Il futuro migliore. In difesa dell'essere umano. Manifesto per un ottimismo radicale

by Paul Mason

Oggi noi esseri umani siamo sotto attacco da tutti i fronti. La crisi del capitalismo globale ha lasciato campo libero alle forze arcaiche del razzismo, della misoginia e del più cieco nazionalismo autoritario. Il pianeta è febbricitante e quasi del tutto sepolto dalla sovrapproduzione di plastica e cemento. La Silicon Valley produce sempre più raffinati algoritmi che concretizzano l'incubo del controllo totale e sempre nuovi gadget che in breve realizzeranno la trasformazione dell'uomo in robot. Dobbiamo rassegnarci a essere consumatori ormai privi di volontà o macchine biologiche dal comportamento prevedibile e modificabile? Secondo Paul Mason no: possiamo ancora reagire, possiamo riprendere il controllo delle nostre vite e del nostro futuro. Mason propone una nuova forma di azione politica che unisce la tradizione dei movimenti di sinistra, l'esperienza delle lotte del nuovo millennio e la possibilità di agire sulla rete senza esserne dominati. Il suo manifesto ci invita a essere radicalmente ottimisti: dall'affrontare i troll razzisti sul web al compiere le giuste scelte quotidiane negli acquisti, dal lottare per il controllo dei nostri dati personali al costringere i governanti a promulgare leggi che liberino il potenziale positivo delle nuove tecnologie, sono molte le cose che possiamo fare per tornare a essere soggetti attivi, e non passivi oggetti delle politiche mondiali. "Il futuro migliore" è una chiamata alle armi per chi è deciso a resistere al monopolio delle tech companies, alla globalizzazione ultraliberista e alla politica dell'odio per le strade e sui social network. Dopo averlo letto avrete una scelta molto semplice: vivacchiare nella speranza che il vostro orticello si salvi oppure iniziare a combattere.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Economics, Philosophy, Sociology, Society, Audiobook

409 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Note: Paul^^Mason

Paul Mason is an English journalist and broadcaster. He is economics editor of the BBC's Newsnight television programme and the author of several books.

Reviews

[Ailith Twinning · Rating 2 out of 5]

I reject Mason's philosophy.

He also throws out some seriously suspect offhanded comments about history -- the first that comes to mind saying that is his "Rome fell because tribal invasions and slavery is bad economics." Which is just, it's not even wrong, it's received wisdom, a myth, a politically motivated lie, whatever you want to call it, he's parroting, not thinking, there.

To give a general idea why I didn't like this book, but you might, whoever you are:

I hate Aristotle(the institution, obviously I never met the actual person the name goes to).
You can redefine Humanism if you want, but what it was, and is, is racist as shit, at best.
Liberalism is Fascisms' (that's plural) father.
Just. . .shut the hell up about Russia, and don't even start on China. He who lives in a glass house should not cast stones.
"Liberal Democracy" is not, and has never been Democratic. It's literally supposed to prevent that.
Rationality is both overrated and incoherent, as an ideology.

America is a Fascist state -- it was before there was a word for it, and it still is, by literally any definition you care to name which isn't "We can't be Fascists."You can call it an Apartheid or Corporatist state, or a Neo Colonial Empire -- even just Crony Capitalism, as if there's such a thing as Capitalism that ain't -- if that makes you feel better, they're all the same thing: White Supremacist, colonial, incarceral, unequal, undemocratic, corporatist, rapacious, patriarchal, genocidal, hyper-martial, hateful of the working class, and some mix of death squads and secret police.

I do agree with, what feels like, the most important sentence in the book tho: (paraphrasing liberally) 'Artificial General/Super Intelligence, under Capitalism, will be very, very fucking bad."

