The Counterculture and the Tech Industry

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In many tech histories that we're familiar with and the narratives around the tech industry, it has a very kind of anti-establishment framing. That comes out of this period in the late 60s and through the 70s, where there's kind of a backlash to this linkage between the tech industry and the military. There are some people who are presenting the narrative that actually technology is going to allow us to take down these hierarchies.

Paris Marx is joined by Malcolm Harris to discuss the sordid history of Silicon Valley, including the long influence of eugenics at Stanford, how Silicon Valley profited from the United States’ wars throughout the 20th century, and why the libertarian narrative of tech hide a much darker reality.

Malcolm Harris is the author of Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World. You can follow Malcolm on Twitter at @BigMeanInternet.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

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