Against Tech Oligarchy

Tech workers attempt to wield power responsibly when management will not.By JS Tan and Clarissa RedwineRating: 4 / 5.This was an interesting and at times gripping account of tech worker unionization struggles. The book sits on a mental shelf for me with Blood in the Machine for its rallying cry and You Deserve a Tech Union on the practical end. It began accounting for the duplicity of socially-progressive tech companies bending toward authoritarianism over time, leaving progressive workers to hold their companies accountable when no-one else will. The history of tech company idealism and employee identity that started the book was sobering and clarifying. The same ex-hippies and techno-utopians who once saw technology as a tool for decentralization and empowerment were now running corporate giants with near-monopolistic control over entire segments of the economy. I didn’t fully appreciate how much the modern tech employee’s equity and company orientation encourage a…