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Anarcho-primitivism

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Anarcho-primitivism,also known asanti-civilization anarchism,is ananarchistcritique ofcivilizationthat advocates a return to non-civilized ways of life throughdeindustrialization,abolition of thedivision of laboror specialization, abandonment of large-scale organization and alltechnologyother thanprehistoric technologyand the dissolution of agriculture. Anarcho-primitivists critique the origins and alleged progress of theIndustrial Revolutionandindustrial society.[1]Most Anarcho-primitivists advocate for a tribal-like way of life while some see an even simpler lifestyle as beneficial. According to anarcho-primitivists, the shift fromhunter-gatherertoagricultural subsistenceduring theNeolithic Revolutiongave rise tocoercion,social alienation,andsocial stratification.[2]

Anarcho-primitivism argues that civilization is at the root of societal and environmental problems.[3]Primitivists also consider domestication, technology and language to cause social alienation from "authentic reality". As a result, they propose the abolition of civilization and a return to a hunter-gatherer lifestyle.[4]

History

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Roots

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The roots of primitivism lay inEnlightenment philosophyand thecritical theoryof theFrankfurt School.[5]The early-modern philosopherJean-Jacques Rousseaublamedagricultureandcooperationfor the development ofsocial inequalityand causinghabitat destruction.[5]In hisDiscourse on Inequality,Rousseau depicted thestate of natureas a "primitivist utopia";[6]however, he stopped short of advocating a return to it.[7]Instead, he called for political institutions to be recreated anew, in harmony with nature and without the artificiality of modern civilization.[8]Later, critical theoristMax Horkheimerargued thatEnvironmental degradationstemmed directly fromsocial oppression,which hadvested all value in laborand consequently caused widespreadalienation.[5]

Development

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John Zerzan,the main theoretical proponent of anarcho-primitivism

The modern school of anarcho-primitivism was primarily developed byJohn Zerzan,[9]whose work was released at a time whengreen anarchisttheories ofsocialanddeep ecologywere beginning to attract interest. Primitivism, as outlined in Zerzan's work, first gained popularity as enthusiasm in deep ecology began to wane.[10]

Zerzan claimed that pre-civilization societies were inherently superior to modern civilization and that the move towards agriculture and the increasing use of technology had resulted in the alienation and oppression of humankind.[11]Zerzan argued that under civilization, humans and other species have undergonedomestication,which stripped them of their agency and subjected them to control bycapitalism.He also claimed thatlanguage,mathematicsandarthad causedalienation,as they replaced "authentic reality" with an abstracted representation of reality.[12]In order to counteract such issues, Zerzan proposed that humanity return to astate of nature,which he believed would increasesocial equalityand individualautonomyby abolishingprivate property,organized violenceand thedivision of labour.[13]

Primitivist thinkerPaul Shepardalso criticized domestication, which he believed had devalued non-human life and reduced human life to their labor and property. Other primitivist authors have drawn different conclusions to Zerzan on the origins of alienation, with John Fillis blamingtechnologyandRichard Heinbergclaiming it to be a result ofaddiction psychology.[4]

Adoption and practice

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Primitivist ideas were taken up by theeco-terroristTed Kaczynski,although he has been repeatedly criticised for his violent means by more pacifistic anarcho-primitivists, who instead advocate for non-violent forms ofdirect action.[14]Primitivist concepts have also taken root within the philosophy ofdeep ecology,inspiring the direct actions of groups such asEarth First!.[15]Another radical environmentalist group, theEarth Liberation Front(ELF), was directly influenced by anarcho-primitivism and its calls forrewilding.[16]

Primitivists and green anarchists have adopted the concept of ecologicalrewildingas part of their practice, i.e., using reclaimed skills and methods to work towards a sustainable future while undoing institutions of civilization.[17]

Anarcho-primitivist periodicals includeGreen AnarchyandSpecies Traitor.The former, self-described as an "anti-civilization journal of theory and action" and printed inEugene, Oregon,was first published in 2000 and expanded from a 16-page newsprint tabloid to a 76-page magazine coveringmonkeywrenchingtopics such as pipeline sabotage and animal liberation.Species Traitor,edited by Kevin Tucker, is self-described as "an insurrectionary anarcho-primitivist journal", with essays against literacy and for hunter gatherer societies. Adjacent periodicals include the radical environmental journalEarth First![18]

Criticisms

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A common criticism is ofhypocrisy,i.e. that people rejecting civilization typically maintain a civilized lifestyle themselves, often while still using the very industrial technology that they oppose in order to spread their message. Activist writerDerrick Jensencounters that this criticism merely resorts to anad hominemargument, attacking individuals but not the actual validity of their beliefs.[19]He further responds that working to entirely avoid such hypocrisy is ineffective, self-serving, and a convenient misdirection of activist energies.[20]Primitivist John Zerzan admits that living with this hypocrisy is anecessary evilfor continuing to contribute to the larger intellectual conversation.[21]

Wolfi Landstreicher andJason McQuinn,post-leftists, have both criticized the romanticized exaggerations of indigenous societies and thepseudoscientific(and even mystical)appeal to naturethey perceive in anarcho-primitivist ideology anddeep ecology.[22][23]

Ted Kaczynskialso argued that anarcho-primitivists have exaggerated the short working week ofprimitive society,arguing that they only examine the process of food extraction and not the processing of food, creation of fire and childcare, which adds up to over 40 hours a week.[24]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^el-Ojeili & Taylor 2020,pp. 169–170.
  2. ^Jeihouni & Maleki 2016,p. 67.
  3. ^Aaltola 2010,p. 164.
  4. ^abAaltola 2010,p. 166.
  5. ^abcAaltola 2010,pp. 166–167.
  6. ^Long 2013,pp. 218–219.
  7. ^Long 2013,pp. 218–219;Marshall 2008,p. 124.
  8. ^Long 2013,pp. 218–219;Marshall 2008,p. 15.
  9. ^Aaltola 2010,pp. 164–165;Price 2012,pp. 240–241;Price 2019,p. 289.
  10. ^Price 2012,pp. 240–241.
  11. ^Price 2012,pp. 240–241;Price 2019,p. 289.
  12. ^Aaltola 2010,pp. 164–165.
  13. ^Aaltola 2010,p. 165.
  14. ^Aaltola 2010,p. 167.
  15. ^Aaltola 2010,pp. 167–170.
  16. ^Humphrey 2013,p. 298.
  17. ^Etherington 2024,p. 246.
  18. ^Dodge, Chris (July 2006)."Apocalypse Soon?".Utne.pp. 38–39.ISSN1544-2225.ProQuest217426998.
  19. ^Jensen, Derrick(2006).The Problem of Civilization.Endgame.Vol. 1. New York:Seven Stories Press.p. 128.ISBN978-1-58322-730-5.
  20. ^Jensen, 2006, pp. 173–174: "[Although it's] vital to make lifestyle choices to mitigate damage caused by being a member of industrial civilization... to assign primary responsibility to oneself, and to focus primarily on making oneself better, is an immense copout, an abrogation of responsibility. With all the world at stake, it is self-indulgent, self-righteous, and self-important. It is also nearly ubiquitous. And it serves the interests of those in power by keeping our focus off them."
  21. ^"Anarchy in the USA".The Guardian.London. 20 April 2001.
  22. ^McQuinn, Jason.Why I am not a Primitivist.
  23. ^"The Network of Domination".
  24. ^Kaczynski, Theodore (2008).The Truth About Primitive Life: A Critique of Primitivism.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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