The Complexity of Democracy in the West

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I think the point that you make about the complexity and the lack of democratic control that comes out of that is Really interesting, right? And I think really illustrative of what's going on in the world. In a lot of areas we have kind of lost the sovereignty to make these core decisions about the way that our societies are being run Because these systems are just so complex and so Outside of our ability to understand them. The fact that part of recent people distrust politicians so much is that they can't do anything Right, they can't actually affect change for their nations.

Paris Marx is joined by Tim Maughan to discuss the exploitative infrastructures that make the modern world possible, how complex technological systems rob us of our power to control our collective destiny, and why predicting trends isn’t hard when you understand capitalism.

Tim Maughan is the author of “Infinite Detail” and “Ghost Hardware.” He’s also written for BBC Future, New Scientist, and Motherboard, and is writing a new column for OneZero. Follow Tim on Twitter as @timmaughan.

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.

Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Also mentioned in this episode:

Read about the trip Tim took with Unknown Fields on a container ship, at manufacturing sites in China, and near a toxic lake in Inner Mongolia that’s the product of mining rare-earth minerals.
Read the first article in Tim’s new column, No One’s Driving.
Kim Stanley Robinson says billionaire space visions are “just a fantasy of our culture right now.”
Media mentioned by Tim: Judge Dredd comics, The Running Man, RoboCop, Rollerball, and Ad Astra.

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