Throw Away

“We therefore advocate a revolution against the industrial system… This is not to be a POLITICAL revolution. Its object will be to overthrow not governments but the economic and technological basis of the present society.” If there is one text that everyone should read, it is without a doubt Industrial Society and Its Future. While Industrial Society and Its Future is likely the most widely-read manifesto released in the past century, it is exceedingly rare to see any scholars, academics, or professionals seriously grapple with the subject matter at hand. If one is familiar with the contents of the manifesto then it isn’t hard to see why: (1) the conclusions drawn here are no doubt very hard to swallow for the average individual, and (2) they pose a great threat to the existing social order. In his manifesto (and in his other works, Technological Slavery and Anti-Tech Revolution), Kaczynski argues that the path we are on now is headed towards inevitable disaster. This may be a disaster in terms of human dignity—in which human beings are reduced to the status of cogs in the machine—or this may be an ecological catastrophe in which only the simplest of life forms (such as bacteria) can survive. Either way, the technological system we live under is rapidly encroaching upon every last remaining bit of wild Nature—both wild spaces free of human intervention, and also human nature itself. Due to the fact that the technological system cannot be reformed in any way as to avoid a catastrophic outcome, or allow for true human freedom, Kaczynski calls for a world-wide revolution to bring about the complete collapse of the techno-industrial system—this being the only way to steer humanity off of the course of destruction that it is on now. In addition to highlighting the reckless path we are on now, Kaczynski lays out plainly how the techno-industrial system has resulted in widespread psychological suffering, largely due to the fact that it does not provide individuals with the ability to meaningfully exercise individual autonomy. He describes the “power process” as the ability to exert serious effort towards—and successfully achieve at least some—survival (i.e., “life and death”) goals, theorizing that since humans evolved to live a hunter/gatherer lifestyle that we have an innate need to go through the power process. Goals that are not directly related to survival, but are instead artificial goals that humans set up for themselves simply for the sake of fulfillment, are then categorized as “surrogate activities.” Kaczynski states that since the techno-industrial system provides most modern individuals with everything they need in order to survive—so long as they hold down a job and are an obedient member of society—people spend most of their time engaged in surrogate activities. This mismatch between how humans have evolved to live (largely pursuing meaningful, practical, life-and-death dependent goals as individuals or small groups) and how modern humans live (mostly engaging in artificial or “surrogate” goals as part of cogs in a large social machine) can account for the widespread psychological maladjustment and suffering that we are seeing now. Brilliantly argued, this is a must read for anyone that feels that there is something deeply wrong with modern civilization. The insights offered here are original, refreshing, radical, and not something you would find in any other text.