[Bob · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to dislike this book: I'm suspicious of Mason's shtik about us being in a new informational/technological stage of capitalism that can lead us to postcapitalism, I find his fearmongering about Russia & China distasteful, & he's a shallow reader (he really does Hegel, Nietzsche, Althusser, & Angela Nagle disservices); however, I agree w/ some of his verdicts on new materialism & object-oriented ontology & appreciated his account of neoliberalism's 80s rise in UK, US, France, Spain, & Mexico & found intriguing his different account of the altright's rise than in Nagle, Robin, or Sandifer.

UPDATE: Mason is the worst type of anarcho-liberal. His treachery against the Corbynite Labour Party (who he labels Stalinists) before & after the '19 general election is astounding from a self-professed leftist & his absurd political calls for Labour to model itself after the US Dems, his appeals to anti-Russia & -China hysteria, his libels against northern voters, & his scare-mongering to have Corbynites accommodate Blairites & Lib Dems are beyond stupid & cast doubt on all of his writings.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meandering but brilliant; Paul Mason delivers some extremely cogent critiques of neoliberalism and how our current system is failing to both fight back against neofascism or provide a meaningful defense of liberal humanism that tries to provide a fulfilling life for every person on earth. I disagree with some of his criticisms of Marx, but that's beside the point, as Mason is clearly writing within the spirit that Marx intended. This is a necessary book for our time.

[Ezgi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Mason okumak büyük bir zevk. Özellikle güncele yaklaşımını çok seviyorum. Yazılarını olabildiğince takip etmeye çalışıyorum. Yazılarına benzer bir kitap Apaydınlık Gelecek. Rafta görünce hemen okumak istedim.

Kitap Trump’ın yarattığı siyasi ortamla başlıyor. Paul Mason neoliberal politikaların kitleler üzerinde etkisine dair mantıklı analizler yapıyor. Neoliberalizmin her şeyi piyasaya indirgeyerek insanlardaki ahlaki yükü hafiflettiğini söylemesi taşların yerine oturmasını sağladı bende. Liberal krizlerin ardında bıraktığı bu neoliberal insanın faşizme yönelmesindeki dinamikleri çok önemli buluyorum. Kitleye yön veren fikirlerle ilgilenenlerin çokça faydalanacağı bir bölüm. Teknolojinin yükselişi hakkındaki bölümü de sevdim. Sosyal medyanın halkın geçmişteki organize olma güdüleri üzerindeki etki ve bağlantısıyla epey ilgileniyor. Mason neoliberal taarruz diyebileceğimiz siyasi ve sosyal politikaların içinde hala çok umutlu. Ben bu umuda çok değer veriyorum. Sistem hepimizi kuşattı karamsarlığının tüm fikirler ve pratikler için bir duraklama demek olduğunu düşünüyorum. Kitabın son kısmındaki düşüncelere pek katılamadım. Ama kitabın değerini asla azaltmıyor. Çağdaş politikalara kafa yoran okurun yararlı bulacağı bir kitap.

[Hans Vercammen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dit boek deed mij qua schrijfstijl denken aan 'Het neoliberalisme' van Jaap Kruithof; het is een aanklacht, en een oproep om je te verzetten.
De auteur noemt zich een radicaal humanist, geïnspireerd door Marx' visie over de aard van de mens: een streven naar vrijheid en naar een betere wereld.
Enkele ideeën uit het boek:
- Racisme en seksisme verklaren - veel meer dan vb. armoede - het succes van Trump.
- Het staatskapitalisme werd eind jaren 70 opgevolgd door het neoliberalisme, dat zijn hoogtepunt nu voorbij is, maar de weg heeft gebaand voor een terugkeer van economisch, autoritair nationalisme en succes van extreemrechts.
- De economische groei is de laatste dertig, veertig jaar hoofdzakelijk gestoeld op bevolkingstoename en schuldenopbouw (en te weinig op echte technologische innovatie).
- De deugdenethiek van Aristoteles moet de basis zijn voor alle artificiële intelligentie, zodat die ten dienste staat van de mens. (vervulling menselijk potentieel, goede sociale gevolgen).
- De socialisering van kennis door technologische vooruitgang zal ons de grenzen laten zien van een maatschappij die draait op privébezit.

