

Paul Kingsnorth: How to fight the Machine
In a captivating conversation, Paul Kingsnorth, a seasoned writer and former editor of The Ecologist, delves into the themes of his new book, Against the Machine. He critiques the dehumanizing grip of modernity and likens AI to the 'Antichrist.' Kingsnorth advocates for a radical rethink of cultural values, suggesting we let the contemporary West collapse to foster human-centric societies. He champions a thoughtful resistance to technology, emphasizes the need to protect childhood from screens, and explores the spiritual dimensions of our digital lives.
01:23:18
Modernity As A Tightening Net
- Paul Kingsnorth feels modernity is an inhuman system tightening around us like a net being drawn.
- He argues we are losing human qualities as technology becomes the dominant environment.
The Left-Brain Dominance Of Modernity
- Modernity is a way of seeing that emphasises parts over wholes, producing mechanistic thinking.
- Kingsnorth warns this left-brain view erodes community, place, prayer, and tradition.
The Machine As A Historical Pattern
- The machine as a recurring historical phenomenon predates the Enlightenment and industrialisation.
- The modern version combines scientific critique of religion with a new theology of progress.
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Intro
00:00 • 4min
Feeling of Alienation from Modernity
03:41 • 3min
Do You Hate Modernity?
07:05 • 3min
When Did the Machine Begin?
10:21 • 3min
Is This Yearning New or Eternal?
13:45 • 3min
Globalization and Fossil Fuels' Role
16:50 • 3min
Is Technology a Devilish Force?
20:02 • 4min
Is AI an External Evil or Human Project?
24:03 • 4min
Reactions to the Culture War
27:40 • 3min
Let the West Die So We Can Live
30:52 • 2min
Practical Secession: How to Live Against the Machine
33:16 • 9min
Should We Sabotage Tech Infrastructure?
41:54 • 2min
Ad break
44:01 • 1min
Embracing Luddism and Limits of Technology
45:21 • 2min
Warnings Against Nationalist Idols
47:06 • 5min
Politics Beyond Left and Right
52:10 • 7min
Religion as Resistance to the Machine
59:16 • 4min
Dark Mountain Roots and Starting Again
01:03:34 • 3min
Digital Enclosure and the Net Tightening
01:06:08 • 2min
Protecting Childhood from Screens
01:08:20 • 7min
Should We Have Children Now?
01:15:00 • 5min
Where Do Your Politics Sit?
01:20:05 • 47sec
Is the Internet a Neutral Tool?
01:20:52 • 3min
Christian Living Amid the Machine
01:23:38 • 3min
Outro
01:26:30 • 2min
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UnHerd’s Freddie Sayers welcomes Paul Kingsnorth to the UnHerd Club an exclusive interview about his new book Against the Machine.
Kingsnorth has spent decades charting the alienation and upheaval brought about by modernity. In this wide-ranging interview he sets out why he sees today’s technological order as inhuman, why AI may be the 'Antichrist', and why he believes the West must be allowed to die.
What does it mean to live as a dissident inside the Machine? And what lines must we draw if we are to remain human?
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