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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a review.
I did enjoy reading Anti-Tech Revolution: Why and How, and while finding it a far cry from Technological Slavery, it still managed to be an interesting read. Kaczynski is a very lucid writer and I enjoy reading his thoughts on technology, but I do not condone his past actions and do not promote violence in any way whatsoever.
The book is meant to be a handbook, a practical book on how the would-be revolutionaries were to create their movement and succeed in their goal. Kaczynski gives a brief overview of his theory of technology, but most of the book is about different revolutionary groups and how they succeeded or failed in their attempts to secure their goal. It ends with some tips and pointers on how the anti-tech movement should be organised.
He hints at a longer work-in-progress, which I will be awaiting. This one is so-so, but it was, as mentioned above, an interesting read.
I did enjoy reading Anti-Tech Revolution: Why and How, and while finding it a far cry from Technological Slavery, it still managed to be an interesting read. Kaczynski is a very lucid writer and I enjoy reading his thoughts on technology, but I do not condone his past actions and do not promote violence in any way whatsoever.
The book is meant to be a handbook, a practical book on how the would-be revolutionaries were to create their movement and succeed in their goal. Kaczynski gives a brief overview of his theory of technology, but most of the book is about different revolutionary groups and how they succeeded or failed in their attempts to secure their goal. It ends with some tips and pointers on how the anti-tech movement should be organised.
He hints at a longer work-in-progress, which I will be awaiting. This one is so-so, but it was, as mentioned above, an interesting read.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
One of the best books I've read. It will completely change your view towards the society as it is. It gives some seriously worrisome remarks on the future of humanity, and strives to present possible solutions for it. To see this author only for his previous violent behavior is reductionist, and his utter genius dazzled me both while I read his previous essay, Industrial Society and its Future, and this book. I'd love to give this a reread in the future, and I look forward to how I'll perceive it for a second time.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Probably the most impressive book on the autonomy of technological evolution since the author’s manifesto, Industrial Society and Its Future. This book strikes at the heart of technological optimism, concluding that society CANNOT be steered on the grounds of rational planning from the wishes of humanity. Through his rigorous analysis of historical data and trends, one has little reason to deny the author’s precision on the issue.
The work consists of four chapters, the first two serve as a justification for anti-tech ideology and the latter on strategic concerns. Any person who has a rational interest in the topic should read the first two chapters with care, so I’ll provide a general characterization of their contents here.
Before diving deeper, it should be noted that NONE of Kaczynski’s arguments rely on a specific quality of human nature such as greediness, selfishness or aggression. He offers an analysis of technology as a system, which generally functions independently of the qualities of its constituents (humans & nature). As such, the question of human nature is irrelevant for judging technology as a whole.
There are two central concepts, which encapsulate the reasoning found in the book: natural selection and ”self-propagating systems”. The reader should not be wary of the phrase ”natural selection”, as it doesn’t signify social-darwinism or the necessity of genes in shaping a societal form. Kaczynski uses the concept to show how history can be picky when it comes to selecting customs which may pass. Humans cannot force anything to stay if it doesn’t stand the test of reality. And as it turns out, technology is a force that tends to stay.
The concept of a ”self-propagating system” highlights the crucial aspect of evolving complex systems: independence of its constituents is inverse to the complexity of the system. Thus, our ability to steer a technological organization has to increasingly take into account the complexity surrounding us, diminishing our power over the evolving complex body.
Accordingly, whenever technological evolution has proceeded in a collective, such society tends to use it for their short-term benefit and thus has a limited window of ”control” over it. However, because technology is by nature irreversible without conscious will to oppose it, the following social developments can and will use the same (and probably more advanced) technology for purposes which may be in stark contrast to the intentions of the previous generations with the exception of one characteristic: self-preservation.
If the pursuit of immediate rewards and self-preservation weren’t by themselves destructive (as they necessarily aren’t), high-tech vantages sought by the different organizations form an existential threat as our tools sharpen and extract ever-growing amounts of resources on a limited planet. If this can be accepted as a proposition, global (self-propagating) systems WILL eventually destroy all the complex lifeforms with it, if not by competition, then by internal metabolism.