Zeer sterke stukken (analyse Trump, kritiek op postmodernisme, kritiek op de vele monopolies) worden voor mij afgewisseld met delen die te moeilijk zijn voor mij; hoogdravende taal, of bepaalde verbanden die worden gelegd waarbij je dan denkt: kan je dat eens verduidelijken; waar heb je het nu over? Op die momenten klinkt de lokroep om eens een tegenstem horen.
Maar misschien ligt dit aan mij en is dit gewoon een geniaal/visionair boek.

[Massimo Sacchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Questo è un testo importante. Anche se non vi troverete coincidenti con alcune affermazioni e posizioni sicuramente i dati e le riflessioni - fra l’altro ben documentate e approfondita - vi stimoleranno a farvi una vostra idea e ad intraprendere una vostra azione. Una chiave di lettura necessaria per questo XXI secolo... e poi finalmente qualcuno ribatte a Yuval Noah Harari. Che per carità io adoro. Ma che cultura è quella dov’è non c’è polemos e dbattito...

[Kostas Hitchens Pap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Εξαιρετική ανάλυση του σύγχρονου καπιταλισμού που ακούει στο όνομα Νεοφιλελευθερισμος και των ανισοτητων που αυτος φέρνει αλλα και γιατί είναι χρέος όλων μας να παίρνουμε θέση στα πολιτικά πράγματα.
Ενα αστέρι φεύγει διότι σε αρκετά σημεία αισθάνθηκα ότι ο συγγραφέας αγγίζει τα όρια της συνωμοσιολογίας με τις αναφορές στου στην παγκόσμια τάξη .
Γενικότερα πολύ επίκαιρο και χρήσιμο βιβλίο για την πολιτικό οικονομική κατάσταση που επικρατεί

[Tyson Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humans: okay, no killing people.
AI: slavery is cool though, right?
Humans: No, no killing, no slavery!
AI: But you do it all the time. No fair!

Clear Bright Future is Paul Mason's attempt to address the “value alignment problem” with regard to our society and the potential of AI. He sets out to define how we largely don't have a set of values, thanks to things like neo-liberalism, post-modernism, and scientism, and how we desperately need to define our values. Those values, he argues, should be clearly defined, humanist, and done before the capitalists, authoritarians, or other ne'er-do-wells ruin the future.

I first became interested in reading Mason's books when I saw his Google Talk about Post-Capitalism. He was one of the first people I'd heard make a clear argument for something that is lurking in every digital age IP lawsuit. Clear Bright Future jumped up my reading list thanks to my local library and an interview where Mason discussed the need for society/humans to decide what we value and to start making it a priority.

The overall point made in this book is valid and Mason does a reasonable job of making a convincing argument. Even if he is completely wrong about humanism, he is completely right about needing to define our values. Our values. Not someone looking to make a buck. Not someone looking to become dictator for life. Everyone.

And here comes the but. But, I think Clear Bright Future falls down as some points made are attacks on strawpeople or gross simplifications. He'll swing between exacting explanations and diverse insights and then make quick leaps via these lazy tactics.

Take for example his comments about science moving from claims of hard objectivism to (a more realistic) subjectivism. Mason essentially engages in a confusing blend of scientism and anti-scientism. He talks as if science is simple hard facts (when it is within X% error, contingent on assumptions, within certain frames of reference, etc.) and then rejects the science that shows things are more complicated than that.

Another example is his criticism of postmodernism as anti-humanist and the foundation of a lot of today's problems. Somewhere there is a philosophy professor shaking their head and chuckling at the idea that postmodernism texts have resulted in anything other than incomprehensible books and an industry of metanarrative loving critics blaming it for everything. At best, Mason is mistaking a part of the field for the whole. Sure, the rejection of the simplistic and metanarrative claims of earlier humanism is certainly a po-mo thing, but hardly the whole thing (e.g. see this)

These flaws do detract a bit from what is a very interesting book with a compelling message. Definitely worth reading and thinking about what our values are.

Other reviews worth reading:
Clear Bright Future by Paul Mason review – a manifesto against the machine
Review of Paul Mason’s Clear Bright Future: A Radical Defence of the Human Being

Comments while reading:
You can sustain an economy on life support, but not an ideology. People were starting to ask when things would get better for them rather than for yacht owners. (Paraphrased)

Having seen some of Mason's work before I've been interested in his take on things. He offers insights and ideas you haven't considered. I also find I don't entirely agree with his conclusions. In one part he was outlining the idea of material realism (materialism) which was a pretty decent lay explanation. But then he sort of created a strawman to suggest that modern tech economies claim to create value out of nothing (computers create their own data, thus value, without work). I'm not sure that the people who say that actually believe it, rather they are using a heuristic.

[Miguel Teles · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 *

I wanted to give more stars to this book. After all I painfully share its urgency, I worry for the same subjects it deals with and I too wished we had a clear and bright answer to counter the world we live in today.

At the same time, its informative value kept me reading it, despite the frequent need to leave for external sources - either because of a too noticeable bias or for a too superficial approach.

That being said: Mason’s answer is an outdated and uncritical defense of an anthropocentric (or Eurocentric) idea of humanism, that he drains from (the recently discovered) early writings of Marx (with ideas that he himself dropped on his later thoughts and works).

He does this defense by annoyingly and too simplistically rejecting all postmodern and post-humanist thought (and not solely ‘anti’ as the black and white world he wants to portray) in what becomes almost a childish and blind struggle.

So: decent historical information and good context for the current happenings. But no solid sight of how to get to that clear and bright future.

[Vincent Thurgood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Mason's book is wide-ranging and timely. It is a critique of the anti-humanist ideologies of the current time and a defence of humanism and a call for antifascist resistance against the alt-right. It rejects Nietzsche, is sceptical of the applicability of Hannah Arendt, and posits a view of Karl Marx as humanist and opponent of mechanisation that some may question. It is anti postmodernism, trans- and post-humanism. It is focussed on a larger crisis that the immediate fallout from the election of 2019, and predates it, but that's part of its prescience. Possibly we are about to see a resurgence in books written about the political significance and impact of social class. This book is more general. It is a positive and necessary book in challenging times.

[Radiantflux · Rating 2 out of 5]

65th book for 2019.

Marxism, like economics, has the unfortunate effect of freezing my brain. I read, but I don't understand. Sadly I think I am just not suited for Mason's books.

2-stars.

[Keen Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Before 2008, neo-liberalism’s promise was: things will be like this forever, only better. After 2008 it was: things will be like this for ever, only worse.”

Mason starts off by imaging a troubling and sinister world where governments and society at large have surrendered ourselves to the laws and whims of something called the machine, and then he asks us to imagine that you replaced the word machine with market and explains that’s what governments have done over the last forty years or so with catastrophic results for the vast majority.

Any alternative to Neo-Liberalism will always be brutally opposed and sabotaged, whether that be legally or illegally, as even western leaders like Mitterand and France found out during the 80s. He was elected in 1981, heading up a socialist-communist coalition government, he hired 200,000 civil servants, raised the minimum wage by 39% and nationalised 12 industrial groups, together with 36 banks. In response the money equivalent of 2% of French GDP left the country in the first three months. Three sharp devaluations of the franc against the German mark followed, the final one in March 83, forced Mitterand to abandon state led growth and instead opted for austerity.

“Kids were educated by the state for free; healthcare was free; the water people drank, the energy they consumed and- for many-the homes they lived in were all provided by the state at low cost. It was a world structured around an explicit deal between capital and labour. It feels like a lost civilization now, but a version of it was present throughout the industrialized world.”

Mason comes up with a lot of really good stuff in here, and has come up with some encouraging and inspiring ways forward, but of course they are far too fair, sensible and rational and so don’t expect to see them put forward or imposed in any western democracy anywhere any time soon.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Purtroppo un guazzabuglio di idee radicali.

