Fully Automated Luxury Communism A Manifesto

136–7
DeLong, J. Bradford, 64–5
dementia, 143
Dementia Tax, 142
democratic people, 187
Deutsche Bank, 103, 105
Deutscher, Isaac, 243
Diamandis, Peter, 129, 135, 136
diesel vehicles, 105
digitisation, 40
Discorsi (Machiavelli), 95
disruptions. See also specific disruptions
energy and, 94–6
food, surplus and, 159–60
d.light, 109
DNA, 144, 147, 150, 151, 241–2
double helix model, 149
Doug, 7–8
Drucker, Peter, 51, 59–60, 79, 85, 232
dwarf planets, 130

E. coli, 148n
Earth BioGenome Project, 146
East Coast Main Line, 203–4
economic globalisation, 197–8
economies relocalisation of, 207–8 worker-owned, 207–8, 211–12, 219
egg whites, cellular agriculture and, 177–9
Ehrlich, Paul, 167 The Population Bomb, 166
Eisenhower, Dwight, 136n, 137
elderly care, 92
electoral politics, 195
electoralism, society and, 194–6
elite technocracy, 185–8
Elysium (film), 154–8
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 235
Endless West, 180
Endogenous Technological Change (Romer), 63
‘The End of History’ (Fukuyama), 15–17
The End of History and the Last Man

(Fukuyama), 16 energy consumption of, 99–100 cost of storage technologies for, 105 disruption and, 94–6 free, 99–101 future of, 105–6 insulation of, 113–15 minimising consumption of, 220 post-scarcity in, 94–116 renewable (See renewable energy) solar, 101–5 wind, 111–13 energy transition, politics of, 218 Engels, Friedrich The Communist Manifesto, 51–2 England, 114. See also Britain enlightenment, 187 environmental consequences, of Second Disruption, 96 An Essay on the Principle of Population (Malthus), 163–4 ethnic people, 187 excess deaths, 114, 220 experience, power of, 46–8 exponential travel, 39–40 ‘extreme supply’, 37

‘fake news’, 24
Falcon 9 rocket, 121, 122, 156
Farage, Nigel, 29
farming, 167–8
feedback loop, 205
fertility rates, 139–40, 142
finance, socialising, 207
Financial Policy Committee, 229
Finless Foods, 172, 173
First Disruption, 10–11, 31–2, 72, 79, 94, 134, 149, 159, 237
‘First Machine Age ’, 32
Fisher, Mark, 17–18
FLAC. See Fully Automated Luxury Communism
food as information, 164–8

Index

271

surplus, disruptions and, 159–60

Food and Agriculture Organisation, 161

food banks, 24

‘food stamps’, 24

Ford, Henry, 70–1

fossil fuels, 106, 107, 118–19, 188–9, 218–20, 239

Foxconn, 78

‘Fragment on Machines’, 51

free energy, 99–101

free market economies, 227

Freedom Pass, 215

Frey, Carl Benedikt, 87

Friedman, Milton, 36, 225

From Marx to the Market (Łaski and Brus), 230–1

Fukuyama, Francis, 23, 198 ‘The End of History’, 15–17 The End of History and the Last Man, 16

Fully Automated Luxury Communism (FALC) about, 12, 50–51, 237–39 as a beginning, 242–3 benefits of shift to, 186 capitalism, 51–3 climate change and, 189 communism, 53–6 information goods, 63–5 internationalism of, 197 leverage of anchor institutions under, 217 Luxury Populism and, 192–4 post-capitalism and information, 59–60 post-capitalism without communism, 56–9 productivity revolution, 60–3 role of central banks in, 228 Taylorism, 60–3 visionaries and, 239–42

