Summary

In Chapter 6, “Pedal to the Metal: Dehumanize, Dominate, and Extract,” Rushkoff recalls his experience studying theater with his friend Bernie at California Institute of the Arts. He and Bernie disliked the program’s “classical approach to drama” (65). This approach prioritized the narrative arc, emphasizing action, climax, and resolution. Rushkoff argues that this storytelling model mimics the “male orgasm curve,” and applies to Western society’s obsession with progress and conquest (66). Rushkoff estimates that this “dominator model” originated near the start of the Iron Age (68). He believes that it has come to dictate the market economy.

Rushkoff reflects on the history of these storytelling and conquest models. After the Crusades, peasants developed a new economy that disassembled the previous feudal hierarchy. Their communities thrived until the monarchs attacked the system, making peasants reliant on the upper classes again. Rushkoff holds that this is a...