Freedom Club

Kaczynski’s most recent published work, Anti-Tech Revolution: Why and How, is the result of several decades of thought and research. Kaczynski opens the book by asserting that the development of a society can never be subject to rational human control, defining self-propagating systems, and explaining what role global self-propagating systems (with the immense power of modern technology at their disposal) play in the modern world, and why these systems work almost exclusively towards their own immediate and short-term benefit, irrespective of any long-term consequences. Kaczynski also details how a movement working against the techno-industrial system should organize itself, setting forth a series of postulates, as well as rules derived from those postulates, whilst citing numerous historical examples to help demonstrate the importance of these rules, and how they shaped previous political movements. Kaczynski to bring attention to what role the uncontrollable forces of self-propagating systems (self-prop systems for short) play in thwarting any attempts at subjecting a society to rational human guidance; a self-propagating-system being defined as a self-preserving or self-reproducing system which propagates itself and competes for power. Drawing from the process of natural selection Kaczynski argues that similar phenomenon occurs within any complex, large-scale society. These societies produce self-propagating systems that invade every corner, circumventing all attempts which are made to suppress them, and competing for power without regard to the objectives of any government or other entity. With global self-prop systems (self-prop systems that operate globally) coming into formation which are to be concerned first and foremost with their own short-term benefit, with competition between these global self-prop systems being likely to result in devastation for life on the planet, due to the power of the modern technologies which these systems wield. The book is a refinement of ideas alluded to and written on in previous works, with Kaczynski outlining in greater detail how a revolutionary anti-tech movement is to operate, and what it might look like. With regard to any revolutionary movement that seeks lasting change, Kaczynski provides a framework for success based on thoroughly grounded postulates and rules logically derived from the postulates. With the first (and arguably most important rule) being that a movement should select a single, clear, simple, and concrete objective if it’s to change a society in a specified way, with the achievement of said goal producing the desired change. Multiple historical examples are cited to help make clear the importance of the first rule, with revolutionary movements often being made successful as a result of their strict adherence to the first rule, even if they may have violated one of the later mentioned rules. Though Kaczynski goes on to state that if a revolutionary movement is to maximize its chances of success, it’d be in its best interest to give close attention to all of the rules set forth, so as to not be entirely reliant on luck. Anti-Tech Revolution: Why and How, is well thought out, sensible, comprehensive, thoughtful, and an essential read for anyone who wants to better understand the modern technological world on a grand scale; where it is heading, and what can be done.

Technological Slavery expounds upon and elaborates on many concepts and ideas in Industrial Society and Its Future, serving as a continuation of sorts, with a revised version of the manifesto itself being within the book. Whilst being more broadly focused, Kaczynski (in a series of exchanges with David Skrbina and other correspondents) goes over a range of anti-tech related concepts and introduces the reader to new ones, such as learned helplessness, objective conditions/circumstances, the real motives of scientists, why leftists serve to undermine anti-tech related causes and ultimately work to further the technological systems goals, and many more. Kaczynski goes about addressing potential objections and counter arguments in a comprehensive, sensible, and logical fashion, and also explains thoroughly why any attempts at reform in regards to addressing the numerous and very serious issues of modern technology will fail. Kaczynski also details the role natural selection plays in guiding human societies. Kaczynski argues that history is primarily guided by “objective” circumstances, and that human decision-making plays little to no role in determining the course that history takes. The spread of democratic forms of government helps to prove this. Kaczynski notes that democracy as a form of government dates back at least to ancient Athens in Greece, yet despite this democracy didn’t become widespread up until very recently. In reality, democracy prevailed as the dominant form of government (in the Western hemisphere at least) due to its technological and economic vigor, proving itself to be the most technologically efficient and flexible form of government in the post-industrial world, spreading itself through a process of natural selection and replacing other forms of government in various nations either through conquest, or through imitation on the part of previously non-democratic nations. Of the many important points made by Kaczynski, I’ll just mention two that stood out to me: The first is the problem of learned helplessness (which occurs through the process of repeatedly subjecting someone to negative stimuli until the subject becomes unwilling to attempt to stop it) and Kaczynski argues why this is a widespread and inevitable consequence of modern technological conditions. The second is the futility of reform due to number and severity of the problems brought about by continued technological progress. Global warming, ozone depletion, exhaustion of natural resources, genetic deterioration of humans due to the relaxation of natural selection, abnormally high extinction rates, the risk of disaster from biotechnological tinkering, replacement of humans by intelligent machines, biological engineering, dominance of large organizations and powerlessness of individuals, mass surveillance technology, abnormally high rates of mental illness, such as depression, mania, anxiety disorders, attention deficit disorder, addictive disorders and more, serving as just some examples of such problems. With the implementation of a solution to just one of the aforementioned problems (if even possible at all) being a long and difficult process, likely to result in multiple unintended and unacceptable consequences

In a 35,000-word manuscript arguing against the evils of the techno-industrial system, Kaczynski, in a concise, articulate, and sensible manner identifies the root cause of much of the suffering which modern man is faced with and proposes a practical solution; that being revolution. A revolution that seeks to overthrow not governments, but the technological and economic foundation upon which modern civilization is built. The manifesto’s basic premise is that the techno-industrial system is inherently anti-human and incompatible with ecological health, wild nature, as well as the dignity, psychological well-being and freedom of the human species, and cannot be reformed in such a way as to have these faults amended. Consequently, Kaczynski comes to the conclusion that the postindustrial world, along with all of its large-scale organization-dependent technologies, should be dispensed with entirely. The conclusion is confident, irrespective of the temporary suffering which an end to industrial civilization may result in. Since the consequences of allowing the technological system to continue on its current path unimpeded would be far more disastrous and result in far more suffering. The ultimate justification is analogous to the amputation of an arm done to prevent complete death Over the course of the manifesto Kaczynski brings attention to many of the social evils which have arisen as a result of continued technological and economic progress, but which have received little or poor attention. One of the most important being the disruption of what he refers to as “the power process.” The power process involves goal, effort, and attainment of said goal, as well as autonomy in regard to how that goal is attained, and whether it is under the initiative of the individual pursuing the goal. The technological system in its entirety disrupts this basic psychological process (as well as many others) out of a need for technical necessity, resulting in frustration, feelings of powerlessness, despair, anxiety, depression and a multitude of mental illnesses, varying from individual to individual. The general idea appears to me to be that humans are only capable of deriving real psychological fulfillment from partaking in activities which are rooted in our biology and evolutionary past. This is something that’d be difficult to dispute. Kaczynski goes on to argue that the system does not and cannot exist to satisfy human needs; rather, it’s human behavior that has to be modified to fit the needs of the system. “This has nothing to do with the political or social ideology that may pretend to guide the technological system. It is not the fault of capitalism, and it is not the fault of socialism. It is the fault of technology, because the system is guided not by ideology but by technical necessity.” (Industrial Society and Its Future, paragraph 119). Readers should approach Kaczynski’s work with an open mind, with any potential moral objections to his character aside, and take time to seriously consider whether or not there is truth within the contents of his writing, in doing so I believe most would come to the conclusion that there certainly is.