Fully Automated Luxury Communism by Aaron Bastani – a manifesto for the future

[editor]

I'm in!

Under Fully Automated Luxury Communism,” writes Aaron Bastani towards the conclusion of this short, dizzyingly confident book, “we will see more of the world than ever before, eat varieties of food we have never heard of, and lead lives equivalent – if we so wish – to those of today’s billionaires. Luxury will pervade everything as society based on waged work becomes as much a relic as the feudal peasant ...”

Fully Automated Luxury Communism by Aaron Bastani – a manifesto for the future

 

[SpackleFrog]

I'm in!



Fully Automated Luxury Communism by Aaron Bastani – a manifesto for the future

I haven't read it but I already hate it.

 

[editor]

I haven't read it but I already hate it.

You stick to being under the thumb of bosses and capitalism then. Enjoy!

 

[SpackleFrog]

You stick to being under the thumb of bosses and capitalism then. Enjoy!

There's nothing in there gonna help you end capitalism mate.

 

[Orang Utan]

You stick to being under the thumb of bosses and capitalism then. Enjoy!

Ahem...
Richer Sounds founder hands over control of hi-fi and TV firm to staff

 

[BristolEcho]

Ahem...
Richer Sounds founder hands over control of hi-fi and TV firm to staff

I was just about to say the exact same thing.

 

[Proper Tidy]

I don't really understand this FALC stuff. Doesn't it rely on mining saturn for minerals or something

 

[Proper Tidy]

We all liked Total Recall tbf

 

[mauvais]

Bastani is a rising young leftwing provocateur

Well, I liked this bit. He's 35.

 

[Orang Utan]

I don't really understand this FALC stuff. Doesn't it rely on mining saturn for minerals or something

That's just a minor technical problem which will be surmounted eventually. From what I've read, Bastani is content with asserting this in this book and just leaving it there.

 

[SpookyFrank]

I like the idea apart from the automation, the luxury and the communism, all of which have long been shown to be corrosive to the human spirit.

 

[SpackleFrog]

I don't really understand this FALC stuff. Doesn't it rely on mining saturn for minerals or something

It's just shallow trendy left politics, not much to it really. The basic idea is that under communism technology could massively improve living standards, but there's nothing about how we get from here to there. In fact Bastani regurgitates a sort of reheated Stalinism whereby communism becomes an inevitability at a certain stage of the development of the productive forces, and class struggle is relegated to a sociologically interesting phenomenon.

 

[mauvais]

I like the idea apart from the automation, the luxury and the communism, all of which have long been shown to be corrosive to the human spirit.

Sounds like you're tepid on the 'fully' too, TBH.

 

[editor]

There's nothing in there gonna help you end capitalism mate.

You haven't even read it

 

[Flavour]

For fuck's sake. Not Bastani again. If something is enjoyed by everyone as standard, it's no longer a luxury is it? Anyway. Don't worry about climate change, science will find a solution!

 

[editor]

Ahem...
Richer Sounds founder hands over control of hi-fi and TV firm to staff

You'll have to explain your 'killer' point. You have read the article, right?

 

[SpackleFrog]

You haven't even read it

I haven't read all of it but I've read excerpts and I've heard/read enough of Bastani to know the premise, which is laughable.

 

[editor]

I haven't read all of it but I've read excerpts and I've heard/read enough of Bastani to know the premise, which is laughable.

Ah you "haven't read it" but you sort of have read it at the same time? Gotcha.

 

[Orang Utan]

You'll have to explain your 'killer' point. You have read the article, right?

I don't need to. I was pointing out your contradictory post.
But, yes I have if it's the Guardian review

 

[Flavour]

"the replacement of most edible meat with synthetic flesh"

Why? Synthetic flesh? Why?

Anyway, FALC will come about, but the number of people around to enjoy it will be very few indeed.

 

[SpackleFrog]

Ah you "haven't read it" but you sort of have read it at the same time? Gotcha.

Yeah fair alright Have you read it? What did you think?

 

[Proper Tidy]

Tbf I'm all for a vision of communism where it's fun and everybody has a swimming pool instead of collectively harvesting moss or whatever, just wonder if some of this is a bit flaky

 

[DotCommunist]

Why? Synthetic flesh? Why?

Long live the new flesh.

 

[editor]

I don't need to. I was pointing out your contradictory post.
But, yes I have if it's the Guardian review

One is about a potential future. Richer Sounds is about now and is one of a near-microscopic amount of companies handing over power to the workers. But, whatever. I can't be arsed with your tedious attempts to turn it into an ad hominem-fest. Yawn and out.

 

[editor]

Tbf I'm all for a vision of communism where it's fun and everybody has a swimming pool instead of collectively harvesting moss or whatever, just wonder if some of this is a bit flaky

Of course it's flaky. It's sci-fi visioneer stuff, but it's fun to go along with it.

 

[SpackleFrog]

Of course it's flaky. It's sci-fi visioneer stuff, but it's fun to go along with it.

That's fair but it's not actually anything original is it?

 

[editor]

"the replacement of most edible meat with synthetic flesh"

Why? Synthetic flesh? Why?

Anyway, FALC will come about, but the number of people around to enjoy it will be very few indeed.

'Fake meat' is certainly turning into a multi-billion industry. I reckon there'll be a point in the future when people look back and go, "What? They drank the stuff that came from a cow's nipples?! Eeeeurgh""

 

[Orang Utan]

One is about a potential future. Richer Sounds is about now and is one of a near-microscopic amount of companies handing over power to the workers. But, whatever. I can't be arsed with your tedious attempts to turn it into an ad hominem-fest. Yawn and out.

I made one post pointing out your hypocrisy. You're bang to rights, so you bow out with an ad hominem of your own.

 

[editor]

That's fair but it's not actually anything original is it?

I'd say that there's literally millions of people who have never heard of FALC. And there's some interesting - and wildly fanciful - concepts in there that are worth discussing.

 

[SpackleFrog]

I'd say that there's literally millions of people who have never heard of FALC. And there's some interesting - and wildly fanciful - concepts in there that are worth discussing.

But nothing original.