Tom O'Brien

YouTube video by From Alpha To Omega What Socialists Can Learn From Toyota!

Prof. Paul Adler on what Socialists can learn from the Toyota Production System

YouTube video by From Alpha To Omega Will AI Steal Your Job?

Will AI Steal Your Job? Is mass unemployment likely? youtu.be/9RPqTIes0Ws

Yep. Looks pretty sensible.

I don't think planned obscelence has anything really to do with technical complexity though. Just the profit motive. There is no technical reason why all these devices can't be made easier to repair. Or to be built to minimum lifespan standards. P.O. is purely caused by production for profit.

Sure - not everyone can be an expert, division of labour and all that. But consumers don't have control over the range of goods they are offered. I've just tried to buy a phone holder for my car. The first one lasted 2 years. All the available models are useless, but what choice do I have. None.

Governments role is to maintain the capitalist mode of production. Ie. maintain profitability. So captialist governments will never do anything that would seriously effect profits. Hence why you gotta get rid of capitalism. It's not that consumers are dummies - they got no control over production.

Planned obsolescence only exists because of the pursuit of profit. Why produce a fridge that will last 60 years, when you can sell three that last 20 years each, and triple your profits. It is built into captialist class relations. If you want rid of it, you gotta get rid of capitalism.

#220 Is Capitalism Giving Birth To Socialism w/ Paul S. Adler | From Alpha To Omega Get more from From Alpha To Omega on Patreon

New Episode with Paul S. Adler where we discuss his 2019 book: "The 99% Economy: How Democratic Socialism Can Overcome the Crises of Capitalism". Enjoy!
www.patreon.com/posts/134950...

YouTube video by From Alpha To Omega Does Capitalism Deskill Workers?

New episode just released with Prof. Paul S. Adler on his 1990 paper 'Marx, Machines, and Skill'. Enjoy! youtu.be/PMAMY8jEqaU

New Episode now out! Part 2 of our conversation with Anna Fielder on her analysis of childbirth in capitalism. Enjoy!

Going Into Labour w/ Anna Fielder - Part 1 | From Alpha To Omega Get more from From Alpha To Omega on Patreon

New Episode now out! Part 1 of an interview with Anna Fielder about recent book "Going Into Labour: Childbirth In Capitalism". Enjoy!

I came across an 1887 account of Dublin by a veteran of the Paris Commune and wow he did not like the food:

Complex Anarchism Symposium, 19-23 May 2025 in Brussels With the upcoming Complex Anarchism symposium, we will be exploring the intersection between anarchism and complexity science. Anarchy, despite its popular definition as a state of disorder, is rather

Going to be in Brussels next week giving a talk on unifying Value Theory and Cybernetics at the Inaugral Complex Anarchism Symposium! clea.research.vub.be/complex-anar...

#216 The Vanguard Method w/ Roger Arevalo Part 2 | From Alpha To Omega Get more from From Alpha To Omega on Patreon

Latest episode now out! Part 2 of our discussion with Roger Arevalo on the Vanguard Method and its implications for socialism. Enjoy :) www.patreon.com/posts/216-va...

#215 The Vanguard Method w/ Roger Arevalo - Part 1 | From Alpha To Omega Get more from From Alpha To Omega on Patreon

New Episode out with Roger Arevalo on the The Vanguard Method - TPS for services and its implications for Socialism. Enjoy! www.patreon.com/posts/215-va...

#214 Marx Meets Lean w/ Matt Vidal Part 2 | From Alpha To Omega Get more from From Alpha To Omega on Patreon

Latest episode now out - Part 2 of our Marx Meets Lean w/ Matt Vidal. Enjoy!

Really enjoyed being interviewed by Tom for his From Alpha to Omega podcast.

We discussed my book, Management Divided, where I present a classical Marxist analysis of lean production, which grapples with it as a contradictory development, not simply a more refined system of mgt control + deskilling

#213 Marx Meets Lean w/ Matt Vidal - Part 1 | From Alpha To Omega Get more from From Alpha To Omega on Patreon

Marx Meets Lean w/ Matt Vidal now out! Enjoy :)

#OtD 2 Mar 1974 25 year old anti-Franco resistance activist Salvador Puig Antich was executed by garrote vil in the Modelo prison. It took him almost 20 minutes to die. His execution became a symbol of the barbaric nature of the Francoist regime. More: stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9...

YouTube video by From Alpha To Omega Cybernetic Socialism Talk Q and A

Here is the Q&A from the talk I recently gave on "Cybernetic Socialism for the 21st Century" to the Dutch socialist group De Socialisten. This talk was in conjunction with INDEP, the Independent Network for Democratic Economic Planning (www.indep.network): youtu.be/GWgBdhQOvfs

YouTube video by From Alpha To Omega Cybernetic Socialism In The 21st Century

I recently gave a talk on 'Cybernetic Socialism for the 21st Century' for the Dutch marxist group De Socialisten (socialisten.org), inconjunction with INDEP(www.indep.network). You can check out the presentation here: youtu.be/vHDM775B0nI

A new zoom link for my talk tonight @ 7pm London time on 'Cybernetic Socialism for the 21st Century'. The previous link was broken. us06web.zoom.us/j/8107950519...

Cybernetic economics for the 21st century, with Tom O’Brien On Wednesday 12 February at 20:00 CET the Cybernetic Economy theme group of the Socialists (Netherlands) will be hosting its first digital meeting with an international speaker, Tom O’Brien. We are no...

Giving an on-line talk to the Dutch De Socialisten party, titled 'Cybernetic Economics for the 21st Century' on wednesday evening. 7pm London, 8pm Amsterdam time. You can find the details here: www.indep.network/event/cybern...

Portrait of ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt for @jewishcurrents.bsky.social:
jewishcurrents.org/portrait-of-...

Jimmy Carter's Blood-Drenched Legacy A few days ago former President Jimmy Carter announced that he has cancer and it is spreading. While it would be premature to assume this spells the end for the 90-year-old, it does present an opportu...

www.counterpunch.org/2015/08/18/j...

About Long-Haul is a quarterly magazine of worker writing and organization on and off the shop floor, past and present, in and outside of unions. Dylan Davis and Jane Komori are managing editors of Long-…

Very excited about Long Haul, a quarterly magazine of worker writing and organization. Great to see more voices from workers themselves in leftist publishing 🙏 (ht @itsmccarthy.bsky.social ) longhaulmag.com/about/

#OtD 28 Dec 1943 after the arrest of two partisans, Mario Fiorentini threw two kilos of TNT at SS guards outside a prison in Rome, killing eight. The Nazis opened fire but were unable to hit him as he quickly cycled away to safety. More in our podcast: workingclasshistory.com/podca...

#OtD 24 Dec 1983 pop group, The Flying Pickets, made up of people who had supported the British miners' strikes in 1972 and 1974, had the UK Christmas number 1 single with their a cappella cover of Yazoo's (Yaz in the US) Only You www.tiktok.com/@workingclassh...