Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior: What is Scientology?
Scientology
Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior: What is Scientology? The Making of the Human Machine in the Cybernetic Learning Laboratory.
http://www.innenministerium.bayern.de/english/scientology/ekeltsch.html
Excerpt about WISE:
Beyond its aim of acting as a therapy for
individuals, which is supposed to be achieved by the
First Dynamic Tech, Scientology claims to be in
possession of a new technology for organization,
administration and management to improve structures
and functioning of all groups, organizations and
officials. It calls it "Third Dynamic Technology."
a. Third Dynamic Technology
The organization sells this technology on a
franchise basis to businesses and has them
join the broad-based "World Institute of
Scientology Enterprises" (WISE). The
immediate objective of disseminating this
management technology and binding clients
from the business sector into WISE is the
accumulation of economic power. The
long-term strategy, however, is extending
influence to society as a whole with the
ultimate goal of taking power. This plan is
quite easy to deduce from Scientology's
program of social reform, which it
describes as a "clear planet." The
influence of Scientology on the economy in
the United States is already so strong,
that when entering into partnerships with
German businesses, some larger US
corporations refuse to accept contractual
clauses protecting the German partner from
the application of Hubbard technologies in
their company.
The "Third Dynamic Tech" and the way it is
used were described by Hubbard in the
three-volume "Management Series." To this
day there have been no organization and
sociological investigations as to the
substance of these organization rules nor
of the operational guidelines and the
social and psychological effects of their
potential implementation. This considerably
impedes any discussion of the goals of the
Scientological system and any appraisal of
the potential hazards for its functionaries
and customers on the one hand and for the
state and society on the other. All that is
currently possible at this point is a
preliminary description and evaluation of
the organization and social theory and its
techniques.
When described in full, the term "Third
Dynamic Tech" from the Management Series
really indicates a social theory of an
engineer- and cybernetically-steered
society in the form of a biotechnological
system that can be compared to a
superorganism. It also suggests the
specific social techniques of technocratic
social engineering necessary for the
creation and maintenance of this type of
system. And finally, it involves the
disguised formulating of the general
purpose of using these social techniques to
create many little Scientological
"superorganisms" and to ultimately drown
the democracies in a global "superorganism"
controlled by Scientology (cf. "The Ideal
Org" in HCO pL, March 12, 1975). The social
techniques proposed for use are linked to
biotechnological steering and
communications systems.
The traits required from an ideal
Scientology functionary in the new social
system traits that must therefore be
trained in the newcomer are those of the
perfect technocrat, with absolutely blind
obedience to the steering commands of the
system, and with the ability to
unrelentingly correct even the most minor
deviations from the technical rules as well
as exact total obedience from subalterns.
The Scientological instructional goal for
functionaries corresponds to the image of
the authoritarian personality that T. W.
Adorno and others noted in 1950 within the
framework of clinical research into the
inclination towards Fascistic-authoritarian
ideologies.
Dr. Jürgen Keltsch
Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior
Munich, August 4, 1999
What is Scientology?
The Making of the Human Machine
in the Cybernetic Learning Laboratory
Table of contents
1. The governmental evaluation of the Scientology organization in
Germany
2. The behavioral foundations of Hubbard's social techniques
3. The cybernetic foundations of Hubbard's technology theory
4. Engineering-cybernetics administration theory
a. Third Dynamic Technology
b. The engineering-cybernetics theory of control
technology
c. Drilling the functionaries, learning the new
language
d. Unlearning feelings
e. Relentless pressure to perform by constant measuring
of the productivity of the "human machine" and its
"aggregates"
f. Potential for survival of the "human machine" and
its "aggregates"
g. "Production" pressure by application of "ethics"
5. Scientology, the total cybernetic power of psychological
diagnosis
a. Dianometry
b. On the way to a society of tests
c. Insufficient personal defense against the "testing
powers"
6. From the manufacturing of the "human machine" to a cybernetic
dictatorship
a. Auditing: playing with puppets
b. The expansion plans and implementation according to
a strategic game
7. Techno-totalitarianism, a threat to the democratic values
system in the 21st Century
Diagram of the techniques used by Scientology for behavioral
control and steering ("Technology") and their interaction
Bibliography
1. The governmental evaluation of the Scientology
organization in Germany
The "Church of Scientology," which was founded in
1953 in the USA by the science fiction author
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (1911-1986), is an
international organization headquartered in the USA.
It sells personality growth as well as organization
and management technology worldwide. It has adopted
the organization and marketing form of a commercial
educational company in the market for advanced
training, but runs itself as a so-called new
religion. Its activities have come into conflict with
democratic societies around the world and continue to
do so. After an in-depth examination, an
Investigative Commission titled "So-called Sects and
Psycho-Groups" set up by the German Bundestag
(Parliament) described the organization in its final
report as an anti-constitutional movement with a
criminogenic structure. This evaluation is in
agreement with that of the German forces of order.
Behind the cloak of a new religion, this organization
described as a psycho-group and not as a religious
community by the Investigative Commission was able
to skillfully hide its salient structural traits
until recently, namely organization and logistics of
a commercial corporation; expansionist strategies of
an aggressively functioning structural distribution
system (marketing of franchises by forming chains of
subsidiary companies, hard-selling of human
leadership and change in the form of social
engineering. In other words, ruthless of
psychological and social techniques borrowed from
behavioral psychology in order to recruit workers,
customers and members; use of totalitarian
organization techniques to thoroughly discipline and
intrumentalize its workers by constant control in
terms of time and space.
2. The behavioral foundations of Hubbard's social techniques
In a special chapter in the final report of the
Investigative Commission, the Scientology
organization as a commercial provider of services
on the psychology market was classified under the
heading "Mind Machines and New Learning."
Characteristic of this new type of service sector is
an attempt to permanently modify a person's outer and
inner behavior in a learning laboratory using
techniques drawn from behavioral psychology, i.e., by
programmed learning and conditioning.
This environmentally-oriented area of psychology and
pedagogy is known as behaviorism. Researchers in the
field of learning with a behaviorist focus (Watson,
Pavlov, Skinner) have tried since the beginning of
the 20th century to formulate generalized laws about
learning by carrying out experiments on animals and
people in a learning laboratory. From this they
developed training programs (instructional
technology) that could modify human behavior. This
procedure of human technology, which involves
organisms' ability to be impacted by reacting to
certain stimuli and then modifying their behavior,
i.e. learning, is called conditioning when new
behavioral patterns are embedded in such a manner,
that they can be called forth by giving a key signal.
Teaching this type of stimulus-response scheme is
performed using a complex system of reward and
punishment the so-called feedback system and
other methods of behavioral modification. The
feedback system functions on the principle of
reconnecting or looping back data on a system's
behavior such as the human organism into the
system so that it will thereafter influence the
system.
Even human cognitive abilities can be influenced by
conditioning (cognitive behaviorism). These learning
techniques in many cases are reminiscent of
conditioning. In spite of their remarkable successes,
these technological instructional procedures soon
drew criticism, since they were not only used to
benefit people but also to harm them (e.g. causing
so-called experimental neuroses such as a cat phobia
in a child in an experiment conducted by Watson.)
Furthermore, the experiments performed in behavioral
psychology also revealed that the strategy of
modifying behavior could also be used to alter the
will and convictions of a person according to the
will of the person conducting the experiments by
means of a systematic control of information and
communication, and that using a paradoxical language
(e.g. "pain is pleasure") could even give rise to
mental problems.