Sicuramente offre degli spunti interessanti, specie sulla Arendt e Marx, tuttavia non riesco ad immaginarmi una target audience per questo testo.

Se l'intento è smuovere il cittadino comune tramite il suo manifesto programmatico verso un umanesimo anticapitalista, è sicuramente fallito in partenza a causa dell'inaccessibilità del testo stesso.

Spazia dalla filosofia politica, alla storia, alle politiche economiche al funzionamento dell'intelligenza artificiale. Per carità, concordo sull'importanza di avere una visione d'insieme sui fenomeni globali, ma forse l'intento è un po' troppo ambizioso, lasciando più dubbi che certezze in merito al messaggio che vuole trasmettere.

Se l'autore si muove fermamente sotto questo intento, è necessario che costruisca un messaggio più limpido e leggibile, altrimenti altro non si tratta che di un testo elitario e borghese, finalizzato ad un gruppo ristretto e privilegiato.

[Enso · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a phenomenal book that anyone interested in where our society is going, should go, and how to resist the changes dehumanizing us should read.

[Steve Lawless · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really found this book rather muddled. It certainly needed much better editing. Although Mason talks about Marxism and class politics he really doesn't give any clear view on how change is to be achieved. There are some interesting elements to the book and clearly Mason is well read but his prioritisation of issues is bizarre and reflective of the priorities of the mainstream media. Having said that his low priority for climate change would not reflect the priorities of The Guardian.

[Myles Dungan · Rating 4 out of 5]

More erudite, opaque and philosophical than 'Post-Capitalism' and occasionally hard going, but Mason's optimism and his proposed templates are a welcome buffer against the oppressive fatalism of a world gone mad.

[gaverne Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking

[Toby Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

For all the humanist texts I've read that ground their views and assessments in philosophical discussions, it's rare I've found one political or sociological to this extent. And whilst philosophy is important, it's not effective for humanists to shy away from the political, given how much of human rights abuses are influenced by political and economic ideology. Therefore, Paul Mason's look into this, combining his politics and economics with sociology, anthropology, history, philosophy, and ethics was welcomed and effective. In grounding his assessment and manifesto in, as the subtitle suggests, a radical defence of the human being, with humanism and human nature at the core of that, he is able to construct a politics that feels thoughtful and constructive rather than tribal and/or partisan. Though, as a socialist, Mason naturally goes after neoliberal capitalism and the neofascism of the alt-right, he's also firmly critical of the politics of Xi Jinping and the supporters of authoritarian 'socialist' models, as well as posthumanist academic thought, carefully explaining why he finds such measures counterproductive to the problems we as a species face. In bringing up Marx, who praises what he think the man got right, and criticizes in detail what he thinks he got wrong. He also connects all these lines of thought to the major issues that we are facing, including climate change, and the role artificial intelligence has in shaping our economy and power structures.
I only have a couple of criticisms - firstly, I think some of the philosophical points are oversimplified. He defends virtue ethics without going into huge amounts of detail on how best to cultivate virtues, and the field's history beyond Aristotle. I think he also misunderstands Nietzsche (although his wider point about ethical egoism being a worryingly predominant ethical viewpoint is apt - I just think Ayn Rand or Max Stirner would be better representatives of such mindsets) and he relies on Christianity's anecdotal power in terms of how its ideas challenged normative ideas without drawing as many relevant comparisons with the philosophies of the Axial Age (Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Stoicism, Epicureanism etc). I should point out that my knowledge in this area is limited, but, given how this is meant to be an all-encompassing humanist text, not limited to the thoughts of just one individual culture (he specifically rejects a form of Marxism just for white men), I think it would have helped his case to draw more comparisons.
My only other criticism might be more to do with how I read it than the text itself - that is, many of its points necessitated clear thinking about and research into the areas it specified, and calls for action weren't perhaps as detailed as one would like. But, if I read and reread it in a physical form, where I can mark pages much more easily, a clearer picture would likely come to me. As it was, I had the Kindle edition, which probably wasn't the same...

