West Coast Action

Modern people are spiritually sick largely because they are obsessed with comfort and try with every fiber of their being to avoid suffering.

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D. Cowardice. Modern society has taught us to be passive and obedient, and to be horrified at physical violence. Moreover, the conditions of modern life are conducive to laziness, softness, and cowardice. Those who want to be revolutionaries will have to overcome these weaknesses. END OF TRANSMISSION Previous Page Click to read beginning of transmission

C. The pseudorevolutionaries. At present there are too many people who pride themselves on being rebels without really being committed to the overthrow of the existing system. They only play at rebellion or revolution in order to satisfy their own psychological needs. These pseudorevolutionaries may form an obstacle to the emergence of an effective revolutionary movement. Previous Page Next Page

B. Propaganda. The technological society possesses a system of propaganda, made possible by modern media of communications, that is more powerful and effective than that of any earlier society. This system of propaganda makes more difficult the revolutionary task of undermining technoindustrial values. Previous Page Next Page

But I don’t predict a revolution; it remains to be seen whether one will occur. There are several factors that may stand in the way of revolution, among them the following: A. Lack of belief in the possibility of revolution. Most people take it for granted that the existing system is invulnerable and that nothing can divert it from its appointed path. It never occurs to them that revolution might be a real possibility. History shows that human beings commonly will submit to any injustice, however outrageous, if the people around them submit and everyone believes there is no way out. On the other hand, once the hope of a way out has arisen, in many cases a revolution follows. Thus, paradoxically, the greatest obstacle to a revolution against the technoindustrial system is the very belief that such a revolution cannot happen. If enough people come to believe that a revolution is possible, then it will be possible in reality. Previous Page Next Page

As the damage done by the technoindustrial system grows worse, it is to be expected that the new values that oppose it will spread and become stronger. If the tension between technological values and the new values rises high enough, and if a suitable occasion presents itself, what happened in France and Russia will happen again: A revolution will break out. Previous Page Next Page

The movement in opposition to the technoindustrial system should develop something more or less similar to the foregoing set of values; and in fact there is much evidence of the emergence of such values. Clearly these values are totally incompatible with the survival of technological civilization, just as the values that emerged prior to the French and Russian Revolutions were totally incompatible with the survival of the old regimes of those countries. Previous Page Next Page

vi. Punishment of those responsible for the present situation. The scientists, engineers, corporation executives, politicians, and so forth who consciously and intentionally promote technological progress and economic growth are criminals of the worst kind. They are worse than Stalin or Hitler, who never even dreamed of anything approaching what today’s technophiles are doing. Therefore justice and punishment will be demanded. Previous Page Next Page

v. Exaltation of freedom. Of all the things of which modern civilization deprives us, freedom and intimacy with nature are the most precious. In fact, ever since the human race submitted to the servitude of civilization, freedom has been the most frequent and most insistent demand of rebels and revolutionaries throughout the ages. Previous Page Next Page

iv. Love and reverence toward nature, or even worship of nature. Nature is the opposite of technological civilization, which threatens death to nature. It is therefore logical to set up nature as a positive value in opposition to the negative value of technology. Moreover, reverence toward or adoration of nature may fill the spiritual vacuum of modern society. Previous Page Next Page

iii. Rejection of materialism, and its replacement with a conception of life that values moderation and self sufficiency while deprecating the acquisition of property or of status. The rejection of materialism is a necessary part of the rejection of technological civilization, because only technological civilization can provide the material goods to which modern man is addicted. Previous Page Next Page

ii. Rejection of civilization itself. This too is logical, because the present technological civilization is only the most recent stage of the ongoing process of civilization, and earlier civilizations already contained the seed of the evils that today are becoming so great and so dangerous. Previous Page Next Page

These values, to judge by present appearances and also by what such values logically ought to be, will probably take a form somewhat like the following: i. Rejection of all modern technology. This is logically necessary, because modern technology is a whole in which all parts are interconnected; you can’t get rid of the bad parts without also giving up those parts that seem good. Like a complex living organism, the technological system either lives or dies; it can’t remain half alive and half dead for any length of time. Previous Page Next Page

NO MORE COMPROMISES. Modern technology isn’t just part of today’s problems, it’s at the center of them. It fuels widespread psychological distress, leaving people anxious, unfulfilled, and disconnected. It drives massive environmental destruction through pollution, habitat loss, and species extinction. It does not improve human life, it tightens its grip on it, eroding independence and forcing deeper dependence on systems we can’t control. As the technological-system continues to expand, both human suffering and ecological damage only intensify. Whatever benefits technology claims to offer are minor compared to the damage it causes on nearly every level. Anti-Tech Apostles