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Against the Machine

£12.99

Novelist, poet, and essayist Paul Kingsnorth presents a wholly original – and terrifying – account of the technological-cultural matrix enveloping all of us. With insight into the spiritual and economic roots of techno-capitalism, Kingsnorth reveals how the Machine, in the name of progress, has choked Western civilization, is destroying the Earth itself, and is reshaping us in its image. From the First Industrial Revolution to the rise of artificial intelligence, he shows how the hollowing out of humanity has been a long game – and how your very soul is at stake. It takes effort to remain truly human in the age of the Machine. Here Kingsnorth reminds us what humanity requires: a healthy suspicion of entrenched power; connection to land, nature and heritage; and a deep attention to matters of the spirit.

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ISBN: 9781837310975 Category: Philosophy Tags: Ethical & social aspects of IT, Ethical issues: scientific, technological & medical developments, Impact of science & technology on society, Social & political philosophy
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Description

*New York Times bestseller*

How a force that’s hard to name, but which we all feel, is reshaping what it means to be human

In Against the Machine, “furiously gifted” (The Washington Post) novelist, poet, and essayist Paul Kingsnorth presents a wholly original-and terrifying-account of the technological-cultural matrix enveloping all of us. With insight into the spiritual and economic roots of techno-capitalism, Kingsnorth reveals how the Machine, in the name of progress, has choked Western civilization, is destroying the Earth itself, and is reshaping us in its image. From the First Industrial Revolution to the rise of artificial intelligence, he shows how the hollowing out of humanity has been a long game-and how your very soul is at stake.

It takes effort to remain truly human in the age of the Machine. Here Kingsnorth reminds us what humanity requires: a healthy suspicion of entrenched power; connection to land, nature and heritage; and a deep attention to matters of the spirit. Prophetic and poetic, Against the Machine is a spiritual manual for dissidents in the technological age.

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Additional information

Weight 0.269 kg
Dimensions 19.7 × 12.9 × 2.2 cm
Author

Kingsnorth, Paul

Publisher

Penguin Books

Imprint

Penguin Books

Cover

Paperback

Pages

368

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

338.064 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K

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Canadian poet Evan Jones [Ευριπίδης Ιωάννου] lives in Manchester. His first collection of poetry, Nothing Fell Today But Rain (2003), was a finalist for the Governor-General’s Literary Award for Poetry. Men of the Same Name (2025), his most recent collection, was long-listed for the Anglo-Hellenic League's Runciman Prize and was a finalist for the Derek Walcott Poetry Prize. His translation from the Modern Greek, The Barbarians Arrive Today: Poems and Prose of C.P. Cavafy (2020), was a TLS Book of the Year.

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