Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech by Brian Merchant

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


"There is a Spectre haunting Europe, the spectre of Luddism."

Marx knew the value of a good story and so invoked Shelley's Frankenstein. Brian Merchant's Blood in the Machine shows how the spectre Mary Shelley was, in part, referring to were the Luddites destroying looms in Northern England. Both Percey and Byron were invested in the cause and she was Godwin's daughter, an important socialist thinker of the time. As a student of her work, I did not realize how important that historical context is.

This is only one aspect of Merchant's multi-faceted history and call to arms. Much of the historical parts show how misrepresented the followers of the mythical Ned Ludd were. In revealing how they were a giant labour movement advocating for better conditions in the England of the 1810s, Merchent also draws vivid parallels to the "gig" economy of Uber drivers and Amazon fulfillment centres. In the end, that is what makes Blood in the Machine so relevant.

The book ends pointing out how little difference there is between the inventors of the 19th century and the Tech Bro boy wonders of our day. As our jobs get more and more precarious and automated away, the same arguments are being used by these powerful men: It is inevitable, the robots are coming for your jobs. That's not the full picture. It is they who want to use tech to amass more wealth for themselves. The Luddites knew that and we should follow their example.



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