In this episode of The Break–Down, Deputy Editor John Merrick is joined by historian and author David Edgerton to discuss how his historical work has shaped his understanding of the climate crisis, the rise of China as both a major emitter and a green tech powerhouse, the retro revivalism of the British right, and the ubiquity of AI boosterism.
The history of the climate crisis is often told as a story about technology. Growing out of the dark satanic mills of the Industrial Revolution and accelerating with new forms of production and consumption in the mid-twentieth century, we are frequently told that it is technological development and innovation that got us into this mess.
But technology is also presented as the way out: a new green industrial revolution, expanded nuclear power, or even forms of geoengineering are held up as solutions.
In this conversation, Edgerton asks whether a more nuanced history of technology and production might tell us something different about the politics of the climate crisis. And whether it might help us imagine paths beyond fossil-fuelled capitalism altogether.
