Inventing the Future

1. Folk politics is inadequate for transforming capitalism

Folk politics names a constellation of ideas and intuitions within the contemporary left that informs the common-sense ways of organising, acting and thinking politics.

Folk politics defined. Folk politics refers to leftist approaches that prioritize local, immediate, and small-scale actions over large-scale systemic change. It includes tactics like:

• Protest marches and occupations
• Horizontal organizing and direct democracy
• Prefigurative politics (building alternatives in the present)
• Emphasis on authenticity and "human-scale" solutions

Limitations of folk politics. While these approaches can be valuable for building movements, they are insufficient for transforming global capitalism:

• Lack of scalability beyond local contexts
• Inability to tackle complex, abstract systems of power
• Tendency toward defensive struggles rather than proposing alternatives
• Failure to build lasting institutional power

Need for new strategies. The left must move beyond folk politics to develop approaches capable of confronting capitalism as a totalizing system. This requires embracing complexity, abstraction, and large-scale coordination.

2. The left must reclaim modernity and envision a post-work future

The future has been cancelled.

Reclaiming the future. The contemporary left has largely abandoned visions of technological and social progress, ceding this territory to neoliberalism. To regain relevance, the left must:

• Articulate compelling visions of a better future
• Embrace technological development rather than romanticizing the past
• Develop a "hyperstition" of progress - a vision that helps bring itself into being

Post-work imaginaries. A key element of this renewed left futurism should be the vision of a post-work society enabled by automation:

• Fully automated luxury communism
• Universal basic income
• Massive reduction in working hours
• Expansion of free time and creative pursuits

Modernity reimagined. This involves reclaiming and redefining core concepts of modernity:

• Progress as expanding human freedom and capacities
• Universalism that respects difference
• Reason and science in service of human flourishing

3. Neoliberalism's success stems from long-term ideological strategy

Neoliberalism has failed, social democracy is impossible, and only an alternative vision can bring about universal prosperity and emancipation.

Neoliberal hegemony. Neoliberalism's dominance did not arise naturally, but through deliberate long-term strategy:

• Creation of think tanks, academic departments, and media outlets
• Patient development of ideas over decades
• Leveraging crises as opportunities for policy change

Key neoliberal tactics:

• Developing a coherent worldview and policy agenda
• Cultivating networks of influence across sectors
• Shifting the "Overton window" of acceptable discourse
• Embedding neoliberal logic in institutions and everyday life

Lessons for the left. To counter neoliberalism, the left must develop its own long-term counter-hegemonic strategy:

• Build new intellectual and cultural infrastructure
• Develop compelling narratives and policy ideas
• Prepare to take advantage of future crises
• Create a new "common sense" around work, freedom, and progress

4. Automation and surplus populations are reshaping the global economy

The future isn't working.

Crisis of work. Technological change and capitalist restructuring are creating a growing "surplus population" excluded from formal employment:

• Increasing automation of manufacturing and services
• Growth of precarious and informal work
• Persistence of mass unemployment and underemployment

Global dynamics. These trends are playing out differently across the world:

• Deindustrialization in developed countries
• "Premature deindustrialization" in developing countries
• Growth of urban slums and informal economies

Social and political consequences:

• Erosion of traditional working-class power
• Rise of populist and reactionary movements
• Increased state repression and incarceration
• Need for new forms of social provision and political organization

5. The future of work demands a universal basic income and reduced hours

A post-work society holds a potentially broad appeal and would materially improve the lives of most – but this is no guarantee of it coming about.

Universal Basic Income (UBI). A UBI would provide a guaranteed income to all members of society, regardless of work status. Benefits include:

• Reducing poverty and inequality
• Increasing bargaining power for workers
• Enabling pursuits beyond wage labor
• Recognizing forms of social contribution beyond paid work

Reduced working hours. Shortening the work week would:

• Share available work more equitably
• Improve work-life balance and mental health
• Reduce environmental impact
• Increase time for democratic participation and creativity

Overcoming the work ethic. Achieving these goals requires challenging deeply ingrained cultural attitudes about work:

• Separating income from employment
• Valuing free time and non-work activities
• Redefining social worth beyond productivity

6. Building a post-work world requires a populist counter-hegemonic strategy

Constructing a people is the main task of radical politics.

Populist strategy. Given the fragmentation of traditional class identities, a successful left politics must build a broad populist coalition:

• Articulating common interests across diverse groups
• Constructing a narrative of "the people" vs. an elite
• Developing demands that resonate widely

Counter-hegemonic project. This involves contesting neoliberal dominance across multiple domains:

• Ideas and cultural production
• Economic policies and institutions
• Technologies and infrastructure

Organizational ecology. Building power requires a diverse ecosystem of organizations:

• Social movements and protest groups
• Political parties and electoral campaigns
• Labor unions and worker organizations
• Think tanks and media outlets
• Educational and cultural institutions

7. Synthetic freedom and full automation are key to universal emancipation

Freedom is a synthetic enterprise, not a natural gift.

Synthetic freedom. True freedom requires actively constructing the conditions for human flourishing:

• Providing material necessities (food, housing, healthcare)
• Expanding collective capacities through education and technology
• Enabling experimentation with new forms of life

Full automation. Maximizing automation is essential for reducing necessary labor and expanding free time:

• Investing in robotics and artificial intelligence
• Repurposing technologies for social benefit
• Overcoming cultural and economic barriers to automation

Universal emancipation. The ultimate goal is expanding human possibilities for all:

• Overcoming natural and social constraints
• Enabling creative self-realization
• Collectively shaping our future evolution

Last updated: January 24, 2025