Spike the Guns of the Enemy? Or Use Their Weapons Against Them?

Please vote in the poll at the bottom of this article...

Here we are, after a couple of months studying Illich, Mumford and Elull together, we sit on this massive tech platform. Algorithms probably pushed this page to your feed, maybe even an AI sorted it just right for you. Ironic, isn’t it? We’re sitting here questioning the very machine we’re plugged into.

So, here’s the question: Do we spike the guns of the enemy, render their tools useless, walk away from it all? or do we grab those very weapons and fire them right back, using the tools of the regime against it? I would really like your input on this question, so please share your thoughts and use the poll provided at the bottom of this post.

Back in the day, this was a straightforward battlefield decision—disable/destroy the cannons of the enemy or use them to blast the other side. But today? The "guns" in our scenario are sneakier though aren’t they? Tech, politics, media, culture, progress (yeah, even that sacred cow). And the enemy? It’s that massive, faceless system—the megamachine—looming over everything we do.

Spiking the Guns: Cutting the Cord

Spiking the guns means you walk away. You say, "Nah, I’m not playing this game." It’s about sabotage, disruption, refusal. If the regime’s tools—be it tech platforms, government systems, or the whole shiny narrative of “progress”—are rigged from the start, the purest move might be to just smash the whole thing.

Illich of course talked of “convivial tools”—stuff that’s human-sized, manageable, not trying to take over your life. Illich wasn’t really about reforming the system. He was all about opting out entirely. And Lewis Mumford’s “Megamachine”? Much the same. Once you’re tangled up in this sprawling mess of tech and bureaucracy, it’s almost impossible to escape without cutting the cord completely.

And then there’s progress. Oh, progress. We’re told it’s always good—faster, bigger, shinier! But what if it’s not? What if “progress” is just a flashy cover for losing what really matters—community, autonomy, meaning? Spiking the guns means throwing that question out there and refusing to buy into the idea that newer always equals better.

But… here’s the kicker: total disengagement can make you invisible. Yeah, you’re not playing their game, but no one’s hearing you either. The machine doesn’t care if you’re not on board—it keeps rolling. It feeds on silence just as much as it does on clicks.

Using Their Weapons: Playing Their Game (But Smarter)

Then there’s the flip side: use their weapons against them. Get into the system, mess with it from the inside. This is about subversion. You use the tools, but you twist them—tech to expose tech, politics to call out corruption, media to tear apart the narratives they’re trying to sell you, or even AI to further the cause. Think of it as digital guerrilla warfare, reprograming and retuning the Terminator to destroy Skynet. Yeah, you’re on their platforms, but you’re not just another cog. You’re using their spotlight to highlight the cracks. Use the language of progress to point out how hollow it is.

When my wife and I watch a film, she is always advocating for the protagonists to “Pick up their guns!” she hates it when an unarmed person just runs past a fallen enemies weapons. Sometimes I remind her that it isn’t that simple, a person who isn’t trained on a specific weapon, would probably do more harm to themselves (would they even know where the safety catch is? or what to do with a stoppage?) and others with those very weapons, then of course there’s the zeroing in of sights etc. yeah I am lots of fun to watch movies with :-)

But here’s the trap: the system is built to swallow you whole. Tech platforms love engagement—doesn’t matter if you’re cheering or booing. Every post, every like, every rant? It’s all just data, feeding the machine, lining someone’s pockets. Your rebellion? Monetised. Your outrage? Edgy Content.

Jacques Ellul had a thing or two to say about this in The Technological Society. He believed tech moves on its own path, no matter what we do. Once you’re in the system, it’s tough to stop yourself from getting pulled along. Same with progress. Even if you’re critiquing it, just talking about it can make it seem like it’s still the goal.

The Participation Trap

So, what now? Is it even possible to fight the system without becoming part of it? Without becoming tainted by it?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: We are in it, whether we like it or not, and lets face it we are liking Substack. Whether you’re spiking the guns or firing them back, you’re still on the battlefield. But that doesn’t mean you roll over, we still have choices:

• Mix it up. Spike some guns, use others. If a tool’s too dirty to touch, smash it. If you can use it without selling your soul, do it—but stay sharp.

• Don’t get comfy. The more you rely on their systems, the harder it is to break free. Use their stuff when you need to, but don’t build your whole life on it.

• Keep your values front and centre. The moment you start justifying shady tactics because “the end justifies the means,” you’re halfway to becoming the thing you hate.

The Third Option: Build Your Own Stuff

Maybe it’s not just about spiking or using their weapons. Maybe it’s about making our own.

Forget trying to fix or hack the system—build something better. Stuff that doesn’t run on their rules.

• Local ‘politics’: Small, tight-knit communities that don’t need the state to tell them how to live.

• Independent media: Real stories, told by real people, without some corporate agenda pulling the strings.

• Cultural revival: Bringing back traditions, values, and community ties that the modern world keeps trying to erase.

• Rethink progress: Maybe the future isn’t about faster, bigger, shinier. Maybe it’s about meaning and connection over speed and scale.

This isn’t about smashing the system outright—it’s about making it irrelevant. When people have real alternatives, the megamachine loses its grip.

And Here We Are…

Back where we started. You’re reading this on a tech platform, probably nudged here by an algorithm, maybe even sorted by AI. We’re using the system to question the system, and yeah, the irony’s not lost on me, and I know it’s not lost on you either.

But that’s the world we’re in. Perfect purity? It’s not gonna happen. But that doesn’t mean we don’t try. We can still resist, still build, still fight.

Spike the guns when we can, use them when we must, but don’t forget who we are in the process.

Because in the end, it’s not just about defeating the system—it’s about surviving it without becoming it. And maybe, just maybe, it’s about showing people that there’s another way forward—one that’s not trapped in this endless loop of so-called progress.

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