological. The first …
From Newspeak to Cyberspeak by Slava Gerovitch
In this book, Slava Gerovitch argues that Soviet cybernetics was not just an intellectual trend but a social movement for …
How Not to Network a Nation by Benjamin Peters
4 stars
How, despite thirty years of effort, Soviet attempts to build a national computer network were undone by socialists who seemed …
Brain of the firm by Stafford Beer
"Stafford Beer is undoubtedly among the world's most provocative, creative, and profound thinkers on the subject of management, and he …
Designing freedom by Stafford Beer (The Stafford Beer classic library)
In these 1973 Massey Lectures, Stafford Beer states the case for a new science of systems theory and cybernetics. His …