Concluding, one can only hope that the author’s message is not in vain. I urge the reader to take the topic with the critical seriousness it requires.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
What a great read! I have previously read “Industrial Society and Its Future,” and I feel that this work is an invaluable companion to that essay. Many of the questions I had after finishing “Industrial Society and Its Future” were answered by this book, specifically the “how.” The book focuses on the topic of revolution: historical examples, lessons to be learned, the specific characteristics of an anti-tech revolution that would separate it from previous revolutions, and the necessity of such a revolution.
Kaczynski begins by re-iterating some of his premises from “Industrial Society and Its Future” in a short introduction: that technological growth is inherently self-reinforcing and unsustainable. He argues that industrial society's trajectory will inevitably lead to ecological collapse, social alienation, and the complete erosion of human autonomy.
The book is divided into four main sections, each detailing a specific aspect of Kaczynski's argument. The first focuses on the irrational development of human societies, a vital starting point for the analysis Kaczynksi makes of revolutions. The second focuses on the idea of "self-prop systems" and the inevitablity of the collapse of the technological system, because of the undeniable role of competition and short-term incentive structures. The third chapter explores a variety of historical examples of failed revolutions, and how to avoid their mistakes. The final chapter focuses on the specifics of an anti-tech revolution-how to go about it, who would carry it out, why it would work if Kazynksi's insights are followed. I really appreciated Kaczynksi's clear and simple layout here, it made it very easy to follow the vast span of his argument.
My favorite chapter was the third one. The way that Kaczynski is able to so clearly and simply articulate what much more massive volumes cannot is a testament to his clear-headedness and skill as a writer and thinker. This chapter lays out certain revolutionary guidelines: that revolutionaries must focus on a particular and specific goal, which once achieved, will be irreversible. As an example, Kaczynski cites the women's suffrage movement, which once enacted, gave women a massive bulwark against any counter-revolutionary effort. Kaczynksi also writes about the tendency of movements to be corrupted by power and time -- he draws on the experience of the Chinese Communist Party, filtered through the eyes of Mao. If a revolution takes too long to achieve, its original leaders will die and be replaced by new ones with a different vision, and if the people leading the revolution are not true believers, they can be corrupted by their own success. This necessitates a focus on quality over quantity--the purpose of a revolutionary movement can be easily diluted by an influx of people, who may also fall victim to the corrupting influence of power.
To me, one of the most impressive parts of this work is the fact that it was written from prison. The time and effort it must have taken to get access to all the literature Kaczynski cites at the end of each chapter is mind-boggling, and the editing and refinement it must have taken to be released is similarly iimpressive.
Anti-Tech Revolution: Why and How is not an easy read, either in its—at times--dense prose or its stark conclusions. The book raises critical questions about the trajectory of modern civilization and the sustainability of technological growth, but also answers many of these questions. I feel that this book is far more empowering than “Industrial Society and Its Future”, depite its similarly bleak outlook on the future of mankind and the biosphere if technological progress is not halted. Perhaps the focus on historical examples in this book gives the anti-tech movement a greater sense of place in history than Kaczynksi's original solo manifesto.
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.
During the first section of the book multiple historical examples are shown where an individual, or group of individuals attempt to impose control over their societies in such a way as to change the direction that their societies take, with their efforts almost always resulting in failure in one form or another. Kaczynski then proceeds 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. This conclusion is arrived at as a result of the first postulate, stating that you can’t change a society by pursuing a goal that is vague or abstract. 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.
Whilst being a more difficult read, and one you’ll likely have to go back through more than once to develop a full understanding of, 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. It’s essential reading for anyone seeking to better familiarize themselves with anti-tech thought.
Sweeping assumptions are made throughout the writing, leading to conclusions that sound ridiculously fallible. Really clunkily and densily written, with little substance behind the faux-intellectualism. Kind of just a depressing, hopeless read. I started scan reading and it still wasn't interesting despite my curiosity for subjects like anti-tech, direct action and ecology.
informative
medium-paced
Published in 2020, Dr. Theodore Kaczynski’s magnum opus, Anti-Tech Revolution: Why and How, Second Edition, stands as a masterful work and analysis of society, history, and revolution. For those already skeptical or disillusioned with the technological system, its blatant interference with nature, and the utterly reckless path the unremitting technophiles have us on, Anti-Revolution: Why and How proves itself as a crucial must-read.
