Industrial Society and Its Future: Unabomber Manifesto

Just like many of you reading this, I originally only read the book as a joke in response to the spike in media attention around Kaczynski, largely through memes, with the iconic opening paragraph headlining on social media front pages during mid-to-late 2020. After reading it, I was shocked, views I had subconsciously held for most of my life started to make sense and began to look at society through a deeper lens.The book itself gives a comprehensive outline of the ways in which the technological system controls us and how it functions. While it is neither the first nor only critique of technological society, it is certainly the most accessible, condensed (yet easy to read) and precise of the lot.His critique of leftism has been heavily criticised (by leftists no doubt) as irrelevant, offensive, and out of place, yet Its position at the start of the text perfectly achieves the author’s aim of deterring leftists for their property of leeching on and corrupting revolutionary movements. For a rough outline based off his limited available sources it is shockingly accurate, self evident in fact when looking at the response from leftists.His unique concepts of the ‘power process’ and ‘surrogate activities’ are intriguing and lend the book a slightly more optimistic tone while he critiques modernity, by indicating the model of a free and autonomous society Kaczynski proves that he is just as capable of creating fresh ideas as he is at criticising outdated and flawed ones.His elegant refutal of the claim “reformation of industrial society so that the ‘bad’ is separated from the ‘good’ is possible” shows definitively that while politicians and supporters of the system claim technology can be reformed, they fail to solve even the simplest problems such as drug abuse, alcoholism, unemployment, school shootings, etc.The strategy put forward by the author for a hypothetical revolutionary movement to end the global technological system is an optimistic outlook as well as, he denotes, a necessary one. A movement in his eyes must be optimistic. While he speaks a lot of the atrocities and horrors inflicted on man in the name of an infinite technological progression, you do not leave this book with sadness and fear, but hope, anger and optimism (perhaps some justified anger also)Kaczynski makes the claim that revolution must occur sooner rather than later or else the consequences of the collapse of technological society will be more disastrous, no matter how necessary. And while the strategy aspect is relatively short in this book (unavoidable since the book itself is only roughly 200 paragraphs) he elaborates beyond his main talking points in a later book, Anti Tech Revolution: Why and How, which is highly recommended if you enjoy this book.

Amazing book, difficult to get

Don't think that this won't make sense because the man was warped in other ways. A must-read.

The text is accurate, I am satisfied. The cover is easily stained by hands leaving greasy mark. It also would have been better if they had added letters to newspapers from Theodore, but overall a good product. Be aware that shipping to the UK from the supplier can be difficult, only the second time the book was delivered. Money refunded with no problems, however this is not the first time I have experienced "the product has been delivered" - when in reality it has not.

A surprisingly concise book outlining the cause of societal problems of our age and it proposes interesting (radical) solutions. Very interesting read and highly recommended to just about anyone.

Though many have/will concentrate on the observations and thus predictions TK made on the impact technology will have on society and who could possibly argue against this when what we have today is likely beyond what TK imagined when he first considered his “manifesto.”But it’s his observations as to pattern of behaviour of political/social/ideological/pseudo religious that is really profound. Their manipulation, infiltration, influence and the subsequent advancement their own “manifestos” that is really where the real horror lies.This “Industrial Society and its Future” should be enforced as “compulsory” reading for anyone above the age of 12.Reading this book alongside HG Wells “Politics and the English Language” will be alarming to the uninitiated but will serve as a “soothing ointment” to the mind of those who suspect that there is clearly something sinister taking place in earth today. A driving force that is hell bent on taking mankind with him, to oblivion.

has a weird material for the cover

The content of the book is a very intesting take on modern society, I feel like if the man who wrote it hadn't done such horrendous things, he may have actually changed the world for the better.The quality of the book is passable, but the cover smudges quite easily, sort of an odd feeling material, but does it's job fine enough