A review by sandrinepal
24/7: Late Capitalism and the Ends of Sleep by Jonathan Crary

2.0

Although there were some ideas to be gleaned from this pamphlet of a book, I felt like the Marxist discourse clouded the issue quite a bit. This might be because I am not well-versed enough in philosophy to appreciate the intricacy of the arguments. Maybe it is itself a result of what Mr. Crary calls the "counter-revolution" of neo-liberalism. I find it hard to identify with a thesis that relies heavily on the personification of modernity as an intrinsically nefarious entity that is "out to get" natural bio-rhythms. I guess I drank the Kool-Aid. Anyway, when I picked up this book, I was hoping for something a little more down-to-earth, that would shed more light on the circumstances and examples of 24/7 in modern societies. And no, I wasn't thinking about the Internet or smart phones.