Whenever such procedures are purposely used to
manipulate and harm a person (see "Newspeak" in
Orwell's 1984), the science of psychology looses its
quality as a therapeutic and pedagogical means of
assistance and becomes nothing more than an insidious
weapon. The most spectacular instance of the
effectiveness of the behavioral methods is when the
political or philosophical convictions of a prisoner
are altered to suit the program of a torturer
applying torture that leaves no physical traces on
the body (so-called psycho-torture). This is how
American POWs in the Korean War were "converted" to
Communist ideology, and how Stalin's supporters who
had fallen from grace were made to publicly confess
their enmity towards the state which was
non-existent in reality and to declare their guilt.
But even people who are not being coerced can be
subjected to methods borrowed from behavioral
psychology and have their will sapped or even their
personality destroyed. This was demonstrated by the
campaign against dissidence waged by the Stasi (the
former East German secret police), who used a
scientific program developed by behavioral
psychologists to "disintegrate the psyche." The
victims of these methods of psychological torture
suffer of the consequences to this day. It has been
proven that Scientology uses similar procedures
("techniques") on the one hand to make individuals
pliable and to discipline its members, and on the
other hand to attack its critics, who are seen as
enemies, in order to silence them and obstruct them
in their activities against the organization. The
damage caused by such methods which is being
investigated by human and social scientists under the
heading of "mobbing" has already made itself felt
in the world of business. What is particularly
worrisome, as it is incompatible with the democratic
world order, is the fact that management trainers who
believe in a Darwinistic corporate and social
philosophy teach these methods to their customers in
courses in order to turn them into "battle managers"
ready for the "business war."
If a candidate is not informed as to he main or side
effects of strategies that modify behavior, or, as is
the case with Scientology, purposely deceived about
those effects, he or she will as a rule find it hard
to differentiate between normal instructional
techniques and "forced instruction" or brainwashing.
It is especially reprehensible when repressive
techniques are purposely applied by the user to cause
harm or accept harm as an outcome, and are disguised
as "healing measures."
After gathering the necessary evidence, the
Investigative Commission determined that members of
Scientology's elite SeaOrg unit who had make mistakes
are pressured into reeducation using classic
brainwashing techniques in so-called reeducation
camps known as the "Rehabilitation Project Force"
(RPF). Hubbard's definition of "brainwashing" in the
management dictionary he himself compiled reveal that
he had excellent knowledge of the psychological
application of brainwashing techniques. He understood
Pavlovian conditioning procedures in terms of
brainwashing and described how Pavlov was able to
generate psychoses in experiments with animals using
his conditioning technology. In a lecture held in
1951, Hubbard discussed how he could make people sick
using his techniques He called these methods "Black
Dianetics." Human scientists have long been perfectly
aware that conditioning and dressage neuroses and
psychoses can be brought about by conditioning.
3. The cybernetic foundation of Hubbard's technology theory
The similar set of laws governing control, regulation
and data transmission in both living organisms and
machines (computers, robots) that the mathematician
Norbert Wiener discovered at the end of the 1940s led
to the rise of a new paradigm that converged the
natural sciences and philosophy and led to the
creation of the new umbrella scientific systems
theory and cybernetics (the art of steering).
Learning science based on biology was given new
impetus. Attention was once again paid to the
materialistic image of the human being dating back to
the Enlightenment, "l'homme machine." (Artificial)
intelligence and (artificial) life could be
mechanically simulated using computers and automated
robots. Intellectual and psychological processes were
seen as functional features of a cybernetic system
(cognitivism) according to the new science. Some
scientists believe that this proves that the human
brain is nothing more than a machine, a kind of
electronic data processor.
The technological theory to modify humans described
by Hubbard in his basic opus "Dianetics" (1950) is
not only connected to cognitive behaviorism but also
directly to the communication and steering techniques
of cybernetics. This is evidenced by the following
points: Hubbard's concept of the human brain/mind as
a data processing machine (cf. "Dianetics, the
Evolution of a Science," 1959, 1972), his
self-proclaimed qualification as an "engineer," the
engineering jargon he used, recalling a machine code,
the redefinition of human mental and social abilities
using hundreds of special function terms borrowed
from engineering, the recommendation that engineers
be used as so-called "auditors" for the reprogramming
of the human brain/mind, the psychometric measurement
and evaluation methodology (cf. Management Series,
Vol. 1-3), the use of feedback processes when
applying a lie detector ("Electrometer" or "E-meter"
for short), the belief in the "programmability" and
"produceability" of the New Person in a learning
laboratory ("valuable final product"). Hubbard also
defined the use of his technology as the application
of natural educational principles ("The logics of
Dianetics are the science of education. These are the
axioms of education." Management Lexicon, Axioms of
Education).
Even the methods of Dianetics and Scientology
("technology"), which seem incomprehensible at first
glance, can be given a plausible explanation using
the cybernetic paradigm. The "human machine" is
subjected to numerous learning drills ("trainings")
involving excruciating procedures often lasting hours
and thereby conditioned like a re-programmable robot
to allegedly act with what Hubbard considered greater
precision in and with the outer world, i.e.,
programmed ("Objective Process"). The candidate
("Preclear" or "PC") is also taught to obey all the
commands of the trainer blindly, in other words, to
act like a puppet. When the candidate has finally
learnt this stimulus-response obedience, he or she is
then examined internally for malfunctions by the
application of excessive inquisitive questioning
("auditing"). Auditing, too, is linked to cybernetic
theory. Ignoring inherited traits, Hubbard assumed
that all psychological and physical dysfunctions
were caused by "incorrect programming," namely in the
storing of painful experiences by the recording of
data ("engram") in the brain/mind ("reactive mind"),
which is depicted as a database.
An attempt is made to identify the possible
"incorrect programming" in the memory by connecting
the candidate to an E-meter during the examination,
and then running through a set of standardized
questions and playing a cleverly devised
question-and-answer game along the so-called "time
track." Suggestions for the presence of an "engram"
is a jump in the needle of the E-meter. The candidate
must then mentally relive the painful experience over
and over again until the E-meter no longer registers
and impulse ("null needle"). This method is
reminiscent of deconditioning exercises through
abreacting used in behavioral therapies. According to
Hubbard's therapeutic theories, this will erase the
engram which will then cease to have a deleterious
effect on the person thus treated. Hubbard never
provided proof that the health of the candidate would
not be affected by the electrical (body) charge
registered by the E-meter when the candidate recalled
the painful events, or for that matter by the mental
picture itself. The improvement in how the candidate
feels after "discharging" the engram cannot be taken
as evidence, since suggestion or a placebo effect
could also bring about this state. When all engrams
are erased, the so-called reactive mind is considered
erased. This state is defined as "clear." Long before
Hubbard revived the idea of penetrating consciousness
and influencing it therapeutically using a
biofeedback device, researchers in the field of
psychology had already investigated it (psychometry,
psychophysics). The impact and value of those methods
are controversial and frequently criticized as a form
of biological reductionism.
Even if the human sciences cannot fully explain what
happens to individuals who allow themselves to be
treated by the Hubbard method, it can be assumed that
"dianetic technology" is merely a plain verbal
therapy or a symbolic game. Instead, we are dealing
with highly efficient psychological and social
techniques (operant conditioning, trance inducement,
suggestion, control of social behavior using psycho-
and sociometry and systemic group control) that will
change the outward and inward behavior of the
candidate in the long-term.
The exercises that are aimed at the experience of
so-called "exteriorization" ("OT" state) are
especially problematic. The occurrence of this
phenomenon which has been thoroughly researched by
the human sciences during certain meditation
exercises, is used by Hubbard to buttress his
dualistic paranormal body-soul theory. He stated that
the spirit, postulated as a field of energy
("Thetan") can leave the "human machine." The alleged
proof of this is a specific jump in the E-meter's
needle ("Theta bop"). These exercises cause many
customers to experience psychological peculiarities
ranging all the way to mental distress that can be
construed as illness. This leads to a desire for more
training that resembles addiction and customers will
go to any length (even financial) to get it.
