This Machine Kills

We are joined by Brian Merchant—LA Times tech columnist, author of Blood in the Machine, dear friend of TMK, general in the Ludd Army—to talk about his extraordinary new book. Brian has produced a masterwork on the history and legacy of Luddism. A deeply researched, thrilling narrative, filled with sharp insights, this book is the definitive story of the Luddite Rebellion and the birth of industrial capitalism. ••• Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech | Brian Merchant https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/brian-merchant/blood-in-the-machine/9780316487740/ Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)

We discuss chapter 3 of Mute Compulsion – The Social Ontology of Economic Power – and get into questions about the structure of social reality, why it is necessary to crack into these philosophical questions, how theories of social ontology form the whole basis of political ideologies and programs like neoliberalism and communism, why critiques of capitalism / technology based on ideas of human nature are common, easy, and weak, and why we need to build our critical theories on an ontology of social relations, not natural essence. ••• Mute Compulsion: A Marxist Theory of the Economic Power of Capital – Søren Mau https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/2759-mute-compulsion Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)

[Due to illness, we are unlocking this classic episode — which has only become more relevant as the news coverage and regulatory response to PFAS forever chemicals has only increased since our recording.] We take a deeper look at the political ecology of the “forever chemicals” that are integral to the existing microchip manufacturing process, the very serious damage they are wreaking on human health and the environment, the industrial interests that are aggressively pushing back against any attempt to regulate these chemicals, and the CEO of Chemours who has come forth as an ardent defender of the polymers in our blood. Stuff we reference ••• The crackdown on risky chemicals that could derail the chip industry https://www.ft.com/content/76979768-59c0-436f-b731-40ba329a7544 ••• EU ban on forever chemicals would hit bloc’s green transition, warns top industry boss https://www.ft.com/content/197ca0c8-0a4d-4794-bc46-796139821f3d ••• The dystopian lake filled by the world’s tech lust https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150402-the-worst-place-on-earth ••• Mark E. Newman https://www.chemours.com/en/about-chemours/leadership/mark-e-newman-leadership-bio Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)

We discuss an interview with the latest tech billionaire, Alexandr Wang of Scale AI, to push the jingoistic position that Silicon Valley has a duty to ensure American supremacy in every domain—military, geopolitics, technology, economy—and land lucrative contracts in the process. ••• Alexandr Wang: US technologists should help preserve US military and economic leadership https://www.ft.com/content/98b0a060-0e2e-4001-a4b6-8c388c106988 Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)

Quinn Slobodian, author of Crack-Up Capitalism, discusses how fringe beliefs of anarcho-capitalists are gaining mainstream influence. The podcast explores the relationship between neoliberalism, law, and the state, as well as the colonial mindset of ultra wealthy individuals like Musk and Bezos. The need for dialogue between left and right anarchists, the racially and culturally homogenous nature of suburbs and gated communities, and the connection between economics and race science are also discussed.

We discuss chapter two – Power and Marxism – which offers a survey of how Marxist theories of power have largely been caught between the two poles of violence and ideology. With power-as-violence, the focus has been on the changing roles of the state, its relationship with capital, and the ways it physically controls people. With power-as-ideology, the focus has been on the role of institutions and culture in shaping how people think, thus exercising forms of mental control over people. While both these traditions are valuable and necessary, as Mau argues, they offer a duality of power, rather than a trinity. That missing link? Mute compulsion. ••• Mute Compulsion: A Marxist Theory of the Economic Power of Capital – Søren Mau https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/2759-mute-compulsion Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)

Meredith Whittaker, a historical analyst, discusses the link between Charles Babbage and plantation logics of control in computing. She also explores the political economy of 'open' AI and the concentration of power in the tech industry. The chapter highlights surveillance, the dominance of big tech, challenges in AI development, and the desire to control people's value.

We start with news about the latest attempt to build a smart city from scratch as a collection of venture capitalists have been secretly buying huge amounts of land near San Francisco to finally realize a dream that will never die. We connect this logic of the capitalist zone to an expansive analysis of Saudi Arabia’s global investments, geopolitical partnerships, and giant ambitions for a future where the world is a zone. Stuff we reference: ••• The Silicon Valley Elite Who Want to Build a City From Scratch https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/25/business/land-purchases-solano-county.html ••• How Saudi Arabia is buying the world https://www.newstatesman.com/long-reads/2023/07/saudi-arabia-capitalsim-buying-world ••• How Saudi money returned to Silicon Valley https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/5/1/23702451/silicon-valley-saudi-money-khashoggi Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)

We are joined by Tamara Nopper and Eve Zelickson —— from the Data & Society Research Institute —— to discuss their excellent primer on Wellness Capitalism. This is the pure ideal of TMK crossovers as we lay out how an intricate tangle of things —— the organization of social reproduction by capital, the power dynamics of labor-boss relations, the cultures of personal responsibility and behavioral choices, the technocratic authority of baroque administrative systems, the actuarial governance regime of risk management —— all come together to control access to, and degrade the quality of, essential services for human life and society. ••• Wellness Capitalism: Employee Health, the Benefits Maze, and Worker Control | Tamara Nopper, Eve Zelickson https://datasociety.net/library/wellness-capitalism-employee-health-the-benefits-maze-and-worker-control/ ••• Follow Tamara: https://twitter.com/tamaranopper ••• Follow Eve: https://twitter.com/zel_eve Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)

In this podcast, they discuss the lack of clear understanding and the importance of clarity in conceptual tools like power and capital. They explore definitions of power and its relationship to domination, control, coercion, and the denial of autonomy and agency in capitalism. They also examine the power of capital in Marx's theory and how it encompasses classes, individuals, and social forms.