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

'As we approach the 2020s, an alliance of ethnic nationalists, woman-haters and authoritarian political leaders are tearing the world order to shreds. What unites them is their disdain for universal human rights and their fear of freedom. They love the idea of machine control and, if we let them, they will deploy it aggressively to keep themselves rich, powerful and unaccountable... If we don't place the new technology of intelligent machines under human control, and programme them to achieve human values, the values they will be designed around are those of Putin, Trump and Xi Jin Ping.' (p.xiii)

Facing such a challenge, Mason argues for a'radical humanism' rooted in the thought of Karl Marx, and the virtue ethics of Aristotle. It's a compelling and enlightening read. I particularly liked the chapter on the limits of reading Arendt. This is a helpful book for understanding and responding to contemporary events.

Reading this from a Christian perspective, it's unfortunate (though understandable considering his Marxist position) that Mason generally does not offer a favourable account of Christianity. The exception to this rule is his use of Christian martyr Euplus of Catania as a prototype for resisting the behavioural economics of neoliberalism. Neither does he refer to Alasdair MacIntyre's 'After Virtue'. This is surprising considering Mason's emphasis on virtue ethics, and the similar contrast he makes between Aristotle and Nietzsche, but might be explained by MacIntryre's conversion to Catholicism away from Marxism.

Although Mason may not see religion as part of humanity's 'clear bright future', there is a huge similarity between the vision he offers and that of the radical Christian left. So I'll happily join him in his radical defence of the human being and the living of the antifascist life.

[Luis EGV · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book seemed extremely promising at the start, but ended becoming very entangled and voided of a proper flowing narrative and structure half way through. At times, it felt like topics were changed left and right, mixing historical, political, philosophical and economical events in the past and future to prove Mason’s views.

Dont get me wrong about Mason, he is most definitely a very smart person and some of his ideas about the future of capitalism and the threat of AI are spot on in my opinion. Its also just hard to take certain ideas seriously if certain topics that give “evidence” for such ideas are analyzed for 2-3 chapters and others are briefly mentioned if anything at all. Specially, if there isent a clear historical timeline, or subject structure (At least for me it was not very clear). I thought I would finish the book having a clear and concise idea of what society should value/maintain/protect in the near future, but I unfortunately ended up not really having a clear understanding of Mason’s and the books’s main arguments. Tl:dr The editing choices in the book, really make it hard to follow Masons main points at times.

[George Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid book. Meandering, but solid. The future is scary.

“If we develop AI under ethical control in Country A, while country B is doing so without ethical control, we simply hand country B the ability to steal, destroy, or otherwise sabotage the ethical form of AI. For this reason e to iCal use of AI is either going to be a mandate at a global level, or not at all.

Capitalism now faces a strategic problem: it cannot, even to its own shabby standards of prudence and safety, deploy this epoch-making technology without erecting new controls at the social level. Yet it has spent decades trying to expunge morals and ethics from economic decision making.

Artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics being humanity face to face with issues we assumed could be outsourced to religion, philosophy or the self-help manual, or solved functionally by boards of experts. Such is the potential power of the thinking machine that we cannot take the next step forward without deciding who we are, and what values we want our machine intelligence to express.”

[Anthony O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark murky present

A detailed account of the neoliberals and now out and out fascists smashing us all into a shape that suits their interests and agendas. Sounds about right. Limiting our deep human potential. ‘Somebody’s got to lick that boot it ain’t gonna lick itself.’ Power mongers and slavers doing what they always do - but now in some ways more frantically than ever. And with new powerful high tech enablers. They want to turn us all into machines. The trans-humanists want to be machines !! ( Guys, think about it , after the upload, YOU can only ever be the discarded copy ...)

Not so clear on what the solution is. What are the alternatives?
What’s even possible? Some of his proposals clearly don’t work.
Far leftist. Marxist. Revolutionary !! Don’t poke that pig.
But a few points are made clear. Be more human, love, imagination, mutual respect and above all don’t be a fascist a**hole. There are so many of them - in one form or another - at every level.

