Four Futures: Life After Capitalism

The premise of the book is that the automation of labor is inevitable and will fundamentally transform capitalism into a new mode of production. Rather than asserting that automation will be our savior or our demise, Frase correctly identifies that the social and economic outcomes of automation depend on how societies choose to organize themselves. To illustrate what each of the four potential futures may hold, concepts and themes from popular works of science fiction are employed as a sort of shorthand for the reader. While admittedly an oversimplification, this approach is an effective means to set the stage and illustrate certain ideas. Instead of getting caught up in the minutia of prediction, Frase effectively makes his case by avoiding nuance. This is the true strength of the book. While pointing out the futility of making precise and detailed predictions, the book focuses on the overarching ideas and general themes of each potential future. By providing a general framework with which to understand these four potential futures and their consequences, readers are able to identify the concepts laid out here when they come up in the news, popular fiction, or other books on automation or the future of capitalism.