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Ted Kaczynski, in his "Manifesto", speaks of something he calls "The power process."
In essence, the power process is to set a goal, expend effort, and attain the goal. He speaks of it as a universal human need.
In essence, the power process is to set a goal, expend effort, and attain the goal. He speaks of it as a universal human need.
Here is the entire section in which he introduces the concept.
3. I have attempted to address this same need in my tweets, but had not defined it as clearly in my thinking as he has.
The lack of this opportunity, in any real sense, is what is wrong with people who won't wear masks, who won't social distance.
They have no real power process.
The lack of this opportunity, in any real sense, is what is wrong with people who won't wear masks, who won't social distance.
They have no real power process.
4. I have lived a life in which I have had a great deal of autonomy to set my own goals, to invent / design means to attain them, and to often successfully do so.
This has given me a sense of power. Not much money, but I never felt the lack. I had enough power to live well.
This has given me a sense of power. Not much money, but I never felt the lack. I had enough power to live well.
5. Pulling out the final paragraph of that section for particular notice:
6. We live under a societal assumption that the goal of progress is to eliminate the need for effort.
This is killing us.
"...a human being needs goals whose attainment requires effort..."
He is absolutely correct.
This is killing us.
"...a human being needs goals whose attainment requires effort..."
He is absolutely correct.
7. He goes on the speak of "surrogate activities" and "surrogate goals." It may be that my farm and my donkeys are those. Surrogate activities and goals can fulfill the need, at least partly.
Prime goals are for the means of survival. Water, food, shelter. And I tell myself...
Prime goals are for the means of survival. Water, food, shelter. And I tell myself...
8. Most of those angry rednecks are people, men, not unlike me, who have a strong need for the power process. I don't need power over others, but I need a feeling of power over my own life. To me, this is freedom. Satisfaction.
Most guys can't get that. Not any more.
Most guys can't get that. Not any more.
9. One needs autonomy. I have always needed to invent / design / create means to attain my goals. I design things to use and make them. I design systems to repeatedly attain recurring goals, and implement them. Even when I was employed,
10. I might, for instance, go into an empty hospital building with the goal of installing a hundred and twenty telephones in it. I would have to figure out how to get cables above the ceilings, under the floors, inside the walls, to make those 120 phones work.
11. It would be up to me to design a way to get those 120 cables connected up to a central wiring closet, to design the layout, find out which users phones were to have which abilities and features, implement those, build it, program it, fish all the walls and hang all the jacks
12. Fix all the inevitable oopsies, train the users, clean up the messes, and then go do it again somewhere else.
No two buildings, no two businesses, no two telephone systems, are ever the same. It gave me vast power and autonomy. Something where there was nothing.
No two buildings, no two businesses, no two telephone systems, are ever the same. It gave me vast power and autonomy. Something where there was nothing.
13. This is part of our problem.
When Ted was writing, few were seriously concerned about climate change.
It is all connected.
It is all one thing.
That's all for now. I'm absorbing Ted's document.
I think slow.
--j
When Ted was writing, few were seriously concerned about climate change.
It is all connected.
It is all one thing.
That's all for now. I'm absorbing Ted's document.
I think slow.
--j