The book is neatly and meticulously structured into four chapters and six appendices elaborating the various arguments and points made. Simultaneously, the contents too are meticulously and carefully crafted. In regards to the brilliantly wrought contents, Kaczynski first thoroughly examines historical and modern attempts at social planning and the arguments for such efforts. He then laboriously exhibits, demonstrably, that “the development of a society can never be subject to rational human control.” (Kaczynski, p. 11)
The second chapter of the book is perhaps the most remarkable and ground-breaking chapter of the work. Kaczynski expounds human society as one of self-propagating systems therein shaped by natural selection and competition. His ultimate conclusion, shaped by logical reasoning and sound observation, is that modern supertechnology, in the hands of increasingly interconnected, global, and reckless self-propagating systems, will wipe out Earth’s biosphere, leaving Earth as a dead planet. Rebuked, too, are possible counter-arguments that may be raised against his theory; these counter-arguments are surgically dissected and thus discarded.
Titled “How to Transform a Society: Errors to Avoid,” Chapter Three again draws on history. This time, however, Kaczynski draws on the extensive history of revolution and radical social change, from which he formulates several postulates and rules that any revolutionary movement ought to heed, lest they flounder or their results become undone. With each postulate and rule articulated carefully, and with great detail therein, Kaczynski also inspects two different “neo-Luddite” writers’ proposals. After closely examining the various goals of the writers with respect to the postulates and rules, he concludes the goals to be mere ineffectual fantasies with no hopes of guiding real change. What then can be the goals of the anti-tech revolutionary? With heed to the postulates, and rules, informed by countless historical examples, Kaczynski demonstrates that which, on a historical basis, can succeed: the complete collapse of the technological system. As a goal that is clear, simple, concrete, irreversible, and repellent to most, this goal is perfect for the creation of a dedicated, incorruptible minority of revolutionaries.
In the fourth chapter, Kaczynski writes that first, an anti-tech movement must build its sources of power, thereby preparing itself for the road to revolution. Second, the movement must build its power concerning its political and social environment. Third, a movement ought to undermine the faith people have within the system. Furthermore, Kaczynski points out that a movement must remain hard at work, and create opportunities for itself along with exploiting present ones.
Conclusively, Anti-tech Revolution: Why and How remains a masterwork that anyone seriously critical of technology and the technological system must read. It is well written, well researched, and well aware of the ongoing and impending disaster the technological journey has wrought and has in store for us.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Anti-Tech Revolution: Why and How ("ATR" for short) is Kaczynski’s latest book, and, deservedly so, the personal favourite of many anti-tech individuals, myself included. It starts with an easy-to-ignore, but much-needed preface: “[A]ll people — even people of exceptional intelligence — who merely read this book once or twice at an ordinary pace will miss many of its most important points.” I must say, even after just one pass through ATR, I knew Kaczynski was right about this: as he says, it’s not a book to be read, it’s a book to be studied. It contains some incredibly insightful and accurate proposals about the way society operates — which, as always with Kaczynski, have merit even outside the purview of anti-tech thought.
Firstly, the author introduces the concept of a “self-propagating system”. A self-propagating system is, simply put, any entity that promotes its own survival and propagation (be it through expansion or reproduction). This definition is quite broad, and that’s no coincidence — a self-propagating system could be a national government, a business, a political party, a particular type of plant, animal, or even you.
So, when a company goes out of business, it is a similar process to that of a species going extinct — it’s natural selection. This provides a rather basic, but very rational way of looking at the world — for example, what we call “greed” is a consequence of the simple fact that in a sufficiently competitive environment, those who aren’t greedy are eliminated through natural selection.
Furthermore, greed is explained by Kaczynski’s “proposition 2”: “natural
selection favours self-propagating systems that pursue their own short-term advantage with little or no regard for long-term consequences.” Because those [systems] who seek short-term profits are rash — they pollute, they exploit, they destroy, all in the name of profit — they are also able to gain more than the systems that focus on the long-term, therefore outcompeting them.
