ANTI-TECH REVOLUTION: WHY AND HOW ANTI-TECH REVOLUTION: WHY AND HOW THEODORE JOHN KACZYNSKI FITCH & MADISON PUBLISHERS Copyright© 2015 by Theodore John Kaczynski All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without the express written consent of the publisher. First edition, 2016. Published by Fitch &Madison Publishers. Inquiries to the publisher should be addressed to Fitch &Madison Publishers, 15150 North Hayden Road, Suite 210, Scottsdale, AZ 85260, Tel: 602-457-4800, Fax: 602-457-4802, or via e-mail at [email protected]. Fitch &Madison and Fitch &Madison Publishers are trademarks of Fitch &Madison Publishers, LLC, an Arizona limited liability company. www.fitchmadison.com Theodore John Kaczynski does not receive any remuneration for this book. Printed in the United States of America §This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper). 10 9 87654321 Publisher's Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kaczynski, Theodore John, 1942- author. Anti-tech revolution : why and how I Theodore John Kaczynski. - First edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. LCCN 2016937645 ISBN 978-1-944228-00-2 1. Te chnology-Social aspects. 2. Technology and civilization. 3. Revolutions-History. 4. Environmental degradation. 5. Nature-Effect of human beings on. 6. Social action. I. Title. T14.5.K324 2016 303.48'3-dc23 Were there but an Adam and an Eve leftin every continent, and leftfree, it would be better than it now is. -T homas Jefferson CONTENTS Epigraph ..........................................................v T he epigraph is from Jefferson's letter to William Short, January 1793, quoted by David McCullough,John Adams, Simon & Schuster, New Yo rk, 2002, p. 438. Preface ........................................................... 1 Chapter One. T he Development of a Society Can Never Be Subject to Rational Human Control Part I ............................................................ 7 Part II .......................................................... 13 Part III. ......................................................... 17 Part IV .......................................................... 28 Part V ........................................................... 29 Part VI .......................................................... 31 Notes ........................................................... 34 Chapter Two. Why the Technological System Will Destroy Itself Part I ........................................................... 41 Part II .......................................................... 42 Part III. ......................................................... 56 Part IV .......................................................... 58 Part V ........................................................... 68 Notes ............. ................ ......... ..................... 75 Chapter T hree. How to Transform a Society: Errors to Avoid Part I ........................................................... 89 Part II ... ....................................................... 92 Part III. 100 Part IV ......................................................... 119 Notes .......................................................... 1 25 Chapter Four. Strategic Guidelines for an Anti-Tech Movement Section 1 . 135 Section 2 . 136 Section 3 . 136 vii viii CONTENTS Section 4 ....................................................... 137 Section 5 ....................................................... 138 Section 6 ....................................................... 138 Section 7 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 139 Section 8 ....................................................... 142 Section 9 ....................................................... 143 Section 10 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 145 Section 11 ...................................................... 148 Section 12 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 149 Section 13 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 153 Section 14 ...................................................... 154 Section 15...................................................... 154 Section 16 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 155 Section 17 ...................................................... 155 Section 18 ...................................................... 156 Section 19 ...................................................... 158 Section 20 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 159 Section 21 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 161 Section 22. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 162 Section 23 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 166 Section 24 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 166 Section 25 ...................................................... 167 Section 26 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 168 Section 27 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 169 Section 28 ...................................................... 17 0 Section 29 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 17 1 Section 30...................................................... 17 4 Notes .......................................................... 17 6 Appendix One. In Support of Chapter One Part A.......................................................... 187 Part B .......................................................... 187 Part C .... ...... ...... ...... .... ....... .... ..... .... ..... .... 189 Part D ......................................................... 191 Notes .......................................................... 192 Appendix Two. In Support of Chapter Two Part A............ ....... .......... .. ... ... ... .... ....... .... 193 Part B .......................................................... 195 Part C.......................................................... 196 CONTENTS ix Part D ......................................................... 197 Part E .......................................................... 199 Part F .......................................................... 200 Part G ......................................................... 203 Notes .......................................................... 204 Appendix T hree. Stay on Target .................................. 209 Appendix Four. T he Long-Term Outcome of Geo-Engineering ....... 215 List of Works Cited .............................................. 219 Index .......................................................... 231 PREFACE I. There are many people today who see that modern society is head­ ing toward disaster in one formor another, and who moreover recognize technology as the common thread linking the principal dangers that hang over us.1 Nearly all such people fall into one of two categories: First, there are those who are appalled at what technology is doing to our society and our planet, but are not motivated to take any action against the technological system because they fe el helpless to accomplish anything in that direction. They read an anti-tech book-say, forexample , Jacques Ellul's Technological Society-and it makes them fe el better because they've found someone whohas eloquently articulated their own anxieties about technology. But the effect soon wears offand their discomfortwith the technological world begins to nag them again, so they turn forrelief to another anti-tech book-Ivan Illich, Kirkpatrick Sale, Daniel Qyinn, my own Industrial Society and Its Future, or something else-and the cycle repeats itsel£ In other words, forth ese people anti-tech literature is merely a kind of therapy: It alleviates their discomfortwith technology, but it does not serve them as a call to action. In the second category are people who are appalled at modern technology and actually aspire to accomplish something against the tech­ nological system, but have no practical sense of how to go about it. At a purely tacticallevel some of these people may have excellent practical sense; they may know very well, forexamp le, how to organize a demonstration against some particular atrocity that is being committed against our envi­ ronment. But when it comes to grand strategy2 they are at a loss. Most perhaps recognize that any victory against an environmental atrocity or other technology-related evil can only be temporary, at best, as long as the technological system remains in existence. But they can think of noth­ ing better to do than to continue attacking particular evils while vaguely hoping that their work will somehow help to solve the overall problem of technology. In reality their work is counterproductive, because it distracts attention fromthe technological system itself as the underlying source of the evils and leads people to focusinstead on problems oflimited signifi­ cance that moreover cannot be permanently solved while the technological system continues to exist. 2 PREFACE The purpose of this book is to show people how to begin thinking in practical, grand-strategic terms about what must be done in order to get our society offthe road to destruction that it is now on. On the basis of past experience I fe el safein saying that virtually all people-even people of exceptional intelligence-who merely read this book once or twice at an ordinary pace will miss many of its most import­ ant points. This book, therefore, is not a book to be read; it is a book to be studied with the same care that one would use in studying, forexamp