Magic Itself Is No Magic Bullet: Technology and Social Conflict

New technological tools “work like magic.” At the extreme, we apply term “magic” to indicate minimal one-off effort and total permanent success: a magic bullet. But neither nor technology can solve social problems. In fantasy literature, cause physical action at distance, alter chemical structure of substances, least temporarily control others’ behaviors. cannot grant political authority widely accepted legitimacy, it isolation opprobrium. What if profound thought experiments insights our fantasy-fiction writers were taken as serious lessons for understanding role in world? The contributors this Rethinking Marxism special issue, bringing powerful flexible Marxist analysis bear, write magic-suppressing language while wisely asking questions that storytellers ask about magic. Technologies, they show, do not obviate conflicts.