This theory of self-propagating systems goes much further than the brief overview I’ve provided here. But ATR has much more to provide than just that — it also goes into revolutionary theory, strategy, and tactics, with reference to the French, and especially Russian Revolutions.
To study the methods of communists (and sometimes, Nazis) might seem hypocritical at first, as ideologically Kaczynski has nothing in common with them. But there is no doubt communist revolutionaries were, despite their failures, the most successful of the 20th century, so the author had all the right to learn from them. Furthermore, if one does not study past revolutions then they will be more likely to have to learn through trial and error what is already available knowledge through careful study of past revolutionary movements.
Particularly interesting is the rule of “freedom of debate, unity of action”. This is a principle of the communist party under Stalin, which states that party members should always have the opportunity to freely debate, discuss, analyse, critique and develop party decisions, but they should ultimately all agree on some kind of decision in the end, and carry it out to the best of their ability without any “veto” or petty tantrums. Indeed, this is a very useful policy for any revolutionary organisation to employ, since it ensures a degree of flexibility without compromising unity and morale.
There’s much more to be learned from past revolutionaries, and in ATR, Kaczynski wastes no time doing just that — but again, what has been mentioned here is but a drop in the bucket compared to what Kaczynski has to say. In conclusion, Anti-Tech Revolution is a work of equal significance to Kaczynski’s Manifesto Industrial Society and its Future. It’s a must-read book not just for anti-tech individuals, but for anyone who wants to learn about our modern society’s issues and their solutions.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Anti-Tech Revolution: Why and How is the product of decades of research in history, revolutionary movements, and the development of societies. And you can certainly tell while reading it. Every part of the book is exceptionally rational, objective and is backed up by mountains of evidence. But at the same time the book avoids becoming esoteric, its ideas are expressed in a clear and lucid manner. All three of Kaczynski's books are vital for a comprehensive understanding of the technological system, how societies function and evolve, how to successfully change society, and the dynamics of social movements. But Anti-Tech Revolution: Why and How takes it to another level. Although some of the ideas expressed in the book have been mentioned in Kaczynski’s earlier works, Anti-Tech Revolution stands out by delving much deeper into these ideas. For example, Kaczynski has mentioned in all of his texts that it is impossible to plan out a new type of society on paper and then make it a reality, and that there are serious limits to reform. But only in Anti-Tech Revolution does he devote an entire chapter to all of the reasons why the development of a society cannot be subject to rational control. Kaczynski has previously mentioned that quality is more important than quantity when forming a revolutionary movement, but only in Anti-Tech Revolution does he devote two entire chapters to the ins and outs of forming a successful revolutionary movement.
But the book doesn’t stop at adding on to Kaczynski’s previous ideas, he also explores topics that were previously untouchedTo name just a few examples, he explains the long-term impacts of dangerous competition among self propagating systems, debunks the idea of technologically induced immortality being desirable or possible, explains the potential of grave harm that would come come with geo-engineering, describes the need for revolutionary movements to hold a singular clear and concrete goal, and lays out an expected pattern for a revolution against the technological system.
It’s easy to criticize the modern world, and to imagine a new society without its many problems. It is much harder to put one's ideas into practice. So most people do the former, they dream up naive schemes to invent some new utopia, while being ignorant of the tenability of achieving such plans. But Kaczynski is not interested in such daydreaming, he’s wholeheartedly focused on the destruction of the technological system. Kaczynski has spent decades studying revolutionary movements, what makes them succeed and what makes them fail. Anti-Tech Revolution uses this information to guide the path which an anti-tech movement might take. In Chapter 3, he lays out 4 postulates and from them 5 rules that revolutionaries must take note of in order to achieve their goals. Although these rules are not rigid laws which must be obeyed under all circumstances, they have all played a decisive role in determining the successes and failures of revolutionary movements. Kaczynski dives deep into the history of revolutionary movements, and how their adherence or their ignorance of the rules has impacted them.