gene editing, 150, 152

future, energy and the, 105–6

Galileo, 32
GDP, end of, 232–6

gene sequencing, 148–9

gene therapies, 149–54

General Motors (GM), 105–6

The General Problems of the Functioning of the Socialist Economy (Brus), 231

genetic information, 144–9

genetic inheritance, 149

geriatric care, 92

GES (Global Exploration Strategy), 125–6

global capitalism, 221–2

Global Exploration Strategy (GES), 125–6

Global North, 99, 101, 106, 162, 163, 218–19, 222, 228, 231, 234

global poverty, reduction of, 221

Global South, 99, 101, 106–11, 115, 148, 218–22, 231

global transportation networks, rise of, 34

global warming, 197

globalisation, economic, 197–8

globalism, against, 197–200

Glyph, 180

GM (General Motors), 105–6

Google, 85, 171

Gosplan agency, 226–8

Gou, Terry, 78

‘grassroots’ campaigns, 190

Great Depression, 233

Great Recession, 24

Greece, 28

green movement, 238–9

green politics, 188–92

greenhouse gases, 174–5

Greenspan, Alan, 26

The Green Revolution, 164

Grenfell Tower, 206–8

Grundrisse (Marx), 51–2, 56–7, 61–3

Guttenberg Bible, 241

Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV), 205

272

fully automated luxury communism

Hayabusa spacecraft, 131
Hayek, F. A., 225
HDV (Haringey Development Vehicle), 205
healthcare Britain and, 213–14 post-scarcity in, 138–58 in UK, 215–16 United States and, 213–14
Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, 16
heme, 176–7
Henderson, Bruce, 46–7
Henderson Curve, 46–7
Hinkley Point C, 113
Hinton, Geofrey, 91
history, in 2008, 20–1
Hobbes, Thomas, 139
Holt, William, 44–5
Horse Manure Crisis, 73, 134
Houdini 6, 81
Human Genome Project, 144–5, 146
human rights, centrality of, 193–4
hurricanes, 97–8
Huxley, Aldus, 19
IBM, 80
Ibn Khallikan, 40–2
IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development), 221
IDA (International Development Association), 221
IEA (International Energy Agency), 103, 105
ignorant people, 187–8
Illumina, 146
imitation, integration vs., 198
Impossible Foods, 175–7
India, 110, 166
Industrial Revolution, 33
industry, 32–6
inertia, measuring, 25–30
infectious diseases, 142–3
information about, 37–48 biology as, 39 food as, 164–8 Marx on, 49 post-capitalism and, 59–60
information goods, 63–5
information technology and robotics, 76
Institute for Global Prosperity at University College London, 214
integration, imitation vs., 198
internal energy insulation, 113
International Astronautical Congress, 119
International Bank for Energy Prosperity, 222
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), 221
International Development Association (IDA), 221
International Energy Agency (IEA), 100–1, 103, 105
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), 103–4
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), 166
internationalism, 197–200
internet bandwidth, 45–6
Interplanetary Transport System (ITS), 119, 120
IPCC, 101
IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency), 103–4
IRRI (International Rice Research Institute), 166
Ishee, David, 9, 153–4
ITS (Interplanetary Transport System), 119, 120

Jain, Naveen, 127–8

Jameson, Fredric, 17n

Japanese Space Agency, 131

JD.com, 89

Jennings, Ken, 80, 81

Jevons, William, 164, 167

Jevons Paradox, 164

Index

273

Kalanick, Travis, 84
Kalecki, Michał, 230, 231
Kasparov, Garry, 80
Kennedy, Robert, 233
Keynes, John Maynard, 51, 56–9, 243
‘KIVA’ robot, 89
Kodak, 40–2
Kranzberg, Melvin ‘Six Laws of Technology’, 237
Kuiper belt, 130
Kurdi, Alan, 156–7
Kuznets, Simon, 233
labour, when capital becomes, 69–71
Labour Party, 229
Łaski, Kazimierz From Marx to the Market, 230–1
LEDs, 242
Lehman Brothers, 21
Leia, 4–5
Lendlease, 205
Leninism, 196
Leontief, Wassily, 75–6
Letter on the Economic Possibilities of Our Grandchildren, 56–7
Lewicki, Chris, 132
Lewis, Clive, 207
life expectancy, 139–40, 142, 166
lithium, 117, 118
livestock farming, 169–70
‘lost decade ’, 26
Luther, Martin, 240–1
luxury populism electoralism and society, 194–6 against elite technocracy, 185–8 FALC and, 192–4 against globalism, 197–200 green politics and red politics, 188–92 towards internationalism, 197–200
Machiavelli, Niccolò Discorsi, 95
Madrid Protocol, 136
Malthus, Thomas, 167 An Essay on the Principle of Population, 163–4
market capitalism about, 197–8 emergence of, 39–40
market socialism, autonomy of publicly owned firms under, 231
Mars, 120
Martinelli, Luke, 226
Marx, Karl on capitalism, 16, 34–6, 35, 51, 54–5, 128, 199 The Communist Manifesto, 51–2 compared to Wyclife, 241 Grundrisse, 51–2, 56–7, 61–3 on information, 49 on mode of production, 195 on production, 60 on technology, 237
May, Theresa, 29, 141, 206
McAfee, Andrew, 93
McCauley, Raymond, 146
McDonnell, John, 207
meat cultured, 170–5 synthetic, 168–70 from vegetables, 175–7
medicine, automation in, 91
meganucleases, 150
Memphis Meats, 172, 173
Mendel, Gregor, 149
migration, globalism and, 197
milk, cellular agriculture and, 177–9
Millennium Project, 87–8
minerals, 117–18, 134–7. See also resources
MinION sequencer, 148
M-Kopa, 109
mode of production, 195
modern welfare state, 213
molecular assembly, 180
Monetary Policy Committee, 229
Moon Express, 124, 125–6, 127, 130