In its final report, the Investigative Commission
confirmed that for people with a weaker constitution,
auditing can lead to severe mental illnesses and even
to suicidal tendencies. The Commission criticized the
aggressive hard-sell methods used to induce customers
to purchase these very costly trainings.
4. The engineering-cybernetics organization theory
At first glance, the organizational structure
selected by Hubbard for Scientology in order to sell
his tech-oriented personality growth and business
management methods creates the impression that it is
just another stringently led international
corporation offering individuals a variety of
services on the market for further training.
(Narconon: "drug rehabilitation;" Criminon:
"rehabilitation of criminals;" Applied Scholastics:
"improved education;" The Way of Happiness
foundation: "improvement of morality in society;"
Citizen's Commission on Human Rights: "protection of
patients from abuses of psychiatry.")
Dyed-in-the-wool Scientologists point out, however,
that the sale of these services is only a means to
the end of "healing" everyone in order to "create a
civilization without mental illness, without
criminals and without war." They therefore consider
Scientology a "social reform movement."
Beyond its aim of acting as a therapy for
individuals, which is supposed to be achieved by the
First Dynamic Tech, Scientology claims to be in
possession of a new technology for organization,
administration and management to improve structures
and functioning of all groups, organizations and
officials. It calls it "Third Dynamic Technology."
a. Third Dynamic Technology
The organization sells this technology on a
franchise basis to businesses and has them
join the broad-based "World Institute of
Scientology Enterprises" (WISE). The
immediate objective of disseminating this
management technology and binding clients
from the business sector into WISE is the
accumulation of economic power. The
long-term strategy, however, is extending
influence to society as a whole with the
ultimate goal of taking power. This plan is
quite easy to deduce from Scientology's
program of social reform, which it
describes as a "clear planet." The
influence of Scientology on the economy in
the United States is already so strong,
that when entering into partnerships with
German businesses, some larger US
corporations refuse to accept contractual
clauses protecting the German partner from
the application of Hubbard technologies in
their company.
The "Third Dynamic Tech" and the way it is
used were described by Hubbard in the
three-volume "Management Series." To this
day there have been no organization and
sociological investigations as to the
substance of these organization rules nor
of the operational guidelines and the
social and psychological effects of their
potential implementation. This considerably
impedes any discussion of the goals of the
Scientological system and any appraisal of
the potential hazards for its functionaries
and customers on the one hand and for the
state and society on the other. All that is
currently possible at this point is a
preliminary description and evaluation of
the organization and social theory and its
techniques.
When described in full, the term "Third
Dynamic Tech" from the Management Series
really indicates a social theory of an
engineer- and cybernetically-steered
society in the form of a biotechnological
system that can be compared to a
superorganism. It also suggests the
specific social techniques of technocratic
social engineering necessary for the
creation and maintenance of this type of
system. And finally, it involves the
disguised formulating of the general
purpose of using these social techniques to
create many little Scientological
"superorganisms" and to ultimately drown
the democracies in a global "superorganism"
controlled by Scientology (cf. "The Ideal
Org" in HCO pL, March 12, 1975). The social
techniques proposed for use are linked to
biotechnological steering and
communications systems.
The traits required from an ideal
Scientology functionary in the new social
system traits that must therefore be
trained in the newcomer are those of the
perfect technocrat, with absolutely blind
obedience to the steering commands of the
system, and with the ability to
unrelentingly correct even the most minor
deviations from the technical rules as well
as exact total obedience from subalterns.
The Scientological instructional goal for
functionaries corresponds to the image of
the authoritarian personality that T. W.
Adorno and others noted in 1950 within the
framework of clinical research into the
inclination towards Fascistic-authoritarian
ideologies.
b. The engineering-cybernetics theory of control
technology
Using a carefully devised control
technology, all "production processes" of a
Scientological organization ("Org") are
supposed to be steered without interruption
as a form of perfect total quality
management, whereby it makes no difference
whether in the process of controlling
inorganic or organic parts of the system
are carefully tested for smooth function.
The workers at their respective
"workplaces" are described as parts of a
"live organization" by Hubbard, but are
nevertheless strictly subjected to the
production processes and controlling
mechanisms without the slightest regard for
personal needs and freedom. They are
treated as parts of a machine (HCO PL,
November 2, 1970, re-released October 10,
1980). This principle, borrowed from the
cybernetic theory and technology of Norbert
Wiener and translated into engineering was
drawn up by Hubbard as an alleged "natural
law" for all production, be that biological
reproduction or production by human hands.
It means that the guaranteeing of services
in the area of Scientological "pedagogy"
and "therapy" is considered a genuine
production process and is therefore placed
on equal footing with the production of
wares. According to Hubbard's corporate
philosophy and today's management of the
organization, the Scientological
"production organisms" manufacture the
Scientologist as a "valuable final
product." In the Management Series,
Hubbard's "New Human" is not a person with
self-determination, but rather an object,
an organism that allegedly functions better
after "processing" and has been
incorporated into the Scientology
superorganism as a system element. In order
to draw the customers' attention away from
this reality, they are promised the
"acquisition of freedom" (HCO PL, January
24, 1969, revised and re-issued on October
10, 1985).
Human intellect and spirit are totally left
out in the Management Series. Even the
"org's" "production organism" features are
not treated from the intellectual
standpoint, but from the purely
technical-functional one. A "good
Scientological org" according to Hubbard
owes its existence and effectiveness to
the proper interaction of the following
three organizational factors: 1) "Ethics;"
2) "Tech;" 3) "Admin." The following
"natural" principles are concurrent with
these factors: Only after "ethics" have
been introduced to a group is the practice
of "Scientology Technology" possible (in
other words, drill instruction, (cf. 4 c));
ethics here translates into everyday
language as: Everyone must immediately obey
all commands of the system without
contradiction (cf. 4 d). This, in turn, is
the precondition for enforcing organization
regulations. It is based on the principle
of strict orders and obedience as is the
case with military commands. A "healthy,"
expanding organization is only possible
when all three factors are functioning
optimally (HCO PL, October 16, 1997).
This "basic law" of the art of
Scientological "management" was developed
and consolidated using a cold, technocratic
and often cynical language in hundreds of
coordinated policy letters from Hubbard's
communications office ("HCO PL"). Their aim
is the establishment and expansion of
Scientological organizations, the training
of personnel, management of the
organization internally and externally.
Hubbard presented his organization and
management model for the Scientology
organization as the quintessential pattern
for the development and leadership of all
organizations in the future global society
in all its sectors. Obviously, when it came
to his concept of administration, Hubbard
was convinced a conviction he raised to
the rank of a "natural law" that by
strictly applying his technologies, one
could turn individuals and society into a
premium product by subjecting them to a
continuous process, like the engine of a
sports car.
The organization rules for the
establishment and control of Scientological
organizations naturally recall the blue
prints and operating guidelines of
engineers involved in communications and
robot technology about to install a fully
automated production line made up of robots
and computers. The organizational
regulations call on the one hand for
workers as "terminals," i.e. starting and
ending points for the transmission of news
and controlling commands, and on the other
hand for workers as "machines," who for
their part should develop "machines" able
to produce (HCO PL, October 29, 1970); and
finally there is a multi-layered system of
controlling and steering powers, who are
continuously performing psychological and
socio-technical measurements. In the
Management Series, Hubbard considers his
organization's services as true
manufacturing. He accordingly classifies
his customers and trainees as "raw
material" ("raw meat," "raw public,"
"particles"). They are to be optimized into
a "valuable final product" in a
"mechanical" work process according to a
prescribed model ("model session") and a
prescribed technical processes that must be
followed precisely and that recall the
rules governing mechanical processes, i.e.
algorithms. It's no coincidence that
Hubbard speaks of "life repair" (HCO PL,
August 20, 1979; HCO PL, September 21,
1980).
