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‘Is new technology a blessing or a curse? In this engaging and powerful book, Bob Hughes shows it can be either - and that the answer depends, above all, on whether society is plutocratic or egalitarian. A must-read for all who care about humankind’s future.’

James K Boyce, University of Massachusetts Amherst, US.

‘Bob Hughes blows all the hype out of the water. He understands both the history and the technology. In this wonderful book he explains how inequality turns humanity into a destructive force that then uses technologies to cause harm.’

Danny Dorling, Professor of Geography at the University of Oxford.

‘Hughes’ book is much needed in helping us get beyond the glib national policies that seem to take both technology and inequality as givens. The Bleeding Edge deconstructs the causes of inequality and, while helping us understand that technology is not a panacea, it lets us truly understand for whom technologies are developed and sold.’

Joan Greenbaum, Professor Emerita of Environmental Psychology, City University of New York, US.

‘A fascinating study of how inequality inhibits technological innovations and how only an egalitarian society can truly sustain progress.’

Hsiao-Hung Pai, author of Chinese Whispers, Scattered Sand, Invisible and Angry White People.

‘The Bleeding Edge is truly the leading edge of books that challenge us to rethink the relationship between technology, capitalism and inequality. Rejecting both apocalyptic pessimism and techno-optimism, Hughes provides a compelling map to the future in which information technologies are harnessed for the common good. Powerfully argued and easy to read, this is one of those books that can help change the world.’

Betsy Hartmann, Professor Emerita of Development Studies and senior policy analyst, Population and Development Program, Hampshire College, US.

‘Hughes nails inequality to the wall with precision and passion. He weaves together multiple strands to make the case against inequality, from economics through anthropology; from evolutionary theory through social epidemiology. Then, once he has constructed his airtight logic, he colors it in with the emotional dimensions of life lived under oppressive hierarchy – or empowering egalitarianism. Hughes’ book dares us to stop begging for half-measures and instead demand our human birthright: full social and economic equality!’

Deborah S Rogers, President of Initiative for Equality, and affiliated to the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences at Stanford University, US.

‘Technology comes between us and our environment but, in this highly original book, Hughes shows how inequality comes between us and our technology. Inequality subverts technical progress, increases its environmental damage and prevents it from satisfying our real needs. This is a thesis we cannot afford to ignore.’

Richard Wilkinson, Professor Emeritus of Social Epidemiology at Nottingham University, UK, and co-author of The Spirit Level.