Astra Taylor’s Books: Intellectual Critiques of Today’s World

The far right of today consists of religious fundamentalists, Silicon Valley technocrats, and ethnonationalists. 

What holds them together is the belief that the end of the world is coming, and they can insulate themselves from the fallout in various ways. But you can resist. 

Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor show you where these belief systems have holes and how you can break the doom loop to defend democracy, find a new way to live together, and shift the story from the end times to better times. 

In America, we’re taught that democracy means a government by the people and for the people. But true democracy, one built entirely on inclusivity and egalitarianism, has never existed. 

Taylor traces the history of democracy in all its forms and invites you to consider what a government for the people truly means. 

If democratic principles lead to terrible outcomes, can the opposite be true? Can non-democratic means lead to equal, and perhaps even peaceful, results? And when, if ever, should we try?

The internet was once hailed as a tech utopia where everyone could be heard and participate equally. But is that the reality? 

In the age of algorithms, everything we like, post, and share might simply reflect real-world inequalities.

Instead of a revolution, the internet might just reshuffle attention, with tech giants replacing Hollywood execs as gatekeepers, and attention and influence going to those who already have both.

Astra Taylor curates and edits eight critical essays from renowned thinkers regarding her documentary film, Examined Life. 

These interviews are meant to remind you that great ideas require engagement with the messiness of life, not in sterile isolation. 

These essays are meant to accompany the film, delving into the places that resonate with these individuals and their philosophies, pushing us to see the world around us slightly differently and to reconsider our place within it.

Even people who seem to have it all are stressed, which shows we all feel insecure in some way and that the status quo isn’t working. But what does that mean, and who does it benefit? 

Many of the crises we face today all stem from this insecurity. Worse, many institutions, programs, and systems advertised as providing security are actually designed to do the opposite. 

By facing the root cause of this insecurity, you can develop caring, inclusive, and sustainable forms of security to meet the challenges of an insecure future from a more secure place.

When movements start to gain traction, the rallying cry usually centers on solidarity. But if coming together were enough, why doesn’t it always create sustainable movements that bring real change? 

With obstacles like culture, class, physical borders, and individual identity sometimes working to separate us, Astra Taylor and Leah Hunt-Hendrix examine how we can overcome those differences to build solid, long-lasting solidarity that can withstand backlash and become a force for the common good.

Astra Taylor has spent her career challenging the national conversation on topics like technology, debt, inequality, and democracy. 

Her essays have helped shift perspectives on sustainability, togetherness, and what real change looks like. 

Filled with equal parts curiosity and challenge, these essays reflect the depth of her thinking and the range of her interests, but they all contribute to the belief that, to survive the future, we need a radical transformation of our economy, society, and politics.

Astra Taylor’s essay is part memoir and part deep dive into education’s history. 

At its core, it asks whether schools act as social levelers or simply sort children into a societal pyramid they carry with them from a young age. 

Mainstream education may have its strengths, but unusual alternatives may actually help educate children rather than instill a sense of structure, obedience, and indoctrination.