I thank all the individuals who offered insightful comments in interviews, seminars and correspondence, who for the most part must go unnamed. Robert Burrowes, Mary Cawte and Helen Gillett provided many useful suggestions on a first draft of the entire manuscript. Mary Cawte was an essential part of the project that led to this book. The project was supported by the Australian Research Council. Ellen Elster and Andreas Speck, members of the executive of War Resisters’ International, provided many insightful suggestions on the entire manuscript.

Wil Rikmanspoel offered expert advice on preparing the pdf version of the text.

Much of chapter 5 is adapted from “

In 1946, a remarkable essay by Aldous Huxley entitled Science, Liberty and Peace was published.

Huxley’s essay begins with the point — quoting Leo Tolstoy from around the turn of the century — that if power in society is mostly in the hands of a few people, then control over nature through science and technology will serve to increase power inequalities. Huxley points out that in the 1800s, armed liberation might have seemed a reasonable prospect: barricades and sporting rifles could be used to resist the government’s cavalry and cannon. But with the development of weapons of mass destruction, people’s weapons were no longer a match for the violence controlled by the state. Similarly, modern methods of mass persuasion — notably the press and the radio — become tools for oppressors because they allow the few to manipulate the many.

Mass production, the very foundation of industrial society, has aided this process, Huxley argues. Centralised production is favoured by both governments and big business, and they put every obstacle possible in the face of decentralised production. In each of these developments — weapons, media and industry — science and technology have played a crucial role. The main thrust of science and technology thus has served oppressors and hindered the expansion of peace and freedom.