What do you do when the economic system finds that you are surplus to its requirements? Cory Doctorow attempts to answer this question in this near future dystopia/utopia.
The world is ravaged by climate change, by the loss of employment for the huddled masses. You havve been replaced by robots and automation, by 3D printing of the basic necessities and replicating 'fabbers' which don't need your input. Well. you just walk away from it, and build something of your own using the cast-offs of the post-industrial revolution.
Which is fine from the perspective of the uber-rich until the 'walkaways' begin to upset the system, threatening to turn it on its head, depriving the rulers of their rightful place and rewards.
And so this leads to a bitter struggle for the future of humanity and post-humanity.
The story follows the exploits of a trio of walkaways, Seth, Etcetera and Iceweasel, who have decamped the 'default' to make their own way. The society they create. the characters they meet and their struggle to survive and grow makes for a gripping narrative, brimming with challenging ideas and concepts. Doctorow dares to imagine a future which does not depend on mindless expansion and eternal growth, concentrating resources into the hands of the few for little benefit to the majority or the planet.
With a nod to Thomas Piketty ('Capital in the 21st Century'), David Graeber ('Debt: The First 5000 Years') and Rebecca Solnit ('A Paradise Built in Hell), 'Walkaway succeeds in telling a tale which introduces the reader to ideas that might actually matter whilst entertaining them thoroughly in the process.
The world is ravaged by climate change, by the loss of employment for the huddled masses. You havve been replaced by robots and automation, by 3D printing of the basic necessities and replicating 'fabbers' which don't need your input. Well. you just walk away from it, and build something of your own using the cast-offs of the post-industrial revolution.
Which is fine from the perspective of the uber-rich until the 'walkaways' begin to upset the system, threatening to turn it on its head, depriving the rulers of their rightful place and rewards.
And so this leads to a bitter struggle for the future of humanity and post-humanity.
The story follows the exploits of a trio of walkaways, Seth, Etcetera and Iceweasel, who have decamped the 'default' to make their own way. The society they create. the characters they meet and their struggle to survive and grow makes for a gripping narrative, brimming with challenging ideas and concepts. Doctorow dares to imagine a future which does not depend on mindless expansion and eternal growth, concentrating resources into the hands of the few for little benefit to the majority or the planet.
With a nod to Thomas Piketty ('Capital in the 21st Century'), David Graeber ('Debt: The First 5000 Years') and Rebecca Solnit ('A Paradise Built in Hell), 'Walkaway succeeds in telling a tale which introduces the reader to ideas that might actually matter whilst entertaining them thoroughly in the process.