They are among the biggest companies in the world: Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon have an outsized impact on the global economy and on our daily lives. Rob Larson examines the companies that have become synonymous with the glories and ills of contemporary capitalism. He makes the case for online socialism.

Resources:

Rob Larson, Bit Tyrants: The Political Economy of Silicon Valley Haymarket Books, 2020

The post The Unmitigated Power of Big Tech appeared first on KPFA.

Palm oil can be found in a staggering variety of food items and other products we consume every day. Max Haiven traces the history of this ubiquitous commodity’s production and use to reveal capitalism’s logics and imperial states’ depredations.

Max Haiven, Palm Oil: The Grease of Empire Pluto Press, 2022

Pluto Press’s Vagabonds series

The post Oily Business appeared first on KPFA.

Advancements in science are seen as symbols of human progress, but science has frequently served deadly ends. Historian Clifford Conner discusses how scientific research in the United States is deeply enmeshed with the military, and considers the purpose of trillions of dollars of spending on the military.

Resources:

Clifford D. Conner, The Tragedy of American Science: From Truman to Trump Haymarket Books, 2022

Science for the People

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Many U.S. military establishment bigwigs are pushing the development of automated and autonomous weapons systems. Roberto González questions whether this robo-fanaticism, as he calls it, is justified. He also describes efforts to address human warfighters’ distrust of machines.

Roberto J. González, War Virtually: The Quest to Automate Conflict, Militarize Data, and Predict the Future University of California Press, 2022

The post Automated Warfare appeared first on KPFA.

Too many hours, erratic schedules, not enough hours — and, of course, not enough pay: if you’re a worker in the U.S, time feels like the enemy. Yet, as sociologist Jamie McCallum argues, U.S. workers tend not to see their plight as a collective one and, in a particularly American way, often wear overwork as a badge of honor. (Encore presentation.)

Resources:

Jamie K McCallum, Worked Over: How Round-the-Clock Work Is Killing the American Dream Basic Books, 2020

photo: Marvin Meyer via Unsplash

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