Convenienced

A provocative and timely account of how the world’s biggest companies made our lives ever more convenient, opening our eyes to everything we’ve lost in the name of frictionless ease—from the bestselling author of Palo Alto

We are drowning in convenience.

A burger or sweatshirt or a can of paint thinner can be delivered right to your door. Songs, movies, TV shows, and books are available instantly. Friends can be texted or video called, their responses coming in moments. Romantic partners, AI companions, and helicopters to the airport are all just a swipe away.

The world’s biggest companies are scrambling to build systems that can turn any arbitrary demand into a reality. But an increasing ability to get what we want doesn’t seem to correspond to an increase in general wellbeing. How can this be?

In this transformative history, Malcolm Harris shows how convenience became society’s main orienting principle—and how it is making us lonely, unfulfilled, and unhealthy, all while hurting workers and actually requiring more effort than the standard alternative. He breaks the Great Conveniencing into four key areas—food, entertainment, communication, and transportation—where we have traded quality and community for perceived ease.

Luckily, cold DoorDash meals and quiet Uber rides are not all there is. Harris lays out an alternate approach, an "elegant" world where we let go of our need to optimize and control every aspect of our existence.

Convenienced is a brilliant exploration of the social and economic process that has defined the 21st century thus far, and a call to open ourselves to the randomness, inefficiency, and joys of living in a shared world—one where we might just find that friction isn’t merely occasionally desirable, it’s what makes a worthwhile life.