Fully Automated Luxury Communism: A Manifesto is a book by Aaron Bastani first published by Verso Books in 2019. It argues that technology can be used to create a post-scarcity economy of widespread prosperity.[1]
 First edition | |
| Author | Aaron Bastani |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Published | 2019 |
| Publisher | Verso Books |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| ISBN | 978-1-78663-262-3 |
| OCLC | 1190904825 |
Synopsis
editThe book argues that human history can be divided into three broad periods, each characterized by substantial changes in technology: prehistory to the dawn of agriculture; agriculture to the Industrial Revolution; and the present period, characterised by the explosive spread of information technology.[2]
Bastani suggests that the prosperity ushered in by technology is inconsistent with contemporary models of capitalism. While capitalism is organised around a logic of scarcity, the technologically-mediated prosperity he predicts is characterised by the absence of scarcity.[3]
Critical reception
editBritish journalist Andy Beckett wrote that Bastani "bases his predictions on a broad-brush reading of history", commenting that "[s]ome readers will finish this book exhilarated and energised. Others will be unconvinced, or utterly baffled."[1]
Ville Kellokumpu argues that the work fails to account sufficiently for the impact of climate change and the dependence of contemporary industry on fossil fuels.[4]
Jason Barker agrees, commenting that ecological destruction appears to be the consistent result of past technological transitions and that, in this respect, it is likely that the future will resemble the past.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b Beckett, Andy (29 May 2019). "Fully Automated Luxury Communism by Aaron Bastani – a manifesto for the future". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 4 May 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
- ^ Mostafa, Joshua (23 July 2019). "The Revolution Will Not Be Automated". Sydney Review of Books. Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
- ^ Haas, Lidija (1 June 2019). "New Books". Harper's Magazine. June 2019. Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
- ^ Kellokumpu, Ville (3 September 2019). "Fully Automated Luxury Communism: A Manifesto By Aaron Bastani". Society & Space. Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
- ^ Barker, Jason (28 June 2019). "Artificial Stupidity". Los Angeles Review of Books. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2020.