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Imaginary Futures: From Thinking Machines to the Global Village
 
 

Imaginary Futures: From Thinking Machines to the Global Village (Paperback)

by Richard Barbrook (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Pluto Press (1 April 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0745326609
  • ISBN-13: 978-0745326603
  • Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 13.4 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 434,734 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #69 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Communication Studies > Information Theory
  • See Complete Table of Contents

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Product Description

Review
A compelling, authoritative, and painstakingly documented narrative, Imaginary Futures traces the emergence of the computer era in the context of desperately competing ideologies, economics, and empires. This is a work of passionate and persuasive scholarship by a contemporary social theorist at the top of his game. --Douglas Rushkoff, author, Coercion, Media Virus, Get Back in the Box.

Imaginary Futures gives insight into how the dominant utopias of today were shaped in the time of the Cold War and served the ideological needs of the elites. While the Cold War West had a much better present, it was the Soviet East which had a vision of the future. The invention of a Western utopia became an important factor in the struggle for global power. --Boris Kagarlitsky, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Comparative Political Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences

A really interesting book ... genuinely original ... accessible and distinct style ... It takes on an impressive range of debates and historical landmarks. The book structure is logical and well thought out. --Natalie Fenton, Senior Lecturer in Media and Communications, Goldsmiths

Boris Kagarlitsky, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Comparative Political Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
'Imaginary Futures gives insight into how the dominant utopias of
today served the ideological needs of the elites.' --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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5.0 out of 5 stars The pre-history of the Internet, 28 Nov 2008
Subtitled 'From Thinking Machines to the Global Village', this is a really unusual and interesting book. It's about the political and philosophical lineage of the Internet. Beginning with the 1964 New York World's Fair, it traces the Cold War origins of the politics which gave rise to the Internet.

For Barbrook the work on cybernetics by Norbert Weiner and John von Neumann fused with the 'global village' concept developed by Marshall McLuhan provided the impetus for the eventual development of the Internet. This was elaborated on by a group of former left wing intellectuals including such luminaries as Walt Rostow, J. K. Galbraith, and Daniel Bell who were able to turn it into a vision of a an American future that would compete with that of the Cold War enemy - Russia.

The book charts the history of the ideas and actions of this group through to its discrediting through the denouement of the Vietnam War. It also covers - unfortunately all to briefly - how the ideology was co-opted and resuscitated by Californian neo-cons via Wired magazine.

I suspect Barbrook's left wing analysis, and some of his assumptions, will make American readers feel uncomfortable. In addition, I feel that the analysis has a touch of one-dimensionality about it. None the less, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone interested in an analysis of the Internet's political pre-history.
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