Four Futures: Life After Capitalism

One of the most informative examinations of modern technological society that I've ever read. This book introduces the reader to four realistic potential trajectories for the the near future of our global political economy. It incorporates (and also critiques) Marxist and Socialist visions of the future and contrasts them with the ambitions of todays wealthy and poweful elites. And despite the theory-heavy subject matter of the book, Frase draws from broadly recognizable pop cultural examples to illustrate the four potential futures as they're being discussed. This makes it a very useful introductory text and mostly accessible to the general population. Frase is careful not to fall into sensationalist predictions of pure utopias or dystopias, but does issue many stark warnings about the direction in which are currently headed. The last chapter, on Exterminism, is quite disturbing, but in my opinion it's the most important one of them all. Although it seems outlandish at first, it still maintains an alarming sense of plausibility, so it never feels like fear-mongering. I learned so much from this book and would highly recommend it!