“Automation and the Future of Work” by Aaron Benanav – let’s read and discuss!

Welcome back, readers! For this round we’ve chosen Aaron Benanav’s short book “Automation and the Future of Work”. It came out in 2020 and is only 100 pages long, so a fairly quick read. Fear not, it is not the AI-booster take you may suspect it to be.

Here’s a brief summary:

> Silicon Valley titans, politicians, techno-futurists and social critics have united in arguing that we are living on the cusp of an era of rapid technological automation, heralding the end of work as we know it. But does the much-discussed ’rise of the robots’ really explain the jobs crisis that awaits us on the other side of the coronavirus? In ’Automation and the Future of Work’, Aaron Benanav uncovers the structural economic trends that will shape our working lives far into the future. What social movements, he asks, are required to propel us into post-scarcity, if technological innovation alone can’t deliver it? In response to calls for a universal basic income that would maintain a growing army of redundant workers, he offers a counter-proposal.

In case you’re unsure if this is for you, consider listening to Paris Marx’s interview with Aaron on the “Tech Won’t Save Us” podcast.

As always, you can find more information and reviews on the book’s GoodReads page.

Curious to join us? Order a copy at your local book shop or online:

• The book on Bookshop
• The book on Amazon
• Search for used copies on Abebooks

An e-book is available, as well as translations into (at least) German and Italian.

Since this book is quite short, we’ve got additional pointers in case you want to go deeper: Aaron recently published two essays titled “Beyond Capitalism”, which unfortunately cost 4 GBP each to get access to – you can find them here on The New Left Review. We won’t make them a big part of the discussion, but may dip into them if some participants have indeed read them.

Our meeting is scheduled for October 21, 2025 and we usually discuss in English for 1.5-2 hours. You definitely don’t need a literature degree to participate! It’s important to us to listen to each other, to treat everyone with respect and to create a safe setting.

The discussion takes place virtually in Zoom and the meeting link will be added to this event on the day it happens. Just check back here half an hour before the meetup starts!

It doesn’t matter if you have actually finished the book or whether you’ve attended before – everyone is welcome, as long as you have read at least a few pages and bring your impression.