Silicon Valley wants to shape our future, but why should we let it? Every Thursday, Paris Marx is joined by a new guest to critically examine the tech industry, its big promises, and the people behind them. Tech Won’t Save Us challenges the notion that tech alone can drive our world forward by showing that separating tech from politics has consequences for us all, especially the most vulnerable. It’s not your usual tech podcast.
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episode 63: The Sunset of the Californian Ideology? w/ Richard Barbrook
Paris Marx is joined by Richard Barbrook to discuss how the Californian Ideology illustrated the neoliberalism of Silicon Valley, whether it’s still relevant in the present, and how games can be used for political purposes.
Richard Barbrook is the author of “Imaginary Futures: From Thinking Machines to the Global Village” and “Class Wargames: Ludic subversion against spectacular capitalism.” He’s a senior lecturer in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Westminster. Follow Richard on Twitter as @richardbarbrook.
Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.
Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.
Also mentioned in this episode:
- Read the original Californian Ideology essay in Mute Magazine and Richard’s thoughts on the 20th anniversary in “The Internet Revolution: From Dot-com Capitalism to Cybernetic Communism.”
- France Insoumise presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon released a game called Fiscal Combat that helped inspire Corbyn Run.
- Richard mentions Guy Debord’s “A Game of War” and Bertell Ollman’s “Class Struggle” board games.
- Other resources: Marshall McLuhan, Fred Turner’s “From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the Rise of Digital Utopianism,” and Guy Debord’s “The Society of the Spectacle.”