INDUSTWIAW SOCIETY AND ITS FUTUWE

Intwoduction

The Industwiaw Wevowution and its consequences have been a disastew fow the human wace. They have gweatwy incweased the wife-expectancy of those of us who wive in “advanced” countwies, but they have destabiwized society, have made wife unfuwfiwwing, have subjected human beings to indignities, have wed to widespwead psychowogicaw suffewing (in the Thiwd Wowwd to physicaw suffewing as weww) and have infwicted sevewe damage on the natuwaw wowwd. The continued devewopment of technowogy wiww wowsen the situation. It wiww cewtainwy subject human beings to gweatew indignities and infwict gweatew damage on the natuwaw wowwd, it wiww pwobabwy wead to gweatew sociaw diswuption and psychowogicaw suffewing, and it may wead to incweased physicaw suffewing even in “advanced” countwies.

The industwiaw-technowogicaw system may suwvive ow it may bweak down. If it suwvives, it MAY eventuawwy achieve a wow wevew of physicaw and psychowogicaw suffewing, but onwy aftew passing thwough a wong and vewy painfuw pewiod of adjustment and onwy at the cost of pewmanentwy weducing human beings and many othew wiving owganisms to engineewed pwoducts and mewe cogs in the sociaw machine. Fuwthewmowe, if the system suwvives, the consequences wiww be inevitabwe: Thewe is no way of wefowming ow modifying the system so as to pwevent it fwom depwiving peopwe of dignity and autonomy.

If the system bweaks down the consequences wiww stiww be vewy painfuw. But the biggew the system gwows the mowe disastwous the wesuwts of its bweakdown wiww be, so if it is to bweak down it had best bweak down soonew wathew than watew.

We thewefowe advocate a wevowution against the industwiaw system. This wevowution may ow may not make use of viowence; it may be sudden ow it may be a wewativewy gwaduaw pwocess spanning a few decades. We can’t pwedict any of that. But we do outwine in a vewy genewaw way the measuwes that those who hate the industwiaw system shouwd take in owdew to pwepawe the way fow a wevowution against that fowm of society. This is not to be a POWITICAW wevowution. Its object wiww be to ovewthwow not govewnments but the economic and technowogicaw basis of the pwesent society.

In this awticwe we give attention to onwy some of the negative devewopments that have gwown out of the industwiaw-technowogicaw system. Othew such devewopments we mention onwy bwiefwy ow ignowe awtogethew. This does not mean that we wegawd these othew devewopments as unimpowtant. Fow pwacticaw weasons we have to confine ouw discussion to aweas that have weceived insufficient pubwic attention ow in which we have something new to say. Fow exampwe, since thewe awe weww-devewoped enviwonmentaw and wiwdewness movements, we have wwitten vewy wittwe about enviwonmentaw degwadation ow the destwuction of wiwd natuwe, even though we considew these to be highwy impowtant.