[Tom Rowley · Rating 3 out of 5]

50/50 on this in that some I disliked a lot and some I really loved. I was worried it'd just be a cranky old labour guy giving out about 'why don't we have unions' but it was a pretty comprehensive look at the way Neoliberalism has fallen apart and the urgent need to stall either neofascism or surveillance states from filling the gap. The style kinda irked me at times, with the author being un-necessarily confusing sometimes, having gaps in arguments, or drawing huge conclusions from small anecdotes (my pet favorite being how he extrapolates a lot on neoliberal effect on communities from this one time he visited his local MacDonalds and the cashier didn't chat with him despite knowing him). Overall though the message is vital - that we need to rediscover humanism, community and solidarity to face many of the threats that arise as an economic model crumbles and falls.

[Ramil Kazımov · Rating 3 out of 5]

İçerisinde bir çok ilginç bilgi barındıran ama bir o kadar konuyu eveleyip geveleyen bir kitap var karşınızda.. Yazarımız antikapitalist, ama aynı zamanda imperialist taraftarı (Zira onun gözünde neoliberalizm pis bir şey ama onun bekçisi ABD sütten çıkmış ak kaşık). Yazarımız ABD'nin demokrasi olduğunu söylüyor ki, bu pek anlamsız bir iddia. Yazarımıza göre ABD'nin karşısındaki devletler (haliyle demokrasiye karşı oldukları için) anti-demokratik ülkeler. Gerçi by gibi kısımlar çok sıktı ama kitap yine ee ilginçti. Neoliberalizm, teknolojinin (YZ ve algoritmalar) geleceği gibi konularda ilginç ve önemli bilgiler barındırıyor. Adam bir ara Karl Marksı övmeye çalışmış ama sonrasında övdü mü yoksa sövdü mü pek karar veremedim. Yazar bir nevi sosyal-demokrat olduğu için sistemle uyum içinde olmayı savunmuş.

[Dominic Arbuthnott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thumping critique of the neoliberal world order and its obsession with the logic of the market. The author argues clearly about the dangers of modern technology to control our lives, with Xi's China being a horrific glimpse of the future. Mason argues for all of "us" humanists (who isn't?) to somehow rise up, as revolutionaries, against the elite and all their oppressive systems. The call to stand up for is laudable, but lacking in detail , other than some sort of collective micro-revolt by individuals, which was less convincing. Overall, a great read and I will continue to follow his writings as we enter post-Covid chaos in the West.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even more than Mason's Postcapitalism, Clear Bright Future feels as though it is unable to contain and follow the myriad thoughts and tangents spinning through Mason's brain. Some parts are essential reading to understand our present predicament and the highly fragile nature of liberal democracy. Mason leans heavily on the work of Hannah Arendt, who I would recommend anyone who enjoyed this book check out first hand, if only to gain a greater appreciation of the psychological state of those involved in 20th C fascism.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as compelling as some of his other books, but still well worth a read. It's more theory/literary criticism based than previous work, which meant the middle bit was less grounded. It also feels like it's really three books bodged into one: an assessment of Trumpism, a theory of the sort of society AI will deliver, and an exploration of humanism. I'm sure -ists from across the entire political spectrum will find a reason to hate this.

[Dundus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is angst-inducing given my current sociopolitical orientation! It's a page-turner but I had to constantly put it down, almost fling it across the room, in order to pick it up again. This book is highly concentrated for its 300 pages and my mind was blown on several occasions! I will have to read it again!

[TalesfromTheEV · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good parts on criticisms of neoliberalism and its information-surveillance aspect, but marred by the fact that he puts Aristoteles on a pedestal while slagging Confucius and by the blatant othering of China and Russia as a whole. And also human exceptionalism and rejection of everything which is not White Dude philosophy (indigenous ontologies, my dude? ever heard of those?)

[Rodney Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review in progress...