274

fully automated luxury communism

Moore, Gordon, 42–4, 46
Moore’s Law, 41, 44–5, 81, 143, 145
Moravec’s Paradox, 81, 82
Mosa Meats, 172
M-Pesa, 109
municipal protectionism, 207, 212, 213,
216
music industry, 234–5
Musk, Elon, 119–21, 135
MX1, 125
MX9, 125
Myconius, Friedrich, 240

Napster, 154
NASA, 120, 122, 124, 126, 128, 131, 137
National Energy Investment Banks (NEIBs), 219, 221
National Health Service (NHS), 210, 213
nationalisation, 213
near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), 38–9, 130–1
NEAs (near-Earth asteroids), 38–9, 130–1
NEIBs (National Energy Investment Banks), 219, 221
neoliberalism, 26–7, 228
neoliberalism, break with Carillion, 201–3 decarbonisation, 217–23 East Coast Main Line, 203–4 Grenfell Tower, 206–8 Haringey Development Vehicle (HDV), 205 Preston Model, 208–11 Universal Basic Services (UBS), 213–17 worker-owned businesses and banks, 211–12
New Labour, 207
Newcomen, Thomas, 33
Newton, Isaac, 32
NHS (National Health Service), 210, 213

nickel, 118
Nigeria, 107–8
Obama, Barack, 2, 9, 21, 128
Of-Grid, 109–10
One Planet Tax, 222
Orwell, George, 19
Osborne, Michael, 87
OSIRIS-REx study, 131
ouroboros, 205
Outer Space Treaty (1967), 127, 136
outsourcing, 202–4, 207, 217
‘Oxi’ vote, 28

Passivhaus, 114
‘peak copper’, 118
peak horse, 72–4
peak human, 74–8
PECO engine, 125
Perfect Day Foods, 178
Peter, 5–6
PETMAN, 82–3
petrol vehicles, 105
phenylketonuria (PKU), 147, 147n
Philips, 77–8
phosphorus, 118
photography, 402
photosynthesis, 168
photovoltaic (PV) cells, 47, 102–15
PKU (phenylketonuria), 147, 147n
Planetary Resources, 129, 130, 132, 135, 136–7
Podemos party, 27–8, 30
political transformation, vehicles for, 194
politics of anti-austerity, 201 of energy transition, 218 green, 188–92 red, 188–92 relationship between technology and, 237
population, 139–40
The Population Bomb (Ehrlich), 166
populism, 187–8. See also luxury

Index

275

populism
Post, Mark, 170–2, 175, 176
post-capitalism
information and, 59–60
without communism, 56–9
poverty, 24–5
Preston Model, 208–11, 213
private space industry, 120–1
privatisation, 202–4, 207, 209–10
production, mode of, 195
productivity paradox, 233
productivity revolution, 60–3
progressive procurement, 207
property-owning democracy, 25
prototype politics, 198
PV (photovoltaic) cells, 47, 102–5

radical politics, revival of, 27–8
railway lines, 33–4
realism, capitalist, 17–9
red politics, 188–92
Rees-Mogg, Jacob, 206–7
Reformation, 240, 241
regeneration, 207
Reither, Walter, 70–1
Relativity Space, 123, 124
renewable energy about, 104, 108 financing, 219–20 generating and storing, 218–19 green movement and, 238–9 transitioning to, 218–19
renewables, 106
‘Reopening the American Frontier: Exploring How the Outer Space Treaty Will Impact American Commerce and Settlement in Space ’, 129
Resolution Foundation, 58
resources asteroid mining, 119–20 globalism and, 197 post-scarcity in, 117–37 private space industry, 120–1 space, 119–37
Ricardo, David, 69, 233
rice production, 161–2
Richards, Bob, 124
Rifkin, Jeremy, 79
Rio Earth Summit, 98, 197
robots about, 78, 133 Atlas, 82–3, 132 da Vinci surgery robot, 90 information technology and robotics, 76 ‘KIVA’, 89 rise of, 80–2
Rocket Lab, 121, 122, 123
Romer, Paul, 63–5, 199–200
Roosevelt, Franklin, 194
Rutter, Brad, 80
Sanders, Bernie, 29, 30
Saturn V, 120, 122
Saudi Arabia, 220–1
Schumpeter, Joseph, 36
Scottish National Party, 28
Second Disruption, 11, 32–6, 72–4, 79, 94, 96, 106, 134, 139, 141, 163, 188, 190, 192, 198, 201, 208, 217, 232–3, 236, 238, 241
Selden, Mike, 172, 173
self-regulation, consequences of, 206
‘Sermon on Indulgences and Grace ’ (Luther), 241
Silicon Valley, 196
‘Six Laws of Technology’ (Kranzberg), 237
Skelton, Noel, 25
Smith, Adam, 69, 233
‘Social Prosperity for the Future ’, 214
socialised capital market, 230–2
socialism, 191
society, electoralism and, 194–6
soil fertility, 118
‘solar home’, 113–14
solar power/energy about, 101–5, 107 Global South and, 106–11