This biotechnological concept of a homo
sapiens that can be modified by the methods
of social engineering, a concept
promulgated in the Management Series, gives
not the slightest evidence of a religious,
philosophical or psychological human image.
Hubbard's human model represents the total
negation of the human image of both
religions and also of democracies.
According to the democratic values system,
the human being is an individual, i.e. a
self-determining subject with human
dignity, and not an artificial object that
must be tuned up for higher functioning in
a learning laboratory like in Huxley's
Brave New World, and that is then declared
a useful "final product" after a final
check by the laboratory manager within the
framework of a total quality procedure.
c. Drilling the functionaries, learning the new
language
The organization and controlling bylaw is
minutely implemented by Scientology
management. In order set the production
organism of an "org" to work, "tech" that
is, programmed learning and teaching drills
is applied to the workers to make them
function perfectly for the "processing,"
i.e. drilling of their clientele
("educating people with drills until they
can think," HCO PL, April 26, 1970 R,
re-examined on March 15, 1975; cf. the
"Chinese school" drill method, HCO PL, May
13, 1972).
Of particular importance here is the
learning of Hubbard's "Newspeak," which was
designed for his "human machines." In it,
he reconstructed in engineering terms the
physical communicative relationships of
human communication according to cybernetic
theory and technology. That is why this new
language is reminiscent of the jargon of
telegraph technicians, communications
engineers and computer programmers (cf.
"Communication Formula," HCBO, April 5,
1973). For outsiders without understanding
of the engineering background, who take at
face value the pseudo-religious ideology
that wily Scientology PR professionals use
to camouflage the system, this new language
and the texts written in it will appear
completely incomprehensible and will have
no central significance. For the
"terminals" and "production machines"
working in his engineer-cybernetic
operating system, Hubbard created a perfect
machine code with his new language. His
"human machines" can use it ("MEST")to
communicate around the world and amongst
themselves. They load "data" from their
"database," their brain/consciousness (HCO
PL, May 12, 1970) send it as a message to
another "terminal" or have it reprogrammed
through "false data stripping" (HCO PL,
August 7, 1979) in case faults have been
identified in their program or database
during a check ("data series"). The
Management Series is therefore very much
rooted in engineering-cybernetics theory
and technology, and are therefore in
contradiction to the speculative Thetan
teachings that he propounded in other
writings.
d. Unlearning feelings
As a code for the representation of the
physical world, Hubbard's cybernetic
Newspeak possesses not a single expression
for feelings or spiritual stimuli. Sympathy
is even considered a fault in the
Scientological value system. According to
Hubbard, "sympathy" lowers the "potential
for survival." In his Tone Scale, a table
of values for emotions consisting of 40
levels, which is used in tests to measure
survivability, sympathy has been given a
value of 0.9, in other words, it is totally
devalued. Hubbard accordingly rejected
charity and the welfare state.
Nor is it astonishing that Hubbard came up
with trainings that aim at systematically
suppressing the expression of feelings: the
stimulus process called "bullbaiting," for
example, in which the candidate is supposed
to learn to maintain equanimity under
torture; or the mechanical drilling of a
puppet-like body language for mimicry, eye
contact, movements of the arms and legs,
for the body in relation to closeness to
and orientation towards other persons, for
the manner of speaking regarding vocal
emphasis, speed and vocal melody. These
various non-verbal communication exercises
that are aimed at the acquisition of an
artificial body language ("TRs") are
reminiscent of acting classes but belong to
the field of conditioned instruction.
The constant use of a technical language
derived from engineering and the artificial
non-verbal communications culture in social
life no doubt gradually freezes up the
emotional life of many functionaries and
long-standing customers and with the moral
sensitivities connected to an emotional
life. For the candidates this could result
in the evolution to the "one-dimensional
person," a new technoid personality type
described and criticized by H. Marcuse in
his 1964 studies on the ideology of the
late industrial society. For the ultimately
trained top management and the SeaOrg
members, the "aristocracy" of the
organization, a far more appropriate
categorization is that of the related
technological functional and battle person
described by E. Jünger in "Der Arbeiter"
(The Worker; 1932) as a further
evolutionary step of technologizing mankind
(cf. 5b).
At the end of the 1940s, T. W. Adorno and
his assistants carried out a study on the
"authoritarian personality" in Berkley.
Sociological research today can safely say
that the materializing of the spiritual and
a technologizing of interpersonal relations
one of the conscious aims of
Scientological training represent
significant conditions for the shaping of
this personality type. When fully unfolded,
the authoritarian personality manifests the
following features: Reacts to commands in
totalitarian systems: the authoritarian
personality gives orders to perform inhuman
measures without feeling any scruples, or
will carry such measures out on being
ordered to do so for the maintenance or
expansion of the system's power. As a rule,
he does not care whether these measures
violate human rights or moral laws. He is
satisfied to justify his actions by stating
that they serve the system or are
sanctioned by it. The authoritarian image
of the human being is therefore in
fundamental contradiction to the democratic
one.
Even long after leaving the organization,
some of the former members who served as
functionaries or were customers of the
organization for many years complain of
feeling cold inside and of lacking
feelings. Relatives of Scientologists
already note a change in their relatives'
personalities shortly after they came in
contact with the organization. They
describe their behavior as "coldly
calculating," "robotlike," "mechanical," or
complain of "cynical" or even "sadistic"
personal behavior. And even after leaving
the organization similar behavior has been
reported. Whether this attitude is the
result of a neurotic illness still needs to
be investigated.
The phenomenon that most former
functionaries and long-standing members
have the hardest time explaining is why
during their membership they considered
critics of the system as true enemies, even
if they were their closest relatives, and
why they tried by all means to silence them
as troublemakers. This cannot only be
deduced from the development of an
authoritarian personality structure. Some
former members pointed out that in keeping
with the system's doctrine, they considered
their own welfare, "survival," would be in
jeopardy if they broke off ties with the
organization in obeyance to the wishes of
their relatives. Creating this attitude is
one of the manipulative strategies of the
system, which thereby immunizes its members
against incoming criticism. It's actually a
well-tried social technique repeatedly used
by totalitarian regimes. The idea is to
make a dogma of close ties to the regime
and of its continued existence as a vital
commodity necessary for survival in order
to recruit champions and soldiers for the
defense and expansion of the system.
e. Relentless pressure to perform by permanent
measuring of the productivity of the "human
machine" and its "aggregates"
After setting up a "production org,"
customers are brought into the "org" and
"processed" by means of the methods laid
out in No. 3. At this point, the
educational shaping process of the workers
is by no means ended. The performance of
the workers, who come make contact with the
customers according to fixed technical
regulations in the manner of conveyor belt
workers, are continuously and fastidiously
measured as the basis for controlling and
steering the individual and the "org." The
measurement of this "outflow" serves both
to evaluate the productivity of the
individual worker, indirectly, however,
management's as well. Hubbard furthermore
raised statistics to the rank of a
biological healing science. Through
figures, the "survival potential" of
individual workers and of the "org" can be
measured. Statistics become the pivot of
the entire Scientology system. They alone
decide the fate, good or bad, of the both
the lowliest functionary and the
highest-ranking manager. Thanks to
statistical results, each single worker,
the top managers, indeed even the
organizations are classified according to
an evaluation system divided up into twelve
steps, so-called ethics conditions
("confusion, treason, enemy, doubt,
liability, non-existence, danger,
emergency, normal, affluence, power change,
power"), which determine the workers' value
and standing within the "org" or vis-à-vis
other "orgs." If the statistical results
are poor (e.g. "non-existence"), the
toughest punishment is meted out to improve
personal productivity. Illness is no excuse
here. Because perfectly trained
Scientologists cannot fall ill after
training. Poor statistics because of
illness one particular reason for adopting
"improvement measures," i.e., for hard
training. According to reports by former
members, statistics are abused for the
ruthless disciplining and exploitation of
employees, in order to urge them on to
"production," which is the basis of the
system's expansion. Measurements of
expansion on a time-space graph is the
indication of an "org's" strength (HCO PL,
December 4, 1966).
f. Potential for survival of the "human machine"
and its "aggregates"
Hubbard defines the term "survival
potential" as a vitality function to be
gauged according to production statistics
(HCO PL, July 6, 1976). Application of his
"technology" is intended to escalate this
vitality function meaning the entire
human functional capacity in the physical,
intellectual and spiritual areas to the
point of being superhuman level, whereby
all functional defects including all
psychosomatic illnesses, are to be
eradicated on the "Bridge," a long,
incredibly expensive course of training.
Organizations are also given assurances of
survival potential.
Hence, Hubbard's biological view of the
superhuman with perfect functionality and
the greatest possible biological "power" is
neither religious in the occidental sense
of the word, nor, as the organization
itself alleges, is it to be found in
Buddhism. Rather, it stems from a
biological theory of nature upon which has
been added a fantasy superstructure
(utopian scientism). The condition of
"power," as mentioned above, is the highest
level and consequently represents the
highest value in the graded "ethics
system." Hubbard considers the condition to
be nothing other than the highest
productivity in the work process, be that
for the individual or in an organization.
But he also means highest power in terms of
a biological superhuman state that is to be
guided to breakthrough for all of mankind
by "will-power." In Scientology: 0-8: The
Book of Basics, Hubbard explicitly mentions
Nietzsche as a source for Scientology. The
biological concept of power and the human
machine model, which reduces the human
being to a functional value, demonstrate
that Hubbard intended to make good on
Nietzsche's philosophy. Nietzsche's
human-technological demands for a kind of
social engineering that violates human
dignity are no different from Hubbard's
cynicism: "The task is to make people as
useful as possible, and to make bring them
closer to being machines, insofar as is
possible: For this purpose, he must be
furnished with the virtues of a machine (
he must learn to experience the states in
which he works as a useful machine as being
of the highest value: And that will mean
that others will possibly hold it against
him, will possibly think him dangerous and
disreputable" (unpublished works, Volume
III (Collected Works), p. 630).
The first axiom in Hubbard's "survive!"
theory cannot be seen as a philosophical
expression but rather as a biological one
conceived as a biological theory that can
be classified under the heading of social
Darwinism. When conducting a philosophical
debate with Scientology, one often
overlooks the fact that the bulk of
Scientological terms stem from a
materialistic, i.e. biotechnical base upon
which Hubbard built up his "technology."
Hubbard, therefore, was never interested in
possessing spiritual power, only biological
power in the sense given by M. Foucault,
the analyst of power.
g. "Production" pressure by application of "ethics"
The functional logic of the totalitarian
organization and production theory of the
system involves not only technocratic rules
for organization set-up ("admin") and for
training workers ("tech"), but also, as
already mentioned above, rules for the
management of workers ("ethics"). These
regulations are also marked by the
principle of total behavioral control using
methods of compulsive instruction.
The slightest deviation from a
functionary's role regulations drilled for
the purpose of "production" (ideal scene,
HCO PL, July 5, 1970) are picked up in the
"org" by a carefully worked out control and
punishment system ("ethics"). The system
knows no intimate sphere here. All means
are permitted when it comes to examining
member, in other words, turning them into
"glass persons." The purpose of "ethics"
control is to identify a functionary's
"counter-intentions" or "other
intendedness," and then to wipe out these
intentions by using compulsive education.
In order to identify potentially deviating
intentions, so-called "knowledge reports"
are sent to the so-called ethics officer
when mistakes are made by workers that
violate operational objectives.
Self-denunciations are also to be written.
All "knowledge reports" are collected in
so-called "ethics files" to be used to
increase the punishment level of a
functionary's disciplining in the event of
repeated failure on his or her part.
For the "evaluation," the employee files
and statistics are also taken into account,
as is the previous "ethics condition."
Since Scientological ethics is oriented
towards worker performance that serves
production and hence expansion , it
comes as no surprise that Hubbard pardons
workers with high statistics, generally,
too, crimes, i.e. immoral conduct (the
so-called Khan-Khan Doctrine, HCO PL,
September 1, 1965 VIII). For all intents
and purposes, the system still operates
according to this amoral, utilitarian
ethical code of convenience to this day
when it comes to systematically suppressing
justifiable criticism, disseminating false
propaganda, carrying out "lie drills" for
workers, attacking critics by means of
psychological terror, or cowering former
members by threatening to publish their
auditing data. Scientology applies a dual
moral standard which operates according to
the tenet "the end justifies the means."
Furthermore, by carrying out so-called
"security checks" consisting of relentless,
inquisitorial questioning using a list of
questions and a lie detector ("E-meter"),
the system continuously ensures the loyalty
of its workers. Customers, too, are
subjected to those types of checks in order
to determine the presence of any possible
"counter-" or "foreign" intentions. Alleged
deviations registered by the needle of the
E-meter are immediately "repaired." One of
the main "repair measures" is term
clarification. The aim of this is to
re-consolidate the new language in the
deviant by practicing the system-specific
definitions, and at the same time to
restore his ideological conviction. No
explanation is given as to the aim and
effect of this program of linguistic
conditioning. The fact that penal camp
re-education is part and parcel of this
repressive educational technique seems in
tune with the logic of the system.
Hubbard's role model for the "RPF" is
obviously the "camp education" of the
Communist and Fascist dictatorships.
Individuals who hinder the manufacturing of
the New Person from within the system or
from the outside, are subjected to an
especially palpable educational treatment
by Scientology's technological
instructional machinery. These
troublemakers, who suppress "production"
("Suppressive Persons," HCO LP, October 16,
1967) are "dealt with" using the most
painful "educational measures" until they
no longer represent a hindrance to the
machine. The PTS/SP course "How to confront
and smash suppression" (HCO PL, December
23, 1965, revised on September 10, 1983),
comprises a precise regulation with
material and procedural rules for the
definition of "suppressive actions" and how
to stop them. Rejection of Scientology, for
example, is considered a so-called major
crime. Public statements against
Scientology or Scientologists are
prohibited. This set of rules confirms the
point made that Scientology's social order
is a system of total behavioral control
using the harshest repression. It also
demonstrates that Scientology stands and
acts outside the democratic values system.
Because of the inhumanly hard measures used
by management to control behavior, workers
are constantly under extremely high
pressure to perform. This gives rise to the
feeling of constantly having a bad
conscience, of not having done enough. On
the one hand, this will induce the workers
to buy more expensive training sessions in
order to increase their "productive power,"
and on the other hand to lure new customers
into the system, which will improve their
statistics. At the heart of the system,
then, lies an inhumane strategy of
exploitation consciously aimed at enslaving
both the workers and the customers. In one
of his earlier command directives on the
subject of "group health," Hubbard wrote
about having to "use" people. Any other
view of society is rejected as being
"psychotic." (HCO PL, December 14, 1970).
5. Scientology, the total cybernetic power of psychological
diagnosis
a. "Dianometry"
Besides tough operational regulations, the
system applies a vast testing battery of
reciprocally coordinated and hierarchically
gradated psychometrical and sociometrical
measurement methods to constantly gauge the
productivity of the "human machine." It
seems that Hubbard realized early on the
actual power his "psychodiagnostic"
measurement and controlling process gave
him over people. In 1951, he elaborately
boosted his new idea of measurement called
"Dianometry - Your Ability and State of
Mind," whereby he did not even shrink from
comparing himself to Adolf Hitler. He
expressed admiration for the inventor
Thomas A. Edison and for Adolf Hitler. Both
men had been "intelligent, very able,
brilliant, very successful." But there was
more to it than just intelligence and
energy. Hubbard then developed his
cybernetic view of the human being and the
respective testing methods (Technical
Bulletins 1950-1953, p. 67).
