It is done. After much work, discussion and finetuning our book “Digitale Solidarität – Zur Überwindung kapitalistischer Technologie” (in English: “Digital Solidarity – On Overcoming capitalist technology”) is now available at our publisher Karl Dietz Verlag Berlin and you can read the introduction here. The book is only available in German at the moment but we will do our best to have it available in other languages as well. For everyone who ist interested we offer a self-translated version of the introduction here.
We hope the book is of interest to everyone who is already interested in technology, digitalisation and the related social issues but is looking for a perspective that goes beyond established answers like regulation, privacy, open source, digital sovereignty or European alternatives to Big Tech. We also hope it resonates with those that are already engaged with transformative leftist politics and activism and who care about how digital technologies and tech corporations are intersecting with the many forms of exploitation that are the focus of leftist attention.
It was clear to us that a transformative perspective on technology must not limit itself to analysing the status quo of capitalist technology. We wanted to include a perspective on what to do, on how to resist and on how to change things for the better. We know that this is ambitious. And it resulted in a book that is very dense. But we think that any analysis of the status quo risks to discourage people because the reality of the present can be overwhelming without discussing ways to act. On the other hand, a thorough foundation is necessary to develop meaningful resistance and alternative paths. This is why the book ended up with two more or less equally big parts: In the first half we analyse the foundations of today’s capitalist digitalisation and the many inadequate answers offered by liberal discourse. In the second half we focus on our alternative vision of digital solidarity.
What is digital solidarity?
The term is an alternative to concepts like “digital sovereignty” or “enshittification”, which – in our view – are only dealing with symptoms of digital capitalism while taking up a lot of narrative space and thereby drown out transformative approaches. The term “digital solidarity” is intended as a radically different approach that helps frame resistance against technology and digitalisation in emancipatory, post-capitalist and antiauthoritarian ways. Digital solidarity focuses on solidarity with those who – not least because of digital technologies – are subjected to multiple forms of oppression and exploitation through the intersection of classist, sexist, racist and other dimensions of power relations. Resistance to digital platforms or against the authoritarian use of technology is part of the struggles against patriarchal conditions, against austerity policies, social dismantling, fascism and militarisation. This requires convergence and solidarity between those with technical expertise and those waging diverse social struggles. Digital Solidarity is also a call for alliances between groups and forms of activism that are compatible with the mainstream and those that are more subversive, robust and transformative in nature. To overcome capitalist digitalisation, we need both those who shape and transform the system, and those who sabotage, shut down and block it.
From understanding to action
We didn’t write the book to merely understand capitalsm better but to better fight it. This fight however is so much more diverse, broad and colorful than two people and their book. We hope that our ideas will be helpful to everyone that is – like us – trying to support and build the many different movements against “AI”, data centers and digital totalitarianism that are emerging and growing everywhere. Our collective, Structural Integrity, is joining other groups in Berlin to organise “nodes of resistane“, a series of events that will bring together people and hopefully serves as an opportunity to build those groups and networks of solidarity that our book is about.
The book will officially launch in early September. You are welcome to celebrate the book launch with us in Berlin on Wednesday, September 2nd. Please register here to help us with the preparation of the event.