276

fully automated luxury communism

in Saudi Arabia, 220–1 Solow, Robert, 233 Sondergaard, Peter, 87 space asteroid mining, 133–4 falling costs of, 122–4 mineral wealth in, 134–7 Moon Express, 125–6 near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), 130–1 Outer Space Treaty (1967), 127 as private industry, 120–1 private sector, 132–3 SPACE Act (2015), 2, 9 Space Launch System, 120 Space Shuttle programme, 122 SpaceX, 119–21, 122, 133–4, 156 speculative economy, repressing the, 229–30 Sputnik, 137, 153 state socialism, 213 steam engine, 93, 95, 149, 164, 201, 238 steam power, 33 Summers, Larry, 64–5, 116, 199–200 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, 24 surplus, food, disruptions and, 159–60 sustenance about, 178–9 cultured meat, 170–5 egg whites, 177–9 food, surplus and disruptions, 159–60 meat from vegetables, 175–7 milk, 177–9 planetary limits, 160–4 post-scarcity in, 159–81 synthetic meat, 168–70 wine, 177–81 synthetic meat, 168–70 Syriza, 28, 30 TALEN (transcription activator-like efector-based nucleases), 150 Taylor, Frederick, 60–3, 85 Taylorism, 60–3

technological unemployment, 86–8
technology Marx on, 237 relationship between politics and, 237
Technology and Unemployment report, 53
Terran 1 rocket, 124
Tesla, 84, 85, 106
Thatcher, Margaret, 206–7
Third Disruption, 11, 37–48, 70, 79, 82, 92, 116, 143–4, 148, 156, 171, 185–8, 192–6, 201, 212–4, 217, 221, 226, 232, 234, 236, 238, 241–3
3-D Magnetic Recording technology, 45–6
3-D printing, 122–4, 127
Tithebarn project, 208
transatlantic telegraph cable, 34
transcription activator-like efectorbased nucleases (TALEN), 150
transportation, in UK, 215
travel, exponential, 39–40
Trump, Donald, 21, 24, 29, 30
Trussell Trust, 24
Turnspit dog, 72–3
Uber, 84, 85
UBI (Universal Basic Income), 224–6
UBS (Universal Basic Services), 207–8, 213–17, 224, 226, 236
UK ageing in Britain, 141–4 healthcare in, 215–16 transportation in, 215
UKIP, 28
unemployment, 26
unfreedom, 214
unions, in Britain, 211–12
Universal Basic Income (UBI), 224–6
Universal Basic Services (UBS), 207–8, 213–17, 224, 226, 236
University College London, 90
US Department of Agriculture, 178
US Food and Drug Administration, 153

Index

277

US National Institute of Health, 147
US National Space Council, 129
US Senate Committee on Commerce,
Science and Transportation, 129
utopia, from crisis to, 48–9

V2, 137
Valeti, Uma, 173
vegetables, meat from, 175–7
Verne, Jules Around the World in Eighty Days, 33
von Braun, Wernher, 120, 128
voting, 195

wage-labour, 35
Wagner, Erika, 135
Wales, 114
Watson (computer), 80
Watson, James, 144, 149
Watt, James, 33
Watt’s steam engine, 93, 95, 149, 201,
238
The Wealth of Nations (Smith), 69–70
wheat production, 161–2, 165
Whole Foods Market, 88
Wikipedia, 235
wind power/energy, 111–13
windfall tax, 230
wine, cellular agriculture and, 177–81
work, future of, 92–3
worker-owned cooperatives, 209–10
worker-owned economy, 207–8, 211–12,
219
World Bank, 221, 222
Wyclife, John, 239–41

Xplorer, 132

Yang (factory worker), 1–2

ZFNs (zinc finger nucleases), 150 zinc, 118
zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), 150 Žižek, Slavoj, 17n

278

fully automated luxury communism