In modern society, we tend to have faith in technology. But is our concept of technology itself a cultural illusion? This book challenges the idea that humanity as a whole is united in a common development toward increasingly efficient technologies.

In modern society, we tend to have faith in technology. But is our concept of 'technology' itself a cultural illusion? This book challenges the idea that humanity as a whole is united in a common development toward increasingly efficient technologies. Instead it argues that modern technology implies a kind of global 'zero-sum game' involving uneven resource flows, which make it possible for wealthier parts of global society to save time and space at the expense of humans and environments in the poorer parts.

We tend to think of the functioning of machines as if it was detached from...