The Mechanic and the Luddite - by Jathan Sadowski

About the Book

"Our society is constantly made to serve the needs of two systems: technology and capitalism. Neither exists outside humans, but both are treated as above and beyond us. The Mechanic and the Luddite offers the critical tools needed to deconstruct these systems-how they work, who they work for, and what work they do in our lives. With signature style and energy, Jathan Sadowski presents a provocative one-stop shop for understanding the political economy of technology and capitalism. Each chapter breaks down key features of technological capitalism, offering sharp, synthetic, and authoritative analysis of topics like innovation, labor, data, and risk. It's not enough to know how the machinery of capitalism is put together and how its parts operate; we must also know whom the machines serve and when they should be taken apart, to be rebuilt for new purposes or destroyed for good. The Mechanic and the Luddite provides the political guidance needed to make these crucial decisions"--

Book Synopsis

This short book demystifies how the two systems of technology and capitalism work together and equips readers with practical tools to dismantle them and build a better world, bit by bit.

Our society is constantly made to serve the needs of two systems: technology and capitalism. Neither exists outside humans, but both are treated as above and beyond us. The Mechanic and the Luddite offers the critical tools needed to deconstruct these systems--how they work, whom they work for, and what work they do in our lives. With signature style and energy, Jathan Sadowski presents a provocative one-stop shop for understanding the political economy of technology and capitalism.

Each chapter breaks down key features of technological capitalism, offering sharp, synthetic, and authoritative analysis of topics like innovation, labor, data, and risk. It's not enough to know how the machinery of capitalism is put together and how its parts operate; we must also know whom the machines serve and when they should be taken apart, to be rebuilt for new purposes or destroyed for good. The Mechanic and the Luddite provides the political guidance needed to make these crucial decisions.

From the Back Cover

"Jathan Sadowski is one of the most incisive and important thinkers on technology and capitalism today. This urgent book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the deeper political economy that shapes the digital domain and, by extension, every facet of modern life."--Astra Taylor, author of The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart

"Smart, urgent, and as bluntly powerful as the titular Luddite's hammer, this book is required reading for anyone who seeks to understand how technology really gets made--and whom it's made to serve. Even better, it will give you the tools to fight back against the complex systems that have entangled the globe with digitized regimes of profit, exploitation, and oppression. The time for a thunderous new Luddite politics is now--and Sadowski's scathing, erudite, and accessible manifesto delivers."--Brian Merchant, author of Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion against Big Tech

"Sadowski has written a badly needed text that's arriving at exactly the right time. His crisp and active prose generously illuminates technology's relationship to flows of money and power and the whims of those who wield them. Reading The Mechanic and the Luddite feels like listening to a great friend excitedly telling you about a new discovery, letting you in on something interesting and important."--Meredith Whittaker, Chief Advisor and Cofounder, AI Now Institute

Review Quotes

"Lays the groundwork for a more cohesive resistance against capitalist technology. . . . ​Sadowski casts a withering gaze on the digital technology industry and its oligarchs, encouraging the reader to engage in rigorous material analysis by embodying two figures: the Mechanic and the Luddite."-- "Red Pepper Magazine"

"Succinctly encapsulates a decade of social tech research in clear, if academic, prose. . . . Sadowski gives a basic introduction to how Marxists understand capitalist exploitation to ground his later discussions. He then uses those well-worn tools skilfully."-- "LSE Review of Books"

"Short, accessible and easy to dip in and out of. . . . The title of the book is essentially a call for both good theory and good practice: understand how technology works, but also how it relates to capitalism and when to oppose it. The contents set out an excellent starting point for anyone who wants to do this, even if all you want to get out of it is solid arguments about relatively straightforward points of debate. . . . This is emphatically a book about looking forward so we can present our alternatives to what capitalism has to offer."-- "Counterfire"

About the Author

Jathan Sadowski is Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University. He is author of the book Too Smart and host of the podcast This Machine Kills, both on the political economy of technology.