Additionally, he analyzes the structure and tactics used by previous successful revolutionary movements and explains how they might be applied to an anti-tech movement today. For example, communist movements would frequently infiltrate non-communist movements and organizations, and would slowly climb the ladder of power in them, moving the organizations in a pro-communist direction. Kaczynski explains how an anti-tech movement could infiltrate organizations with similar values, such as radical environmentalist organizations, and could influence these organizations in an anti-tech direction. Of course, the methods of previous revolutionary movements cannot be copied exactly and then rigidly applied, but they do provide ideas. And it would be rash to dismiss the tactics of previous revolutionary movements out of disagreements with their ideologies. “It takes a wise man to learn from his mistakes but an even wiser man to learn from others.” - Zen Proverb
In my opinion, Anti-tech Revolution is the greatest book ever written by Ted Kaczynski, and one of the most important works ever written. I have listed only a few of the many crucial ideas explored in the book and I strongly urge you to read it for yourself.
In a more formal and clear approach than his manifesto Kaczynski gives a detailed insight to his thinking about modern ecological activism and its issues. While not a deductive proof and admittedly making some generalisation (which he is open about) he details an axiomatic approach to analysing social systems in terms of analogously biological systems which desire to 'reproduce' these can be kingdoms or families, companies or churches. Whatever they are, Kaczynski holds, they act accordingly to similar generative and competitive principles.
Introducing this system allows Kaczynski to attack *in principal* many proposed solutions to the ecological crisis, not on a contingent social or technological level but as impossible a priori (almost). The strength of his axiomatic basis and its applicability are to the taste of the reader but once accepted he provides compelling arguments about why contemporary and popular approaches to solving ecological issues are generally futile or too slow moving.
The book is divided into two parts, a diagnosis of social systems and how this dismembers many modern approaches to environmental change (dotted with a few colourful metaphors along the way, take for example the comparison of Elon Musk fans being in a millenarian cult of the Singularity) and how given such a state of the world the true environmentalist *ought* to provoke change.
Kaczynski's origin is not forgotten in the second half as he very carefully dances as close to suggestions of terroristic actions as possible but it does offer quite interesting views on how to approach trying to make revolutionary change be it for gay rights, women's equality, global communism or primitive anarchism; his principles are abstracted from many radicals and hold water as organisational principles. If one abstracts away the principles for how an important social movement should organise and sustain itself in a non-violent manner this work is as powerful as Saul Alinsky's in showing how this can be done.
Overall it's a very good book to challenge your calmness about the ecological crisis going on around us and an analysis that shows many of our idealistic solutions to be perhaps untenable while the final section will give you an interesting account of how radical movements did and do operate though I would say the impact of this is only lasting if you want to engage in such a movement. Nonetheless, it is important to disentangle Kacyznski's acceptance of political violence from the other threads of his arguments to give a sensible reading and this can be done relatively easily.
Introducing this system allows Kaczynski to attack *in principal* many proposed solutions to the ecological crisis, not on a contingent social or technological level but as impossible a priori (almost). The strength of his axiomatic basis and its applicability are to the taste of the reader but once accepted he provides compelling arguments about why contemporary and popular approaches to solving ecological issues are generally futile or too slow moving.
The book is divided into two parts, a diagnosis of social systems and how this dismembers many modern approaches to environmental change (dotted with a few colourful metaphors along the way, take for example the comparison of Elon Musk fans being in a millenarian cult of the Singularity) and how given such a state of the world the true environmentalist *ought* to provoke change.
Kaczynski's origin is not forgotten in the second half as he very carefully dances as close to suggestions of terroristic actions as possible but it does offer quite interesting views on how to approach trying to make revolutionary change be it for gay rights, women's equality, global communism or primitive anarchism; his principles are abstracted from many radicals and hold water as organisational principles. If one abstracts away the principles for how an important social movement should organise and sustain itself in a non-violent manner this work is as powerful as Saul Alinsky's in showing how this can be done.
Overall it's a very good book to challenge your calmness about the ecological crisis going on around us and an analysis that shows many of our idealistic solutions to be perhaps untenable while the final section will give you an interesting account of how radical movements did and do operate though I would say the impact of this is only lasting if you want to engage in such a movement. Nonetheless, it is important to disentangle Kacyznski's acceptance of political violence from the other threads of his arguments to give a sensible reading and this can be done relatively easily.