A-Infos (en) France, OCL CA #352 - "The Factory of Progress: Scientism, the Technological System, and Green Capitalism" by A. Guerber - Atelier de Création Libertaire - 2023 (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

This book, written by a libertarian doctor from Lyon, stands in 
opposition to the dominant, uncritical, and idealized vision of science 
and technological development. We are reviewing this work because it 
discusses the current world and the techno-scientific development we are 
undergoing from a libertarian, emancipatory perspective. The book is 
rich in analytical and political developments, illustrated by relevant 
historical examples and analyses. Our review focuses on the core thesis 
and is therefore only very fragmentary in its analysis of this rich and 
dense work.

Critique of Science
The first part of the book offers a critique of science. It refers to 
concepts that may be complex for those who have never delved into the 
philosophy of science, but it seems very relevant to us because what it 
presents somewhat undermines the idea of a problem-free science. She 
denounces the claim of objectivity and universality systematically 
attributed to scientific knowledge under the pretext of an idealized 
"scientific methodology."
Furthermore, scientists are not immune to the ideological determinism 
that embeds their theories. In short, science is only "an imperfect tool 
for describing a certain facet of reality" and it "is not the one and 
only acceptable method for addressing a problem in society."
The author then returns to the history of science with numerous 
illustrative examples, recalling that scientific knowledge is the fruit 
of a collective and popular history[1]. For him, the current world 
restricts the scope of scientific knowledge because it is solely 
oriented toward applications, with the aim of economic profitability, 
whereas the development of knowledge requires a pluralism of thought.

Critique of Technology
Since current science is oriented toward technology, the author develops 
a very interesting and comprehensive radical critique of the latter. It 
is essentially the economic and political interests of the ruling class 
that guide technological development. In essence, this section seeks 
above all to show that technology is not neutral because it invades us 
and shapes social practice.
From there, he elaborates at length on the technical system: each 
technology is not autonomous because it develops on the basis of 
previous technologies. Every technical innovation generates problems 
that only a technical response can solve, creating a mechanism of 
self-generation and self-growth of technologies that alienates us. An 
important and relevant development is made from this perspective on 
digital technology and AI.
In conclusion, he echoes Ivan Illich who, far from rejecting all 
technology, considers that only those that meet three requirements are 
acceptable: they generate efficiency without degrading personal 
autonomy, create neither slaves nor masters, and expand the scope of 
personal action.

Critique of Mainstream Ecology
The final part of the book focuses on a critique of current ecological 
trends that advocate state centralism, political control, and 
technological solutionism (he takes issue with Murray Bookchin on this 
last aspect). This section is important; we only highlight certain 
central aspects without reporting all the political and philosophical 
developments.
In connection with the first part, it highlights the limitations of the 
models promoted by the IPCC, which are highly fragmented and politically 
oriented because they focus primarily on global warming and CO2 
emissions[2]; allowing nuclear power to be presented as an ecological 
solution. Above all, the fight against global warming relegates 
individuals to the status of guilt-ridden passive participants, 
powerless and incompetent on "expert questions," allowing the 
technocratic monopolization of the debate, never questioning the current 
social organization. Ultimately, the author posits a radical libertarian 
perspective: the need for a social revolution, the only way to overcome 
capitalism, the political order, and the associated technological 
system. In contrast to today's world, he advocates a collective choice 
of our technological tools.

Conclusion
This book is very interesting in its ambition to provide an in-depth 
discussion of technoscience from a critical perspective of today's 
social world. It is rich in philosophical and political discussions, as 
well as a critique of science and technology that are rarely addressed. 
However, this creates two limitations in our view:

1/ The book is dense and could seem complicated to read for those 
without a strong theoretical background (philosophy of science, 
politics, etc.);
2/ Some of the author's positions merit critical discussion. Among other 
things, but not only[3], he positions himself at the beginning of the 
book between scientism and postmodernism (the latter rejecting any 
legitimacy of science, which is said to be nothing more than the product 
of a social construct detached from any objective knowledge), but we 
sometimes find in this book shifts close to a radical relativism 
critical of rationalism.
That said, this book is very politically stimulating, even in these 
potentially questionable aspects, because they are never caricatured and 
always well-argued. Above all, it leads us to question discourses and 
practices that often appear self-evident in the public sphere, 
particularly regarding technological development, with an in-depth 
critical perspective on this development as a system that goes far 
beyond the usual, often superficial or fragmentary critiques, even among 
anarchists: it is not this or that technology that must be denounced, 
but rather the technical system associated with contemporary capitalism.

RV

P.S.
This book received the 2025 Jacques Ellul Prize awarded by the 
International Jacques Ellul Association.

Notes
[1]Drawing, among other things, on the excellent work "Popular History 
of Science" by D. Clifford.

[2]The political critique of the IPCC is presented; another very 
pertinent one can be found in the book "Ecology, Social Struggles and 
Revolution" by Daniel Tanuro (La Dispute, 2024).

[3]The author criticizes Marxism at various points, sometimes in a 
rather simplistic manner.

http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4499
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