The Mechanic and the Luddite

"Jathan Sadowski is one of the most important thinkers on technology and capitalism ... Essential reading" Astra Taylor, author of The Age of Insecurity

"Smart, urgent, and bluntly powerful, this 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 ... A scathing, erudite, and accessible manifesto" Brian Merchant, author of Blood in the Machine

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.

Jathan Sadowski is author of the book Too Smart and host of the podcast This Machine Kills, both on the political economy of technology.