This Machine Kills

Conservative commentators used the phrase “immanentize the eschaton” as a criticism of socialism and communism. For these stooges, who thought they stood at the end of history, any alternative to neoliberal capitalism and American hegemony was tantamount to ushering in the apocalypse. Well we’re here to tell you not to fear the end of their grand utopian project. If the rest of us experience this reality as a lived dystopia, then why not try to hasten its demise? We dig deeper into our discussion on the radical potential of real utopias, providing more examples along the way. Subscribe to hear more analysis and get premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl).

TMK is taking a break from our regularly scheduled analysis of the ongoing dystopia by pivoting to utopianism! In this episode, we take seriously the question: What would it mean to do utopianism in a way that doesn’t demand abandoning our commitments to materialist critique? We argue for why the anti-capitalist left must reassert its capacity for utopianism and outline some examples of “real utopias” with radical potential that are inspiring our thinking about the kind of alternatives that are imminently achievable. Our discussion builds on the analytical framework detailed by Erik Olin Wright in his work on real utopianism and anti-capitalism: • Transforming Capitalism through Real Utopias (essay) https://www.ssc.wisc.edu/~wright/Published%20writing/Presidential%20address%20--%20uncorrected%20page%20proofs.pdf • How to Be an Anticapitalist in the Twenty-First Century (book) https://www.versobooks.com/books/3065-how-to-be-an-anticapitalist-in-the-twenty-first-century Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl).

We continue our discussion on Huawei by laying out the ways that network infrastructure has become a site for proxy battles as the US/UK and China pursue different agendas for national security and industrial policy. Subscribe to hear more analysis and get more premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl).

Time to get into the 5G! Well, okay, the international political economy of 5G and the new Cold War with China. We trace the history and expansion of Huawei—a hugely important, but greatly misunderstood (and badly analyzed), company at the center of next-gen communication technologies—and its role in the global development of the telecom industry since the 1980s. This episode is kinda information dense, but a focused analysis of Huawei is crucial for figuring out pressure points or fault lines in the global system. 5G won’t cause covid, but will it cause communism?! (Nah, it’s state capitalism). Our discussion builds on, and fills in some gaps in, this great new essay by Evgeny Morozov on the geopolitics of Huawei: https://mondediplo.com/2020/11/10huawei Subscribe to hear the second part of conversation with Michael and get more premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl).

“Technological superiority is a prerequisite for ethical superiority.” These words by Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril Industries, encapsulate a dangerous philosophy underpinning how the bloodless ghouls in the tech sector aim to integrate their systems and ideologies into the military-industrial complex. Michael joins us again to discuss the deep technological, ethical, and political contradictions that undermine their claims to superiority of any kind. As Luckey and his ilk create and operate the machinery of American imperialism, we must reject their claims to superiority and their ascension up the chain of command. Subscribe at patreon.com/thismachinekills to help support TMK and hear premium episodes every week! • Read Michael’s excellent essay on the politics of drone warfare and drone witnessing: The Testimony of Drones https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/essay/the-testimony-of-drones/ • Follow Michael on twitter: https://twitter.com/richardson_m_a • Check out his work: https://www.arts.unsw.edu.au/our-people/michael-richardson Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl).

We jump into the abyss of Anduril Industries—one of the most actually evil, yet little known, technology companies in existence today—and Palmer Luckey, its ultra right-wing founder and Peter Thiel acolyte. To help us discuss how Silicon Valley is bringing its brand of innovation and disruption to the military-industrial complex, we’re joined by Michael Richardson, a senior research fellow at the University of New South Wales and expert on the cultural politics of military technology and drone warfare. • Read Michael’s excellent essay on the politics of drone warfare and drone witnessing: The Testimony of Drones https://sydneyreviewofbooks.com/essay/the-testimony-of-drones/ • Follow Michael on twitter: https://twitter.com/richardson_m_a • Check out his work: https://www.arts.unsw.edu.au/our-people/michael-richardson Subscribe at patreon.com/thismachinekills to hear the second part of conversation with Michael and get more premium episodes every week! Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl).

We discuss the aftermath of the election, including the banner year for the tech sector, the power dynamics of a Biden/Harris administration, the dynastic conspiracy of interests in San Francisco politics, the risks of a disengaged polity, and the need for an active left. Subscribe at patreon.com/thismachinekills to help support TMK and hear premium episodes every week! Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl).

We’re joined by economist Marshall Steinbaum for a post-mortem on the election results as we work through some critical questions: What comes next? What does a Biden/Harris administration hold for the future of technology policy, labor organizing, and the American economy? What is to be done? How can aggressive antitrust action help stop the bleeding from Prop 22 and put workers on the offensive against capital? All this and more as Marshall lays out the terrain of the uphill battle ahead of us. Follow Marshall on twitter: twitter.com/econ_marshall and check out his work: https://marshallsteinbaum.org/ Subscribe to TMK on patreon for access to premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl).

We enter Phase 3 in our analysis of the urbanization of technology capital. Planetary platforms like Alphabet and Amazon have reached the point where they possess the power and desire to do more than just provide services or consult on managerial changes. Tech companies struggle against the last remaining binds that limit their full ascension to sovereignty. We have a future to win – or lose. Subscribe at patreon.com/thismachinekills to hear this and more premium episodes every week! Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl).

Cold open: The Ballot or the Bullet So obviously this was recorded before the election, but our topic for this week’s episode is the exact analysis you need to understand how something like Prop 22 could pass in a landslide. We dive into the rise of smart/platform urbanism by guiding you through the urbanization of technology capital over three phases, each one grabbing more power: oversight of city governance, operation of city services, and ownership of city space. This episode builds on two academic articles Jathan recently wrote on platform urbanism. Here’s paywalled links, which you can unlock by plugging the links into https://scihub.wikicn.top/ • Cyberspace and Cityscapes: On the Emergence of Platform Urbanism https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02723638.2020.1721055?journalCode=rurb20 • Who Owns the Future City? Phases of Technological Urbanism and Shifts in Sovereignty https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0042098020913427 Subscribe to TMK on Patreon for access to the second part of this episode—and for premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl).