Technology and Ecosocialism

Abstract

Ecosocialist technology is technology guided by universal human need and by concern for the health of the natural environment. It contrasts with capitalist technology, which is driven above all by the imperatives of cost-reduction and profit-maximization within a market whose contours are shaped by the owners or state agents of capital. The contrast between ecosocialist and capitalist technology appears across all sectors of production and services. Following a theoretical overview, we examine the sectors of transport, housing, and food production and reflect on the newest technologies of communication, surveillance, and artificial intelligence. I argue that devices and infrastructures that would transform the conditions of life should in all cases be subject, at the planning stage, to full disclosure, informed public debate, and democratic resolution.