Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis
(304 pages, proposed by Sam)
https://g.co/kgs/5sdorQH
Elevator Pitch: This book argues that capitalism hasn’t collapsed—it’s been replaced by something even more centralized and coercive, ruled by platform “lords” who enclose our digital lives.
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
(512 pages, proposed by Sam)
https://g.co/kgs/czM31Fq
Elevator Pitch: This book shows how our brains constantly trick us, providing a sharper lens for spotting manipulation, bias, and manufactured consent.
Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nasim Nicholas Taleb
(544 pages, proposed by Sam)
https://g.co/kgs/bwyatiZ
Elevator Pitch: This book shows why centralized, over‑optimized systems collapse under pressure, while decentralized, experimental ones adapt and flourish.
Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison by Michel Foucault
(333 pages, proposed by Sam)
https://g.co/kgs/p1WAqrK
…with companion essay - Postscript on Societies of Control by Gilles Deleuz
(~2k words)
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/gilles-deleuze-postscript-on-the-societies-of-control
Elevator Pitch: This book shows how modern power stopped ruling through brute force and instead began shaping our behavior through surveillance, normalization, and institutions—while Deleuze’s Postscript reveals how that disciplinary world has since dissolved into a fluid, digital “control society” where power operates everywhere, all the time.
Selling the American People: Advertising, Optimization, and the Origins of Adtech by Lee McGuigan
(348 pages, proposed by Sam)
https://share.google/gSVm3xdovt8ioxZdY
Elevator Pitch: This book uncovers how modern adtech grew directly out of Cold War psychological operations and corporate attempts to engineer consent, making it essential for understanding today’s surveillance‑driven capitalism.
Toward an Ecological Society by Murray Bookchin
(315 pages, proposed by Sam)
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/murray-bookchin-toward-an-ecological-society
Elevator Pitch: This book serves as a powerful reminder that ecology isn’t just about nature—it’s about liberating human relationships, rebuilding community, and creating forms of life that thrive without hierarchy or exploitation.
Emergence: From Chaos to Order by John Holland
(272 pages, proposed by Sam)
https://share.google/xKFkzDYhURdmPL4Ot
Elevator Pitch: This book shows how complex, adaptive order can arise from simple interactions without any central authority—offering a scientific backbone for understanding why decentralized systems work.
Disaster Nationalism by Richard Seymour
(288 pages, proposed by Becky)
https://www.akpress.org/disaster-nationalism-pb.html
Elevator Pitch: “Unless we understand the deeper forces propelling the far-right resurgence, we have little chance of stopping it.”
There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm
(267 pages, proposed by Sam)
https://share.google/lPsmULPjoRLrDbmDf
Elevator Pitch: This book uses fiction to explore how power can hide in plain sight—how systems can shape what we notice, remember, or even believe exists—making it a surprisingly sharp companion to real‑world critiques of surveillance and control.
To Catch a Fascist by Christopher Mathias
(336 pages, proposed by Becky)
https://www.akpress.org/to-catch-a-fascist.html
Elevator Pitch: Written like a thriller, it shares real-life ways that folks have been fighting against and exposing hateful extremists in their communities, in an effort to prevent violence
A Thousand Plateaus by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari
(632 pages, proposed by Becky)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Thousand_Plateaus
Elevator Pitch:
…from Reddit: “Okay, so A Thousand Plateaus is like the ultimate “choose your own adventure” book for your brain. Deleuze and Guattari basically say, “Forget rules, hierarchies, or fixed identities—life is messy, random, and full of connections.” They use the idea of a rhizome (think underground roots spreading everywhere) to explain how everything—ideas, people, systems—grows unpredictably and connects in wild ways. It’s all about vibes over structure: instead of fitting into boxes, you’re constantly “becoming” something new. TL;DR: It’s chaotic but freeing, like life without a blueprint.”
…also from Reddit: “what stands out to me is how wildly it celebrates pluralism and process philosophy. It feels like a creative, almost chaotic rejection of the monisms that dominate so much of Western thought—from Parmenides to Schelling—and instead invites us to embrace the messy, tangled beauty of multiplicities. The way they dismantle the idea of simples (things with no parts) over and over is just so satisfying. It’s like a love letter to complexity. The ideas of rhizome and assemblage really bring this alive for me.”