The system's fixation with permanent
control via behavioral tests is also
manifest in the extensive treatment of this
topic in the Management Series. Under the
entries "evaluation" and "evaluator" are
over 350 references to relevant text
passages. According to this, every
"auditing" session is simultaneously a
performance test. By the same token, all
activities of a worker are constantly being
subjected to testing. The manner of
observation, analysis, registration and
evaluation of behavior recalls the
procedures used by engineers of the TÜV
(Germany's technical watchdog association)
in their testing laboratories.
The implication, however, is that no one
can penetrate to the actual core of the
Scientology system which involves
permanent testing and programmed learning
by purely philosophical and ideological
discussion. That is also why Scientologists
do not believe in philosophical or
religious dogmas, they believe in their
"optimizability" by way of tests they feel
function and in the applied "technology."
The task of a democratic legal state must
therefore be to point out these methods, to
reveal the threat they pose and to set up a
defense. For the moment, however, the
democratic legal state is insufficiently
armed for this.
b. On the way to a society of tests
Over the course of the past decades, the
dichotomy between philosophical experience
of the world and scientific discoveries has
continuously increased, more and more areas
of our mind are being deciphered
scientifically and can therefore be
controlled technically (W. Ch. Zimmerli,
1989). Society's diagnostic power to
measure the productivity of its citizens,
their needs and attitudes by way of tests,
and then based on those tests to judge them
on their usability for certain tasks in
society, has therefore continuously grown.
There is an unending number of tests that
are constantly being sold on the services
market. People especially in the workforce,
whether simple employees or top managers,
are always encountering tests in the
process of further training, tests upon
which their continuing professional paths
depend.
Applying and evaluating these tests is
making increased use of the analytical
capabilities of computers these days. Human
resources development programs supported
electronically function partly as teaching
and learning aids for workers, but are also
used as diagnostic instruments for the
measurement of productivity. Cleverly
designed organization software has been
developed as a management tool for the
optimizing of corporate output. With its
assistance, corporate managers today are
able to examine each individual worker via
his or her "data shadow," which his or her
work has left behind in the networked IT
system of the company, thus making the
worker a "glass person." This type of
diagnosis collecting, linking and
processing personnel data in expert
systems, or "data mining" is prohibited
(§ 206 Penal Code, § 43 BDSG ???).
Nevertheless, in order to prevent damage to
their totally networked and hence very
fault-sensitive information systems, more
and more companies are making use of such
diagnostic methods. With the excuse of
searching for black sheep, performance
profiles are increasingly being drawn up
for workers for the purpose of a total
quality management (Kaltenborn, 1999).
c. Insufficient personal defense against the
"testing powers"
He who tests has power; by the test, the
tested person is being delivered into the
hands of the diagnostic power of the
tester. If the tested person cannot check
what kind of test is being applied and
whether it was correctly applied, he or she
may well become a pawn in the examiner's
game. Even though personality tests
penetrate deep into the citizen's right to
self-determination where information is
concerned, the state has to this date
failed to set up proper defense mechanisms
to protect its citizens from abuse. Hence,
the Scientology system can continue selling
its personality tests ("OCA test") to the
business world unimpeded. The inflated
claim of possessing total diagnostic
knowledge is further underlined with the
fact that for years now Scientology has
been disseminating tons of propaganda
material in Germany and thereby libelously
attacked the forces of psychological
diagnosis, psychiatry and classical
psychology who are pledged to uphold the
values system of the Basic Law. The
democratic legal state, however, is not
without a defense against this.
In its document No. E/CN/4/1116 dated
January 23, 1973, p. 71 ff., the Human
Rights Commission of the United Nations
described the dangers stemming from the
abusive application of tests and drew up a
series of recommendations for the
"protection of the private sphere in the
light of modern psychological and
physiological methods to extract
information." In Germany, these
recommendations have not been implemented
into law as of yet:
(1) The states will be asked to
legally regulate the use of
psychological testing procedures
outside consultations and
therapy.
(2) The use of psychological
tests should be primarily
oriented towards the claim to
protection of the individual and
only carried out by knowledgeable
and expert personnel.
(3) Special clauses should
regulate the possibility of
refusing test investigations
without disadvantageous
consequences and of appealing
consequences derived from the
test results.
(4) The only testing procedures
to be used in the area of
vocational training and work are
those that can be proven to have
a direct relationship to the
demands on hand.
(5) Use, confidentiality and
dissemination of test results
will require legal regulation
(6) The use of personality tests
that permit conclusions on
unconscious and inner
psychological processes must be
subjected to especially severe
legal regulations in order to
guarantee the protection of human
rights.
To protect the right to self-determination
over information, psychological diagnosis
via tests must be regulated as soon as
possible. Systematic abuse of diagnostic
power by Scientology could be hindered in
this manner.
6. From the manufacturing of the "human machine" to the
cybernetic dictatorship
This begs the question as to why individual workers
and long-standing customers do not rebel against this
humiliating compulsive control. The explanation lies
in the following: The candidates are so profoundly
impressed by the training experience they received in
a trance, an experience that blew up their empirical
view of the world, that they actually believe the
promises of the organization suggesting they can help
all of mankind by using their techniques. The fact
that sacrifices must be made for the vision of a "new
civilization," namely maintaining iron discipline,
subjection to total control, permanent and excessive
deployment of personal energy for work and one's own
financial means, are all accepted as a necessary evil
under these circumstances. They fail to see that they
have been baited by behavioral tricks and are being
held prisoner in a closed system by means of
cybernetic control techniques. Because the candidate
will not be enlightened to the fact that he or she
was hypnotized during the decisive trainings. On the
contrary, the organization always insists it does not
use hypnosis. The bio-cybernetic controlling
techniques cannot be identified by the customer,
because Scientology does not divulge the fact of
their use, in fact it even consciously deceives
people about the use of these methods.
In order to bind, Scientology abuses the social rules
of games. Through and during games, the players can
be made controllable and pliable, that is, they can
be instrumentalized and enslaved. In
systemic-cybernetic anthropology, playing games is
seen as the primal adaptation of the human species
and higher organisms to the environment and is
therefore considered a special type of learning.
Playing on and with the material and intellectual
model of reality should serve to acquire and practice
certain abilities. Using game theory, which
differentiates between determinant, non-determinant,
strategic and non-strategic games, cybernetics tries
to explain the modifications in the behavior of
people and groups (Flechtner, 1970). The network of
interactions of a group's members is in itself seen
as a game, and the totality of these interactions
(the moves) is defined as a social system (F. B.
Simon, 1995).
Picking up on systems theory, Scientology sees itself
as a network (HCO PL, December 4, 1966) and as a game
system (HCO PL, December 4, 1966), for which new
players must be found by means of special moves.
Scientology gives the appearance of being an open
system, in which a person can decide by himself when
to begin and end a game. In truth, however, the
system is set up to permanently maintain a hold on
the other players, i.e., to turn them into integral
elements of the system's structure. Systems bearing
this characteristic are called "enslaving" in systems
theory. When a system of this kind expands, the
enslaved elements enhance the expansive force of the
system like an avalanche within the context of a
so-called synergy effect (H. Haken, 1981).
