38. Production for the People!

We take a deep dive into another example of a real utopian project from the 1970s, this time from the UK, which provided detailed concrete plans for how to actually do radical techno-politics. The militant labor union at Lucas Aerospace sought to democratize the means of production, giving workers autonomy over the management and purpose of industrial capacity. To achieve that goal, they created an amazing proposal – the Lucas Plan – for how to run factories based on the principles of socially useful production. The story of the Lucas Plan is inspiring and infuriating – and immensely important. Some stuff we reference: • Lucas Alternative Corporate Plan (Summary): http://www.workerscontrol.net/authors/lucas-aerospace-combine-shop-steward-committee-corporate-plan-contingency-strategy-positive- • The Lucas Plan and Socially Useful Production by Adrian Smith: https://steps-centre.org/blog/new-paper-lucas-plan-socially-useful-production/ • The Lucas Plan: What can it tell us about democratising technology today? by Adrian Smith: https://www.theguardian.com/science/political-science/2014/jan/22/remembering-the-lucas-plan-what-can-it-tell-us-about-democratising-technology-today • Lucas Plan documentary (1978): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pgQqfpub-c&feature=emb_title • Socially Useful Production by Pam Linn: https://scihub.wikicn.top/10.1080/09505438709526191 Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl).