論工業社會及其未來-96
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至於我們的憲法權利，試想新聞自由的例子。我們當然不是要抨擊這個權利；新聞自由是非常重要的工具來限制政治權力集中及藉由公開揭露任何擁有政治權力者的不當行為來約束他們。但新聞自由對於作為個體的普通公民來說幾乎沒什麼用。大眾媒體絕大部分被整合在系統中的大型組織所控制。任何人有點小錢就可以出版一些東西，或可以在網際網路上散布這些東西或用類似的方法，但他想表達的東西會被媒體所放出的巨量資訊淹沒，因此將不會有什麼實際的作用。因此，對於大多數個人和小團體來說，用文字給社會留下印象幾乎是不可能的。以我們（FC）為例。如果我們從來沒有使用任何暴力而將這份文稿遞交給出版社，他們很可能就不會接受。就算被出版社接受並出版了，它們大概也不會吸引到許多讀者，因為看媒體發布的娛樂節目比讀嚴肅的文章更有趣。即使這些文章有很多讀者，大部分的讀者很快就會忘記他們所讀的內容，因為他們的心神被媒體暴露給他們的大量資訊所淹沒。為了在公眾面前傳達我們的信息並有留下持久的印象的機會，我們必須要殺人。
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我已經很久沒有為論工業社會及其未來超譯或做任何評論，因為作者大致上已經非常清楚且淺顯易懂的解釋了許多工業-技術社會的諸多現象和批判。但今天我被迫要對這段發表評論，原因很簡單，就是我必須對這段的最後一句話發表譴責以避免被正義魔人攻擊。
但事實上，我確實也認為 Kaczynski 是錯的。很容易想像 Kaczynski 的論述就是要以某種奇招來突破媒體深深融入工業-技術社會並全面控制社會的僵局。他的推論也很合理，暴力，尤其是恐怖主義或各種造成社會大眾對於自身安全的不安的恐懼似乎是少數可以突破的手段之一。
可惜這步險棋恐怕是錯的。就算一個組織透過暴力或殺人能在短期內影響社會，長期來說對社會幾乎沒有任何影響。例如楊儒門白米炸彈事件，雖然短期內確實使許多人關注貿易自由化對臺灣農業的影響，但長期來說也沒有如何顯著的改變臺灣的貿易自由化進程。
過去許多政權公開行刑亦是想藉由展示暴力的衝擊來使自身的理念可以烙印在群眾心中。然而這樣的做法真的能塑造大眾嗎？本文在美利堅合眾國以外地方沒有流行起來更說明暴力不能真的大規模的深植印象，更不用說造成長期的、廣泛的影響。恐怕在工業-技術社會更強大、不可逆的發展下任何嘗試都顯得無足輕重。
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As for our constitutional rights, consider for example that of freedom of the press. We certainly don’t mean to knock that right; it is very important tool for limiting concentration of political power and for keeping those who do have political power in line by publicly exposing any misbehavior on their part. But freedom of the press is of very little use to the average citizen as an individual. The mass media are mostly under the control of large organizations that are integrated into the system. Anyone who has a little money can have something printed, or can distribute it on the Internet or in some such way, but what he has to say will be swamped by the vast volume of material put out by the media, hence it will have no practical effect. To make an impression on society with words is therefore almost impossible for most individuals and small groups. Take us (FC) for example. If we had never done anything violent and had submitted the present writings to a publisher, they probably would not have been accepted. If they had been been accepted and published, they probably would not have attracted many readers, because it’s more fun to watch the entertainment put out by the media than to read a sober essay. Even if these writings had had many readers, most of these readers would soon have forgotten what they had read as their minds were flooded by the mass of material to which the media expose them. In order to get our message before the public with some chance of making a lasting impression, we’ve had to kill people.
