The Power of the Machine: Global Inequalities of Economy, Technology, and Environment

Hornborg argues that we are caught in a collective illusion about the nature of modern technology. It prevents us from understanding that the environmental crisis of modern society is a problem of power, culture, and epistemology, and prevents us from imagining solutions other than technocratic fixes. He reveals how the material existence of modern, industrial infrastructure (i.e., "development") ultimately relies upon certain cultural notions about production and exchange, and on the uneven flows of resources that these notions mask and reproduce. Hornborg's perspective and empirical case materials will appeal to readers in the fields of anthropology, economic history, world-systems theory, environmental justice, and the history of science and technology.

Author Biography: Alf Hornborg is professor and chair of the Human Ecology Division at Lund University, Sweden