Scientological management acts according to this
systemic concept; this is what determines
Scientology's expansion strategy.
a. Auditing: playing with puppets
In his theory of games conditions dated
December 1, 1950 (PAB No. 101), Hubbard
writes: "The most suitable answer to the
riddle of life is play." (Quote
re-translated from the German). He defines
"auditing" as a "game" ("We audit the
'Preclear' in all phases, as if playing a
game"). (Quote re-translated from the
German). In "Preconditions for auditing"
dated June 12, 1956 (PAB No. 88), Hubbard
explains that during auditing one should
avoid turning to the subjective self, the
mind, as much as possible, and instead try
to teach the "Preclear" the ability to
"play a game," at the end of which he can
"win." This technique of setting up games,
namely by having the players aim for a win,
is the reason that many customers and
workers can no longer leave the Scientology
system.
The games of Scientology, which, as we have
just shown, are based on the model of
quasi-mechanical interaction, can be
classified under the rubric control games,
which leave the player without the
slightest freedom. The player becomes a
puppet, an object that can only be modified
by the trainer alone. Hubbard's axiomatic
concept stating that all trainings on the
"Bridge" are pedagogical-therapeutic
instructional games throws a light onto the
reason and motive for the hundreds of
mysterious trainings (e.g., practicing with
an ashtray or learning "control" by the
repeated stereotypical performance of a
walking movement in the form of "start,
change and stop"). The "auditor" plays a
training game with the "human machine" that
recalls a children's game, so that "it"
should learn in the future to move about
the world with the precision of a robot, to
conceive of the world as a physical
instrument and to control it with ever
greater assurance. The American film
Matrix, apparently a cult film for the
higher-level Scientologists, provides a
very vivid illustration of this fantastical
cybernetic anthropology.
The sheer banality of Scientological games
is so extreme in the case of the so-called
Objective Processes, that the practitioners
obviously develop an urge to over-spice
them semantically, i.e. to mystify them in
order to achieve the verbal experience of
gain. The fact that the exercises merely
have a technical and operative purpose,
namely learning to perform with precision
certain movement sequences on command, is
seldom realized by the candidates. The aim
of the "processing" is at first playful
interaction as such. As with infant games,
the idea here is not to supply a certain
meaning, as would be the case with a
symbols game, but rather just plain doing
(sensor-motoric functional game). Because
these "meaningless" games can be
interpreted in many ways, the candidate is
always free to find a winning "cognition,"
with which every game ends, by way of
auto-suggestion; in the process, the
functional game is obviously elevated to
the rank of a game of symbols. This is
facilitated by the fact that the candidates
are often been induced into a trance by the
stereotypical exercises that sometimes go
on for hours and so the experience of the
trance becomes the aim of the exercise.
This trick of having the player reinterpret
a meaningless action to be a meaningful
event appears to be very effective. Thanks
to their "winning experience," which they
have to protocol after each game, the
customers are drawn deeper and deeper into
the overall game of Scientology. The
incentive to continue is the promise of the
constant increase of the "winning" while
passing through the many courses on the
"bridge." The use of this method in
advertising is called incentive technique.
The fact that ever greater financial and
personal sacrifices must be performed, is
taken into account by the customers and
functionaries, who have apparently become
addicted to playing. As an unscrupulous
salesman and manipulator of his own
functionaries, Hubbard points out in his
"Marketing Series" how important it is not
to enlighten the public as to the
mysterious experience they have just had in
order to facilitate selling them more
courses (HCO PL, June 25, 1978, rereleased
August 31, 1979). The customers become
puppets in the hands of the trainers, who
in turn are puppets of the system.
Customers and trainers often fail to notice
that as opposed to what Scientological
propaganda says, they are not progressing
along a spiritual path, but instead have
been trained to become perfectly
functioning "human machines" for a system
that is in the process of expanding. As
with chain letters, they are being used as
bait to lure new players.
The pressure from the machinery is so
strong that even functionaries who have
seen through the aggressive sales
techniques (hard sell) allow themselves to
be convinced over and over again to
purchase more trainings, even if they are
at the edge of financial ruin. The
ideological conditioning seems to break
down all natural forces of resistance.
b. The strategy behind expansion plans and
activities
Of particular significance in cybernetic
game theory are those games involving
competition and battles and therefore focus
on a conflict that one wants to decide in
one's own favor by the application of a
winning strategy. (G. Klaus, 1969;
Flechtner, 1970). In the Management Series,
the Scientology system and all its
organizations is explicitly described with
implicit reference to the cybernetic theory
of strategic games as a player of a
strategic game. It is depicted as playing
against the rest of the world (HCO PL,
December 4, 1966, February 2, 1970). In
order to win this game, the players are
drilled for "battle plans" (HCO PL, August
22, 1982) and in "strategic planning" (HCO
PL, January 5, 1983). Typically, the table
of contents of the Management Series has
about 40 references to the topic "war" and
about 15 references to "battle." Therefore,
the Management Series could as a whole be
interpreted as a handbook for logistics and
cybernetic strategy for the global
take-over Scientological management is
striving for.
The use of strategic and military
terminology as well as the fact that the
Scientology system has in fact armed itself
for its expansion as if going into battle
show that this is not just an overreaction.
In its core area it has adopted a military
form of organization.
The SeaOrg, whose members wear uniforms,
thinks of itself as a military order whose
task is to clear away obstacles in crisis
areas, when expansion has ceased. The
secret service called OSA, which "is to
provide a secure environment for
expansion," acts as a paramilitary group.
Its agents and those of the SeaOrg
management are given hands-on special
training for their "missions" and
"operations" drawn mostly from the book of
strategic theory written by the Chinese
author Sun Tsu (500 BC). This work is a
guideline for fighting and espionage
techniques that stand beyond any moral or
legal considerations. The other source of
strategy is the "Manual of Justice," in
which Hubbard prescribed how to efficiently
silence opponents using dirty methods.
Evidently, these teachings have already
been put into action against critics of the
organization worldwide.
By formulating a strategic goal and
applying the organizational models provided
by the military, Hubbard made good use of
the social bonding forces that weld
together a commando group in the midst of a
mission. This gives rise to an adapting of
perceptions, to a common world view and
perspective on action (J. Ruesch/G.
Bateson, 1995). As a clever social
pedagogue, Hubbard provided the commando he
created with no lesser a motivation to
fight than the securing of "the survival of
all mankind." This, too, is another
psychological trick from the arsenal of
totalitarian propagandists and incentive
specialists, who use it to stage sales
campaigns and also social movements.
Scientology's coordinated rules and
regulations of organizing, of education and
of systematic control leads to a
puppet-like instrumentalization and
ultimately enslavement of both workers and
customers. It can be traced to an abuse of
the know-how derived from systems theory,
information theory and control theory. The
eventuality of that kind of abuse has long
been discussed in scientific theory, but
the actualization of the danger was always
assumed to be improbable (H. Stachowiak,
1989). This is surprising, because ever
since N. Wiener's discovery of cybernetic
principles, the then East Bloc in
particular concentrated on intense research
into, and practical applications of, this
new scientific theory and technique.
Obviously the powers that be were hoping to
use the new technology to optimize the
system of planned economies. Research into
cybernetics was even written into the party
programs of the USSR and the GDR (G.
Klaus/H.Liebscher, 1970). In cybernetic
theory and practice, the Marxist-Leninist
ideologues even saw scientific proof for
the correctness of dialectical materialism
(G. Klaus/M. Buhr, 1964, 1972). In spite of
worldwide application of the concepts and
techniques of systems, information and
control theories even in the economies of
democratic societies, Scientology's
ordinary cybernetic approach to theory and
practice and the abuse associated with this
new knowledge of administration and control
remained unknown to this day.
One significant reason for this is probably
the fact that the radical aspect of this
technocratic approach, which suggests that
a social system can be set up solely on the
basis of engineering and cybernetic theory
and practice and that humans can be
degraded to the level of robots, simply
defies the normal power of imagination.
