Has the Industrial Revolution lead us into a society that has been more beneficial than something that may be seen as negative? Technological advancements have been made, improved standard of living, creation of new jobs, urbanization, medical progress…we have seen advancements even in the last century that have changed the way of life completely, yet what have we lost to this revolution?
Advancements aren’t always the key aspects of society, with and without present technology, the center of society is people. As the Industrial Revolution keeps pushing us towards new directions and horizons, we have lost our sense of “people”, and as the world changes, we keep feeling the consequences of the Industrial Revolution.
The Industrial Revolution started in late 18th century Britain, around 1760. Shortly after it moved to the United States, and completely changed the course of not only the west, but the entirety of the world.
Ted Kacsynski, also known as the “Unabomber” was a former math professor, and prodigy, turned into a domestic terrorist. Between 1978-95, he carried out a bombing campaign, killing 3 people and injured 23. Kaczynski believed that industrialization was wrong, opposing it and modern technology, believing they were destroying human freedom, and the environment. In Kaczynski’s manifesto, “industrial society and its future” he discusses the consequences of this societal movement.
The major points Kaczynski makes in his arguments are…The loss of autonomy: reducing individual freedoms by creating a system that forces us to conform to regulation. Psychological issues: How modern life causes us stress, depression, and dissatisfaction due to the lack of meaningful work, and our reliance on technology. Environmental destruction: the damages caused due to the exploitation of natural resources. Over reliance on Technology: how advancements have led to dependency, making people vulnerable and in a position that if tecnolocy failed, society would collapse. He also argued social fragmentation: he argued that industrialization disrupted traditional communities and human relationships.
Kaczynski believed that these issues were becoming irreversible unless industrial society was dismantled. And even then he Believes that the more time we wait for society to redeem itself, the worse we will feel the affects as time continues to pass, and our reliance continues to grow. Kaczynski believes that dismantling industrial society was the only way to restore autonomy, preserve our environment, and improve our peoples well being.
On the other hand, even though losing a sense of meaningfulness in our lives, there are benefits on industrial society we can highlight. Life has become easier, hardships have died down, people live longer, there is global transport and communication. Industrialization has downsides, but these benefits have shaped our modern society, and do improve lives.
I believe that we rely too heavily on industrial society, and that Kaczynski was correct when it comes to how society will react and collapse if technology does. When we go outside, in public, wherever, people faces in their screens, headphones in, etc. if we are able to carefully deconstruct our reliance on industrial society, then we can put meaning back into our lives, fix the psychological damage industry has done to us, heal the autonomy of our people, and advance our people in a way that moves us forward without downsides. The Industrial Revolution has had benefits on quality of life, but the consequences get worse and worse as each advancement is made and each year passes, society would be better without it.
