Scorched Earth

Beyond the Digital Age to a Post-Capitalist World

Refusing the digital world of late capitalism

In this uncompromising essay, Jonathan Crary presents the obvious but unsayable reality: our "digital age" is synonymous with the disastrous terminal stage of global capitalism and its financialization of social existence, mass impoverishment, ecocide, and military terror. Scorched Earth surveys the wrecking of a living world by the internet complex and its devastation of communities and their capacities for mutual support.

This polemic by the author of 24/7 dismantles the presumption that social media could be an instrument of radical change and contends that the networks and platforms of transnational corporations are intrinsically incompatible with a habitable earth or with the human interdependence needed to build egalitarian post-capitalist forms of life.

©2022 Jonathan Crary (P)2022 Tantor

Astonishing book: a scorched earth critique of how corporations are laying waste to the human life world

This is a penetrating critique of the contemporary world — especially focused on internet capitalism — by one of the most formidable intelligences of our times, Jonathan Crary, the Meyer Schapiro Professor of Art History at Columbia University. What’s astonishing about Crary is his combination of distinct modes of erudition — his command of both the history of philosophy and innumerable sciences — with a searing humanist passion. I cannot recommend it more highly.

Fairly obvious assessment of today’s world society

Fairly obvious assessment of the capitalist internet based society bordering on platitude. No realistic insights or even speculation on the near to medium term future.