Narrative frames are fundamental to unifying ideologies. They frame what is possible and impossible, which ideas can be accepted, and which must be rejected. In her book, Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics (Zed Books, 2018), storyteller and political analyst Nanjala Nyabola examines the framing of the Fourth Industrial Revolution narrative in this light.

She argues that it is being used by global elites to deflect from the drivers of inequality and enable ongoing processes of expropriation, exploitation, and exclusion. During a recent policy dialogue on the Future of Work(ers), she commented: “The real seduction of this idea is that it’s apolitical. We can talk about development and progress without having to grapple with power.”

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