A review by potash
Technological Slavery by Theodore John Kaczynski

hopeful inspiring medium-paced

5.0

 

Technological Slavery Book Review

By Potash

Technological Slavery is the most unique of Kaczynski's three books. ISAIF and Anti-Tech Revolution are works focused on the problems of the technological system, how it cannot be reformed, and how it can be destroyed. Technological Slavery is more broadly focused. The book is primarily based on Kaczynski's letters to various correspondents on the issue of technology instead of his essays. This makes Technological Slavery a distinctive reading experience, which exposes us to Kaczynski’s ideas in a different way. This is the only one of his books where he directly addresses strategies others ask him about, answers their questions and debates defenders of the system. Technological Slavery introduces many new and important ideas, such as the concept of learned helplessness, the prevalence of natural selection among social groups, how the system uses leftism to take advantage of the rebellious instincts that many of us feel under such an oppressive system, and many more. Technological Slavery greatly expands your knowledge on many subjects relevant to anti-tech ideology and I firmly recommend it. 

The conventional notion is that history is determined by an elevator of moral progress, in which we slowly but surely chose to make society more equitable and humane. Human intentions are the decisive factor in determining the course societies take–so the thinking goes–and they are thus responsible for the problems we face and therefore also have the potential to provide the reforms necessary to solve these problems. In other words, humans have primary agency in determining the course of society’s evolution over the long-term. “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice” - Martin Luther King.  Technological Slavery thoroughly debunked this fairytale and proposes its own theory: history is dictated by objective conditions/natural selection rather than human intentions. Kaczynski argues that human intentions do not and cannot dictate the course of history, outside of 3 exceptions which he acknowledges at the start of the book. He also acknowledges that there are instances in which human intentions can have long-term consequences on society as a whole, but even in these cases what follows is not what the individuals who caused the change desired or expected. Natural selection among human societies works in a similar manner to natural selection in biology. Just as animals that have traits which allow them to best propagate themselves replace the animals without such traits, in human societies social groups with the traits that best allow them to propagate themselves replace social groups without such traits. There is however a difference between the two: among human societies natural selection also works through imitation rather than replacement alone. It is common for less successful social groups to imitate the traits of successful social groups. 

The spread of democracy is often used as an example of human intentions changing the world for the better. It is widely accepted that democracy was adopted because of a desire for freedom, equality, and political representation. Kaczynski challenges this notion, and argues explains that the real reason democracy was adopted was because it was believed to be most conducive to economic prosperity and technological progress. When undemocratic regimes showed that they could achieve prosperity without democracy, interest in democracy was lost. So, the widespread adoption of democracy does not refute the theory of natural selection, but rather it is a prime example of it.

Kaczynski persuasively argues why and how natural selection has played, and will continue to play, a more important role in guiding the course of history than human intentions.  Understanding the prevalence of natural selection among human societies is important because it exposes the impossibility of naive plans to reform the technological system. 

Technological slavery provides further elaboration on the Ideas discussed in Industrial Society and It’s Future and provides many new ones as well. The Book is essential for a thorough understanding of the impacts technological development has on society, and how to counteract them.