What has also been overlooked until now is
that the term "Thetan" in the Management
Series refers to an independently ordering
control unit that controls another system
(HCO PL, December 4, 1966). A similar idea
can be found in serious cybernetics (Haken,
1981). The engineer-like stringency of the
Management Series does raise the suspicion
that this opus does not even stem from
Hubbard's quill, but rather was the work of
ice-cold technocrats who used the sci-fi
author and fantasist Hubbard in order to
disguise their cynical power games. If the
Management Series was in fact written by
Hubbard, one might then believe that he
only drew up his Thetan myth as a "mystery
sandwich" (HCO PL, June 25, 1978) in order
to facilitate luring the public into his
exploitative machinery.
The key to explaining the totalitarian
system of Scientology and its bonding power
is not necessarily to be found in the
pseudo-religious superstructure that many
of the lower Scientologists believe in but
hardly the authors and executives of the
Management Series regulations. Rather, it
lies in the ability to use behavioral and
systemic-cybernetic knowledge of
domination, to steer, instrumentalize and
enslave people and to unscrupulously apply
this know-how without regard for human
dignity and human rights.
Amongst the techniques cumulatively used
are:
(1) Motivation of customers and
workers through constant use of
so-called incentive techniques in
advertising and in courses by
promising a winning, happiness or
success; manipulative stimulation
of a feeling of happiness while
under hypnosis or by systematic
over-stimulation of the organism
(e.g. by excessive rounds in the
sauna during the so-called
Purification Rundown); reflecting
ideal goals to disguise the
totalitarian claim to power and
the build-up of an
anti-democratic position of power
(2) acclimatization of a new
engineering language with the
purpose of operationally
restructuring thought and deed;
unlearning of natural body
language:
(3) Instruction in how to hold
controlling power over other
people by
a. learning drills
b. programmed learning
c. operative conditioning by
reinforcing desired behavior
and suppressing unwanted
behavior
d. permanent, systematic group
control
(4) Indoctrination using a false
anthropology (in part by alleging
the possibility of total control
over mind and psyche by measuring
the body's electricity, and in
part by using instructional
technology)
(5) Awakening a kind of addiction
in customers and workers to
constantly participate in the
"prize game" of Scientology
(6) Exploitation of this
addiction
a. by usurious pricing of
courses
b. by exploiting workers
(7) Systematic abuse of
scientific, social and cultural
knowledge and of the values it
provides for a human treatment of
body, mind and soul in the
preparation for business, in
trainings, in managing workers
and in the discussion with
critics
The strategic approach as it appears in the
Management Series allows the following
assessment of Scientology's manner in
conducting business: Under the guise of
friendliness and social reform, it enslaves
workers and customers in a technologically
steered society of control (cybernetic
dictatorship) and tries to propagate and
advance the transformation of the
democratic social order into a cybernetic
dictatorship.
7. Techno-totalitarianism, a threat to the democratic values
system in the 21st Century
Both Scientology's agenda and its method of approach
represent a new type of totalitarianism. In order to
subjugate people and its own organizations, the
system uses behavioral and cybernetic controlling and
steering mechanisms (techno-totalitarianism or
cyber-fascism). Hubbard probably borrowed his vision
of making society shed its "aggressions" by means of
behavioral instructional technology from B. F.
Skinner. In his 1948 book Walden Two, Skinner
propounded a similar program of reeducation for
society to Hubbard's. However, as opposed to Hubbard,
Skinner made clear that for his proposed attempt at
education, individuals would have to waive freedom
and dignity. In spite of the fact that the
anthropological theory of unlimited human pliability
through instructional technology has long been
disproved, the realm of further training (management
training) is increasingly using such techniques for
the alleged optimization of the individual.
Hubbard's human-technological concept of "optimizing"
is completely in tune with the tradition of
"Scientific Management" devised by the engineer F. W.
Taylor. At the beginning of the 20th century, Taylor
used engineering means evaluated the work performance
and behavior of American factory workers, divided
them up into individual functions and created new
rhythms, i.e., mechanized and dehumanized them
(Taylorism), with the aim of optimizing performance.
Max Weber felt that this technique of disciplining
people outwardly and inwardly using scientific
methods was a typical form of domination in modern
times (cf. here The New Human Being: A 20th-Century
Obsession, exhibition at the German Museum of Hygiene
in Dresden, 1999). The actual potential danger
emanating from Scientific Management, namely the
possibility of abuse for totalitarian aims, was
described by the Russian engineer and author Yevgeny
Zamiatin in a manner that is still valid to this day.
In 1920 already, at the time Max Weber was expressing
his criticism of Taylorism, he explained the ability
of the Bolsheviks to collectivize Russia's society
and to enslave the individual by excessive use of the
methods of Scientific Management. In his satirical
utopian novel We, in which Zamiatin ripped apart
Bolshevism, people are controlled as "numbers"
according to the Taylor method, in other words on the
basis of mathematical laws. The price for their
perfect technical operation is the loss of their
souls. The strategy of a complete technologizing of
personal and social conditions (social engineering)
that Zamiatin created as a characteristic of
totalitarianism is also used indisputably by
Scientology. Typically, when describing their method
of modification for the individual and society, the
organization does not use such terms as "ideology" or
"psychology," but rather "technology."
In the special report written by four experts on the
Investigative Commission, Scientology is referred to
in terms of the scientific orientation of its
theories and practice, but the system is not
classified as a creed under the heading religion but
rather in the postmodern realm of science and
technology as ideology (scientism). Quite obviously,
Scientology is part of the new cultural currents that
the American sociologist N. Postman described and
critiqued as "Technopol" (1991), while his colleague
G. Ritzer did the same, speaking of the
"McDonaldization" of society (1993). Postman fears
that society is being debilitated by the power of
technology; Ritzer foresees the danger of an "iron
cage" for society if technological advances continue
as they are. The American computer scientist J.
Weizenbaum sees the same threat and warns against a
unilateral orientation of society towards cybernetic
scientism and its unfettered progress (1976).
The control and steering mechanisms and the
psychometric measurement and evaluation procedures
used on individuals reveal Scientology to be a
typical representative of the "Technopol." The
cultural criticism expressed by the American
scientists quoted above might appear exaggerated, but
it nevertheless appropriately describes our society's
increasing tendency towards a
biological-technological orientation, and it
certainly applies to the practical methods of
Scientology. German future scientists also see
similar dangers as the American writers. The
Frauenhofer Institut for Labor and Organization (JAO)
in Stuttgart has developed three possible future
scenarios for the 21st century. Two optimistic models
are contrasted with the "Metropolis" model, which
consists of a dismal variation of Postman's
"Technopol." The Bavarian-Saxon Commission for the
Future also feels that without adopting the
appropriate countermeasures, a development in the
"Metropolis" direction cannot be entirely excluded.
Our society has hardly taken note of the risks that
an unbridled cybernetic technologizing of our social
life sources (cybersociety) might imply, especially,
however of the methods of Scientific Management in
the shape of cybernetic corporate organization and
control that are applied in a part of our economic
life. Scientology is an extremist representative of
this trend towards increasing technologizing. Even if
the Scientology organization has been under
surveillance by the Office for Protection of the
Constitution as an anti-constitutional movement, and
even if numerous member of the organization have left
it as a result of the government's educational
campaign, there can be no relaxing of vigilance. To
defend from the dangers emanating from excessive use
of instructional technology of behavioral slant and
from cybernetic controlling techniques, ethical and
legal standards of behavior ought to be decreed as
soon as possible for the protection of the
individual. Therefore, legal regulation of the
commercial psychology and further training market
must be introduced soon, as the Investigative
Commission recommended, and the diagnosis of
personalities by testing must also be addressed.
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