Against the Machine: On the Making of Humanity
Against the Machine is the latest publication from writer Paul Kingsnorth. Now as interested in his newfound Christian faith as the natural world, this is kind of a blasting of both philosophies together, an almost terrifying account of where we could end up, if people don’t retain their personal boundaries with everything to do with Paul calls ‘modernity’:
Internet billionaires controlling what we watch and know, big media, AI-gone-wrong, techno-capitalism, and a refusal to see the link between our survival and both spirituality. And a respect that Nature is more important than technology.
The internet and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race. This is an extreme statement, but I’m in an extreme mood.
Of course (like electricity), the Internet can be used for good (that’s what this site hopes to do!) And Paul needs the Internet to share his writing and feed his family.
But we’re talking here about ‘big Internet’ – youngsters who can’t be apart from their smartphones for more than a few minutes, bots controlling what we see and how we learn, what we buy and how we vote. We’re talking about online porn and cyber-bullying.
A terrifying account of what modern people have sacrificed, in exchange for technology’s promise of power and autonomy. Christianity Today
This is the most powerful and important book I have read in years. It is simply brilliant. This book should be required reading not only for politicians, technocrats, teachers and all who help shared our world. But for every still-living soul in this terrifying age of the Machine. Iain McGilchrist
Kingsnorth has done something extraordinary. He has captured the spiritual crisis of our time in language so compelling, I could not put the book down. Mary Harrington
Thank God for Paul Kingsnorth! Serious, furious and always consistent, this is a Christian thinker who does not sugar-coat his convictions. Justin Smith-Riui
About the Author
Paul Kingsnorth is an English writer (who has been nominated for the Booker Prize) who now lives in the west of Ireland, where he has transitioned from an environmentalist activist to more spiritual writer, interested in how faith and nature collide.
He has been described in various terms (his favourite is ‘environmental activist turned apocalyptic mystic’). But two things he has been called (to inspire you to read the book!) are ‘furiously gifted’ (The Washington Post) and ‘England’s greatest living writer (Aris Roussinos). High praise indeed!
Footnote: If you’re at this site due to a passion for the small, local and meaningful (and are aghast at how the corporate world and media/politics is destroying it all), you’d likely wish to read Paul’s previous book Real England (which meets local people in independent shops and pubs, plus visits our disappearing canals and orchards). It’s so good – it’s was what first inspired this website, many moons ago!
Find Paul’s writings on Substack.
