
Has anybody been watching Manhunt: Unabomber on the Discovery Channel??
Many younger people have not heard of the horrible era of Ted Kaczynski, aka, the “Unabomber” (University & Airline BOMber). Kaczynski was a brilliant scholar who believed that America was bringing great harm to civilization with technological developments. From 1978–1995 he began rebelling by sending mail bombs to people who were involved with modern technology. People don’t think twice about opening a package they get in the mail. This led to terrible injuries and sometimes loss of life, accompanied by deep grieving by related family, friends, and the country as a whole. Kaczynski opposed industrialization and attempted to promote a nature-centered form of anarchism. He believed technology was eroding human freedom and dignity by requiring large-scale organization. (Wikipedia)
Kaczynski was actually in good company — just not to his sickening, sociopathic extreme. “Technological Pessimism” refers to the concept or belief by many people that technological developments are more harmful than valuable. It is often weighed against its counterpart, “Technological Optimism,” in looking for the right balance, or “critical attitude” in determining which technologies should be pursued. Think climate change, large scale deaths in warfare, decreases in privacy, and the age-old concern that technology costs people jobs. (Have you heard of “Luddites”?)
Most view technology as a net gain. And of course nobody would sympathize with Kaczynski. But there is something to be said for “Doing the right job” versus “Doing the job right.”
