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sapien85's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
jakub_oliver's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.75
In which Bastani lays out the nature of the next Great Global "disruption", the next massive shift in the fundamental operation of human society equivalent to that of the Industrial Revolution of 200 years ago or the Agricultural Revolution of 10,000 years ago. This is a fascinating idea. This is not something that can be claimed, explained and wrapped up with a bow in under 250 pages.
The premise of automation, computerization, renewable energy and synthetic food potentially realizing the old leftist ideal of a workless utopia is not exactly a piping-hot take, but Bostani does make a well argued and convincing case for it, all whilst intelligently avoiding falling into the pit of impenetrably dense, jargon-ridden analysis that is all too characteristic of leftist writing. I think I can very much say that I agree in principle with almost everything in this book.
But it has too be said that his case is more than a little simplified. Almost everything he says is from a very Western perspective, only making passing references to the "Global South" (a term so outdated I've seen it's flaws discussed in primary school geography classes) and he spends most of the book explaining things such as the revolutionary nature of renewable energy and genetic engineering, topics that are already fairly well-trodden ground in today's zeitgeist, and leaves his opportunity to genuinely break new ground - how the changing technologies of today could be harnessed to bridge or widen the gap between the wealthy and the poor, how 'FALC' could actually be achieved, what FALC would actually look like, mostly untouched.
Innumerable Sci-Fi novels, films and TV shows these days revolve around the premise of modern technology breeding mass unemployment and vastly exacerbated inequality (Bastani even directly references the movie 'Elysium' in this book) - a fear of how advancements such as automation and gene editing could lead us down a dark path definitely occupies a large part of the public consciousness at the moment. Bastani even mentions that this technological revolution leading to the best possible outcome isn't inevitable, but he leaves the other scenario largely as the elephant in the room. This book presents itself as a Manifesto; Manifestos are meant to be convincing, and I think this book could've been far more groundbreaking if Bastani clearly laid out in each chapter how each and every one of these technologies could be incalculably beneficial, but could also only exacerbate inequality in the hands of market forces. I understand that he's trying to put an inspiring spin on things, but it really just comes off as a little naïve.
With all that said, if this book plays even a small role in bringing these sorts of discussions out of the circles of academia and nerdery and more into the general zeitgeist, I will be immensely grateful. Discussions of issues such as automation at the moment tend to either be quite one-note pessimistic, or hail something like Universal Basic Income as the silver bullet that will whisk us all away to paradise, or simply deny the issue altogether. And despite its flaws, this book may hopefully bring another, more valuable perspective to that discussion
The premise of automation, computerization, renewable energy and synthetic food potentially realizing the old leftist ideal of a workless utopia is not exactly a piping-hot take, but Bostani does make a well argued and convincing case for it, all whilst intelligently avoiding falling into the pit of impenetrably dense, jargon-ridden analysis that is all too characteristic of leftist writing. I think I can very much say that I agree in principle with almost everything in this book.
But it has too be said that his case is more than a little simplified. Almost everything he says is from a very Western perspective, only making passing references to the "Global South" (a term so outdated I've seen it's flaws discussed in primary school geography classes) and he spends most of the book explaining things such as the revolutionary nature of renewable energy and genetic engineering, topics that are already fairly well-trodden ground in today's zeitgeist, and leaves his opportunity to genuinely break new ground - how the changing technologies of today could be harnessed to bridge or widen the gap between the wealthy and the poor, how 'FALC' could actually be achieved, what FALC would actually look like, mostly untouched.
Innumerable Sci-Fi novels, films and TV shows these days revolve around the premise of modern technology breeding mass unemployment and vastly exacerbated inequality (Bastani even directly references the movie 'Elysium' in this book) - a fear of how advancements such as automation and gene editing could lead us down a dark path definitely occupies a large part of the public consciousness at the moment. Bastani even mentions that this technological revolution leading to the best possible outcome isn't inevitable, but he leaves the other scenario largely as the elephant in the room. This book presents itself as a Manifesto; Manifestos are meant to be convincing, and I think this book could've been far more groundbreaking if Bastani clearly laid out in each chapter how each and every one of these technologies could be incalculably beneficial, but could also only exacerbate inequality in the hands of market forces. I understand that he's trying to put an inspiring spin on things, but it really just comes off as a little naïve.
With all that said, if this book plays even a small role in bringing these sorts of discussions out of the circles of academia and nerdery and more into the general zeitgeist, I will be immensely grateful. Discussions of issues such as automation at the moment tend to either be quite one-note pessimistic, or hail something like Universal Basic Income as the silver bullet that will whisk us all away to paradise, or simply deny the issue altogether. And despite its flaws, this book may hopefully bring another, more valuable perspective to that discussion
cullan's review against another edition
3.0
mixed feelings on this one. like other reviewers here i felt that it vacillated between vague and overly specific policy proposals, and it avoided acknowledging and engaging with specific systems of oppression — for example, we can’t tout genetic science as the solution for healthcare at a massive scale without at least discussing the history of ableism, racism, and eugenics in medicine (harriet a. washington’s medical apartheid is a good place to start). i’m also not fully on board with bastani’s assertion that the conditions for communism to succeed have never existed before now. but overall, i felt this was an optimistic vision of the future, (for the most part) grounded in reality and history, that could appeal to almost anyone, and i found it to be a helpful reminder that the world has already changed in ways previously unimaginable or thought to be impossible throughout history.
beebeetlebee's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
getbeaned's review against another edition
I can see the merits of the book, but it seems to be front loaded with too much information not strictly relevant to the ultimate point of the book, which should be how we get to the point of FALC and what it looks like. Instear, the book is moreso reasoning as to why it's needed, and why the current system of global capitalism is failing, a hypothesis I agree with, but don't necessarily need to be told in such detail.
mistakenot___'s review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
bethglover's review against another edition
4.0
Brought for me by my auntie Claire as something to give a little glimpse into a hopeful future. Quite an insightful yet at times overwhelming read. Really got me thinking about the future including lots of different aspects.
jonnyfox's review against another edition
5.0
The title drew me in even as I thought this must be utopian nonsense. And at times it is- it can read a bit like the 80's programme Tomorrow's World at it's worst but overall this is a detailed manifesto that sees far into the future and takes small practical steps to make it a better place. The C word will put many off, but it's not the communism of the past in any way. It's refreshingly self aware of it's flawes, thoroughly well researched and in places absolutely vital. It's not often that such an informative non fiction book is exciting but certain chapters are nothing short of thrilling. We are moving into a new world and unless we start having the conversation about what we're going to do about a rapidly aging and increasingly automated world, the vast majority of people will be left behind.