Enshittification, the book (Cory Doctorow)
Originally published in Portuguese at Enshittification, o livro (Cory Doctorow) | Curadoria da Internet (automatically translated with the NeoDB Translate plugin)
Released on October 7, 2025, in English only, the book describes the phenomenon of Enshittification (Why everything suddenly got worse) and presents possible solutions to deal with it (What to do about it).
To this end, it brings to light the actors involved: consumers, suppliers, and the platforms, which are the intermediaries between the two. It explains how the business model works at both ends and how both are harmed, always starting with the weaker side of the relationship.
The book is divided into four parts. The first, The Natural History, presents case studies on the tactics used by four big tech companies: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Twitter (now X); in The Pathology, we have an outline of the factors that can either prevent or drive Enshittification, depending on how they are strengthened or weakened.
The third and largest part, The Epidemiology, examines the practices adopted by platforms, as well as the reaction of consumers and precarious workers to them. It deals with US and EU legislation, both in terms of the worsening and improvement they bring to the current scenario. It also discusses Rentierism and Technofeudalism, a theory developed by Yanis Varoufakis.
In the final section , The Cure, it talks about the battles throughout history and establishes the four pillars that can counter Enshittification: Regulation, Competition, Interoperability, and the Power of IT workers. The latter three, in my view, are a consequence of the first.
The book has good content (let's be clear), dealing with a current and extremely important topic. However, it sounds a little redundant. Instead of 352 pages, I believe that 250 to 300 pages with a more direct approach would be sufficient. Especially for those who will be having their first in-depth contact with the subject.
As the work compiles, in a non-summary form, something presented in a scattered manner on the author's own blog and does not have a good rhythm, this makes reading it tiring. It lacked more careful work by the editor. On the other hand, well-produced videos, such as this one, even after reading, surprise with their wealth of details and topics well linked together in a short space of time.
Therefore, it lacked polish, something that can be improved in future editions. And since the book has not yet been released in Brazil, I leave here a challenge to publishers: trim the fat and, in its place, commission an afterword with a case study on platformization in Brazil, produced by Professor Ricardo Antunes and an active app delivery driver.
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