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Against the Megamachine: Essays on Empire & Its Enemies
Cultural Studies. David Watson's wide-ranging essays ponder such themes as the state, empire and war, humanity's tragic relation to the natural world, and the contemporary mass society generated by industrial capitalism and modern technology. His impassioned critique offers a vision of social transformation open to diverse possibilities, and suggests where a new politics must begin: as a radical challenge to the mystique of progress, in defense of nature, memory and spirit.
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First published December 1, 1998
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About the author
David Watson
2 books3 followersAn American anarchist author, born 1951. See also George Bradford.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 15, 2011
This collection of essays compiles nearly 20 years of profoundly radical writing on society, the environment, and technology. Most of the contributions are from the newspaper The Fifth Estate, published in Detroit from 1965 to present. Many of the articles are full of references to social theorists, historians, philosophers, and radical thinkers throughout history, and there are many pages of dead-on analysis of current (now historical) events from Bhopal to Exxon-Valdez, from Vietnam to the (first) Gulf War, all very much relevant in 2011.
This is an important and overlooked document in the history of the last 30 years of radical thought, which asks questions few are willing to ask in a sincere, unflinching way. Are the problems of technology more deeply rooted and pervasive than we have previously been willing to consider? In a world system whose trajectory is clearly toward always increasing, always accelerating production, is capitalism more meaningfully understood as a mode of being than a narrowly-defined set of property relations? When will we stop thinking of environmental disasters as aberrations avoidable through regulation and recognize that they are an essential product of the megamachine?
As I write this Japan is probably about to experience a nuclear meltdown. I believe the tragic truth of this book is absolutely essential for our survival.
This is an important and overlooked document in the history of the last 30 years of radical thought, which asks questions few are willing to ask in a sincere, unflinching way. Are the problems of technology more deeply rooted and pervasive than we have previously been willing to consider? In a world system whose trajectory is clearly toward always increasing, always accelerating production, is capitalism more meaningfully understood as a mode of being than a narrowly-defined set of property relations? When will we stop thinking of environmental disasters as aberrations avoidable through regulation and recognize that they are an essential product of the megamachine?
As I write this Japan is probably about to experience a nuclear meltdown. I believe the tragic truth of this book is absolutely essential for our survival.
March 27, 2024
I mostly agree with most of the author's views. However, he expressed in a few places more support for feminism and antagonism for patriarchy than I do. And while I accept criticism of scientism, Watson was decidedly more anti-scientific than I am.
Likewise, while I acknowledge the importance of intuition as a basis for wisdom, he proclaims to be anti-rationalist, and ironically states such in very rational terms.
Lastly, Watson is critical of both capitalism and socialism, of which the latter he identifies as statism. In many essays, his analysis goes to the roots of industrialism if not deeper. Yet, in many essays he specifically condemns capitalism. I wonder if he is using the term to somehow encapsulate more than market-based economies and the totalitarian social structures of corporations, which as a whole are more powerful than most nations and have essentially bought a controlling interest in most governments.
Some essays were a bit too abstract or philosophical for me to easily digest, but others were more down to earth. Thus it took me longer than usual to finish the book. Overall I enjoyed it and will likely return to it again at some point.
Likewise, while I acknowledge the importance of intuition as a basis for wisdom, he proclaims to be anti-rationalist, and ironically states such in very rational terms.
Lastly, Watson is critical of both capitalism and socialism, of which the latter he identifies as statism. In many essays, his analysis goes to the roots of industrialism if not deeper. Yet, in many essays he specifically condemns capitalism. I wonder if he is using the term to somehow encapsulate more than market-based economies and the totalitarian social structures of corporations, which as a whole are more powerful than most nations and have essentially bought a controlling interest in most governments.
Some essays were a bit too abstract or philosophical for me to easily digest, but others were more down to earth. Thus it took me longer than usual to finish the book. Overall I enjoyed it and will likely return to it again at some point.
October 23, 2008
Fifth estate guy's collection of essays that cover a lot of ground, with an anti-technological stance at the base of his critique rather than just being the sole critique. The best part of this collection is that Watson comes back again and again to the need for us to make real, humyn connections with each other and re-connect to the land in order to fight the current Order of things. Read this.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews