It is unusual to find political books that are as rhetorical, polemical and comprehensive as this one; confidence and assurance abound as Mason casts his critical gaze over contemporary politics, economics, philosophy, technology and geopolitics (amongst other topics) to provide a radical and humanistic alterative to an oligarchic neo-liberalism that relies on coercion and big data to ensure compliance. A really convincing read packed full of insight and information, very well-researched and backed up by a holistic theoretical outlook. This might deter readers who aren't of the leftist or Marxist tradition, but Mason offers a vision of socialism that is less dogmatic, impersonal and inflexible putting the human being - with all her agency and aspirations - front and centre.

Clear Bright Future is a book which actively resists the supposed destruction of humanity. As someone that hasn’t read a lot recently about economics and politics, Mason does make the book accessible, though it requires a bit more focus and concentration than usual in this genre due to the structure. Whilst the book is enjoyable, the argument lacks a coherency at times, despite the language and semantics reading beautifully. Perhaps the book is not meant to be, ironically, a clear-cut argument, but rather a casual debate and the author’s musings upon the topic. But given Mason’s clear setting out of his position in his introduction, I would argue that the book is far from casual. This is not a passive book, and this may be a good thing. Even in the introduction, Mason challenges us to either accept or actively resist the mechanical control of humans. If we choose the later, we are challenged to do something about this. Whilst the language Mason uses to describe political affiliations is diverse, it does seem that he makes sweeping generalisations. This, he argues, derives from actual experience of these parties. However, the examples he details appear to be experiences with very extreme so-called nutjobs, and to suggest that people who do not understand science are the enemy is perhaps a little misguided. Mason is right: we must change people’s minds, and if we cannot change them then we must resist the spread of fake news and false information. Yet Mason labels the opposition “dead-eyed, unthinkingly obedient” which dangerously undermines their power of persuasion. Often it appears as though Mason believes disagreement in his point-of-view comes simply from stupidity. Unfortunately, he may not realise that most people actually agree with his belief to maintain humanity, but may disagree with his panic that it is becoming eroded because he does not understand the modern form in which that takes. It does seem that he is implying that people are zombies, unable to think independently. Whilst I acknowledge Mason’s overall message, the book does read with a tone of contempt which at times makes it difficult to side with the author, and difficult to continue reading. One does fear that the cannon of contempt will be turned onto the reader, risking being accused of sheer stupidity for not understanding certain issues. The book does seem to be written by the type of person that would ban Wi-Fi in coffee shops to force people to talk to each other, despite the fact that people still ignored each other without the presence of the internet. However, the book was enjoyable, and was certainly thought-provoking. A big thank you to the publishers for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.