Theodore John Kaczynski
Theodore John Kaczynski is an American critic of modern technology.
In 2019, Chad A. Haag published a book reviewing Kaczynski's philosophy in detail. The book is titled The Philosophy of Ted Kaczynski: Why the Unabomber was Right about Modern Technology.[1]
Contents
Philosophy
Fleming (2021) identifies influences from French philosopher Jacques Ellul's book The Technological Society (1954), British zoologist Desmond Morris' book The Human Zoo (1969), and American psychologist Martin Seligman's book Helplessness: On Depression, Development, and Death (1975) in Kaczynski's philosophy. He argues that Kaczynski's ideology should not be conflated with radical environmentalism or green anarchism, but should rather be identified as a novel anti-tech radicalism ideology. Kaczynski's anti-tech radicalism focuses on the human condition rather than primarily on ecological conservation issues. Indeed, Kaczynski's 1995 manifesto states, "The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race", rather than for the environment or planet.[2]
2021 prison transfer
On December 14, 2021, Kaczynski was transferred from the ADX Florence "Supermax" prison in Colorado to FMC Butner, a federal prison medical facility in North Carolina. In a letter from early 2022, Kaczynski revealed in a letter that he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and was told that he had two years to live. He recommended the recipient of the letter to follow "sections 28 & 29 of Chapter Four of Anti-Tech Revolution" and "Rule (iii) of Chapter Three".[3]
In Anti-Tech Revolution, the first sentence of Section 28 in Chapter 4 states:
- It is important to study the history and the methods of earlier social and political movements and the techniques developed by successful leaders of such movements.
Rule 3 of Chapter 3 in Anti-Tech Revolution states:
- Once an objective has been selected, it is necessary to persuade some small minority to commit itself to the achievement of the objective by means more potent than mere preaching or advocacy of ideas. In other words, the minority will have to organize itself for practical action.
Books and articles
- Anti-Tech Revolution: Why and How (2015)
- Industrial Society and Its Future (1995)
- Progress Versus Wilderness (1971)
Technological Slavery, Vol. 1 (2022, 4th edition; ISBN 978-1-944228-03-3), edited by David Skrbina, is an anthology of Kaczynski's writings.
University of Michigan archives
The University of Michigan's Ted Kaczynski collection has four series:[4]
- Correspondence, the bulk of the collection, which includes letters written to and from Kaczynski since his arrest in 1996
- Writings of Kaczynski (other than correspondence)
- Miscellaneous
- Legal Documents, containing drafts of briefs, excluding any materials that fall under attorney-client privilege
References
- ↑ Haag, Chad A. (2019). The Philosophy of Ted Kaczynski: Why the Unabomber was Right about Modern Technology.
- ↑ Sean Fleming (2021): The Unabomber and the origins of anti-tech radicalism, Journal of Political Ideologies, DOI: 10.1080/13569317.2021.1921940
- ↑ Ted Kaczynski Diagnosed With Terminal Cancer: The Unabomber Has Been Given Two Years To Live. Bobby 'B.R' Robber (Feb 8, 2022). The Anarch.
- ↑ Kaczynski collection at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
See also
External links
- Anti-Tech Revolution: Why and How (full text)
- Industrial Society and Its Future (full text)
Archives
- The Ted K Archive
- Ted Kaczynski at the Anarchist Library
- Kaczynski collection at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- Update on the Ted Kaczynski book projects - The unique job or trade in Ann Arbor for anyone curious from r/AnnArbor on Reddit
