Nonfiction

Scorched Earth: Beyond the Digital Age to a Post-Capitalist World

Scorched Earth: Beyond the Digital Age to a Post-Capitalist World

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  • Create Date：2022-05-12 09:52:13
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Jonathan Crary
  • ISBN：1784784443
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

In this uncompromising essay， Jonathan Crary presents the obvious but unsayable reality: our ‘digital age’ is synonymous with the disastrous terminal stage of global capitalism and its financialisation of social existence， mass impoverishment， ecocide， and military terror。 Scorched Earth surveys the wrecking of a living world by the internet complex and its devastation of communities and their capacities for mutual support。

This polemic by the author of 24/7 dismantles the presumption that social media could be an instrument of radical change and contends that the networks and platforms of transnational corporations are intrinsically incompatible with a habitable earth or with the human interdependence needed to build egalitarian post-capitalist forms of life。

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Reviews

Abraham Vanselow ，

Brutal and concise， Scorched Earth diagnoses the plague of our era。 While at times it almost feels that Carry’s central thesis could be reduced to the boomer notion that “phone bad”， he builds his argument in a way that makes you think ， “hm， maybe phone really are bad。” I hope he manages to write about the horrors of Tik-Tok before the data centers go up in flames。

Avery ，

This book is good but you have to accept the author's perspective as true and follow along with them about it。 It's polemical and well written， but it doesn't necessarily argue for the perspective than the internet is not going to exist in a few decades。 I found it interesting and compelling in this sense， but you have to be a little less than critical to read the work through。 If one rejects the premise that the internet is inherently capitalist or that it is going to break down in the climate This book is good but you have to accept the author's perspective as true and follow along with them about it。 It's polemical and well written， but it doesn't necessarily argue for the perspective than the internet is not going to exist in a few decades。 I found it interesting and compelling in this sense， but you have to be a little less than critical to read the work through。 If one rejects the premise that the internet is inherently capitalist or that it is going to break down in the climate collapse， then it is harder to read this。 I think it's well written， and the author has a lot of good citations to other authors to investigate as well。Ultimately， 4/5。 It's a quick read and it's worth engaging with polemically。 It's definitely technology critical。 。。。more

George L ，

"It is remarkable that at a moment of unparalleled danger for the future of the planet， for the very survival of human and animal life， that so many people should voluntarily confine themselves in the desiccated digital closets devised by a handful of sociocidal corporations。" We're only just coming to terms with the damage and reductiveness of relationships social-media has wrecked upon our communities。 This book is another lucid， diverse， and truly eloquent account of the social peril our cur "It is remarkable that at a moment of unparalleled danger for the future of the planet， for the very survival of human and animal life， that so many people should voluntarily confine themselves in the desiccated digital closets devised by a handful of sociocidal corporations。" We're only just coming to terms with the damage and reductiveness of relationships social-media has wrecked upon our communities。 This book is another lucid， diverse， and truly eloquent account of the social peril our current technologies underpinned by neoliberal ideology have put us in。 。。。more

Adam ，

The book convincingly makes the case that the hegemony of the artificial world contributes to the degradation of the real one - human society included。 None of this is new ground and Crary overstates the case at times （completely forgetting the existence of people with sight and mobility impairments， for example） but it's hard to argue with his well-supported thesis。 The internet is built for the ruling class and not for us。 The book convincingly makes the case that the hegemony of the artificial world contributes to the degradation of the real one - human society included。 None of this is new ground and Crary overstates the case at times （completely forgetting the existence of people with sight and mobility impairments， for example） but it's hard to argue with his well-supported thesis。 The internet is built for the ruling class and not for us。 。。。more

anthony ，

A scathing and welcome criticism of the internet， Crary shows how it’s inextricably linked with the systems that are destroying our planet， and as he convincingly argues， our very human essence。 His final chapter is the most “eye opening” in that it shows how our eyes are being disciplined to act in certain ways in digital environments， impacting how we relate to the world outside of our devices。 Data on our eyes， faces， and voices is harvested and redirected back at us in ways that degrade expe A scathing and welcome criticism of the internet， Crary shows how it’s inextricably linked with the systems that are destroying our planet， and as he convincingly argues， our very human essence。 His final chapter is the most “eye opening” in that it shows how our eyes are being disciplined to act in certain ways in digital environments， impacting how we relate to the world outside of our devices。 Data on our eyes， faces， and voices is harvested and redirected back at us in ways that degrade experiences that are essential to being human - warping our ability to properly empathize with others and experience life “offline。”Crary’s book feels important， one that should be borderline required reading， since we all live in some way online。 While discussing the work of Martin Buber， Crary says “the value of Buber’s work lies not in the degree of its originality but in the clarity with which it articulates what is intuitively known or apprehended by many; it has the familiarity and epiphanic force of the commonplace，” - which is exactly what Crary does here。 We all know that the internet is damaging us， Crary gives full force to the argument that is absolutely is。 。。。more

Bart ，

The internet is an integral function of late-stage capitalism， polluting minds and social relationships as rapidly as it damages the biosphere。 But take heart， Jonathan Crary exhorts – it’s not like the internet will last forever。Full review at:https://anoutsidechance。com/2022/03/3。。。 The internet is an integral function of late-stage capitalism， polluting minds and social relationships as rapidly as it damages the biosphere。 But take heart， Jonathan Crary exhorts – it’s not like the internet will last forever。Full review at:https://anoutsidechance。com/2022/03/3。。。 。。。more

David Wineberg ，

The internet is a trap， and we have fallen into it。 Powerful forces ensure we sink deeper。 In Scorched Earth， Jonathan Crary pulls back the curtain to reveal the true wizard， giant corporations， employing the internet to both pacify and divide everyone。 This is not division into likes and dislikes， political parties or socioeconomic class。 This is division right down to the individual， isolated and powerless。Crary says "If there is to be a livable and shared future on our planet， it will be a fu The internet is a trap， and we have fallen into it。 Powerful forces ensure we sink deeper。 In Scorched Earth， Jonathan Crary pulls back the curtain to reveal the true wizard， giant corporations， employing the internet to both pacify and divide everyone。 This is not division into likes and dislikes， political parties or socioeconomic class。 This is division right down to the individual， isolated and powerless。Crary says "If there is to be a livable and shared future on our planet， it will be a future offline， uncoupled from the world-destroying systems and operations of 24/7 capitalism。" He points to not just selling， which allows people to skip visiting stores， but doing almost everything online， to the point where it has become mandatory。 Companies routinely send customers somewhere online if they have complaints， warranty issues， want loyalty cards， discount coupons， and of course， direct purchases。 Banking is all but totally online; customers literally never have to visit their branch。 Voter registration is moving online。 So are business meetings， family reunions， education， tax filing， postage， and applications for everything from COVID-19 test kits to class action claims。 He says corporates "require digital compliance everywhere。" The keyword here is "require"。 More and more， there is no other way。 A shutdown of the internet would not merely cause angst amongst gamers， it would cause an almost complete halt to western society。 It is no longer even capable of handling business in-person。 Crary claims "The internet complex is now the comprehensive global apparatus for the dissolution of society。"This is because the internet has substituted for almost all social functions as well as commercial functions。 Endless scrolling fills hours a day。 Americans consult their smartphones over 200 times daily。 Contributing a comment online is essentially anonymous （and pointless）， and interaction is generalized， rarely personal。 Even when it is personal， it does not lead to closeness between people。This sociopathic behavior is rewarded and reinforced with likes， retweets， followers and points， sucking individuals into less and less personal contact。 He cites philosopher Bernard Stiegler: "'The hegemonic rule of the market' makes it impossible for an individual to love oneself or love others or to have any desire for the future。" For several years， headlines have been raging over younger generations feelings of a grim future， with less prosperity and success than their parents knew。 There is less marriage， more single households， and a clear satisfaction deficit。 Crary calls it presentism， as opposed to futurism， which held the light for countless generations。 Today people only see a downhill slide looking forward， so they focus on what's available today; infinite scrolling。 Presentism is a response to things like artificial intelligence， the next big thing on the corporate agenda: "One awaits this future as one would await death，" Crary says。It has also made idealism more shallow。 He says the Green New Deal is "absurd" because it does nothing to dampen demand。 It just satisfies users' need to acknowledge the problem today。 Lip service at best， but it shuts people up and out。 Signing an online petition is not canvassing door to door or participating in a sit-in。All of this fits in Crary's bucket he calls scorched earth: "Scorched earth capitalism destroys whatever allows groups and communities to pursue modes of self-sufficient subsistence， of self-governance or of mutual support。" It means the end of community to him: "The internet complex continues to mass produce these solitary subjectivities， to deter cooperative forms of association and to dissolve possibilities for reciprocity and collective responsibility。"An interesting example is the town hall meeting， totally anathema to corporate interests because it is beyond their reach。 Democracy remains a thorn。He puts the lie to the seeming ethereal nature of the internet， with its "wireless setups， the placelessness of data， and terms like 'virtual' and 'cloud'。" The reality is massive server farms， each consuming millions of gallons of water daily to dissipate the wasted heat generated by all the equipment。 The needs of exponential data growth show that in 65 years， server farms will take up more space than the entire land surface of the continental United States， he says。 We are headed towards nothing but internet。But it's also physically impossible。 Which means dislocations of varying sorts。 Again， not something to look forward to。Until then， the beat goes on。 For the corporations， it means even finer tuning of their online efforts。 Crary devotes the mot space on any subject to eyeballs and how to measure their operation。 The science of tracking and attracting eyeballs has advanced remarkably， and not for medical reasons。 Getting users to look where the company wants and click what the company wants is the focus of armies of people。 Users are directed and restricted。 Creativity， he says， cannot come from a Google search。For the elites， the priority remains: "keep people enclosed within the augmented unrealities of the internet complex， where experience is fragmented into a kaleidoscope of fleeting claims of importance， of neverending admonitions on how to conduct our lives， on what to buy and who to envy。" This is the daily grind for far too many。I can directly relate to a lot of what Crary says when he writes about the antisocial framework America is living。 I read and write all day， tasks requiring no one else's input， let alone direction。 I definitely meet with fewer people， and it's not simply because of the COVID-19 pandemic。 I do take pride in ever-increasing numbers of followers - for book reviews of all things。 Communicating with them has never led to anything real。 And I have no hesitancy about doing my shopping anywhere in the world - online。 The book made me feel a conformist， which is highly ironic if you knew me。It's a short， powerful book， written as an essay in three parts。 It can go on for a page without a paragraph break。 It's a polemic and a rant。 A number of Crary's assumptions are arguable when not simply wrong， but it doesn't change the overall truth of his message: we need to get back to communicating and working together。 We need to learn from the ever-shrinking societies of the world that have not yet succumbed to the internet life。 Because the path we're on leads to disaster。David Wineberg 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Scorched Earth: Beyond the Digital Age to a Post-Capitalist World

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Scorched Earth: Beyond the Digital Age to a Post-Capitalist World&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Scorched Earth: Beyond the Digital Age to a Post-Capitalist World&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0