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]
The modern school of anarcho-primitivism was primarily developed by John Zerzan,[9] whose work was released at a time when green anarchist theories of social and deep ecology were 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 undergone domestication, which stripped them of their agency and subjected them to control by capitalism. He also claimed that language, mathematics and art had caused alienation, as they replaced "authentic reality" with an abstracted representation of reality.[12] In order to counteract such issues, Zerzan proposed that humanity return to a state of nature, which he believed would increase social equality and individual autonomy by abolishing private property, organized violence and the division of labour.[13]
Primitivist thinker Paul Shepard also 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 blaming technology and Richard Heinberg claiming it to be a result of addiction psychology.[4]
Adoption and practice
Primitivist ideas were taken up by the eco-terroristTed Kaczynski, although he has been repeatedly criticised for his violent means by more pacifistic anarcho-primitivists, who instead advocate for non-violent forms of direct action.[14] Primitivist concepts have also taken root within the philosophy of deep ecology, inspiring the direct actions of groups such as Earth First!.[15] Another radical environmentalist group, the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), was directly influenced by anarcho-primitivism and its calls for rewilding.[16]
Primitivists and green anarchists have adopted the concept of ecological rewilding as 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 include Green Anarchy and Species Traitor. The former, self-described as an "anti-civilization journal of theory and action" and printed in Eugene, Oregon, was first published in 2000 and expanded from a 16-page newsprint tabloid to a 76-page magazine covering monkeywrenching topics 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 journal Earth First![18]
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A common criticism is of hypocrisy, 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 writer Derrick Jensen counters that this criticism merely resorts to an ad hominem argument, 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 a necessary evil for continuing to contribute to the larger intellectual conversation.[21]
Wolfi Landstreicher and Jason McQuinn, post-leftists, have both criticized the romanticized exaggerations of indigenous societies and the pseudoscientific (and even mystical) appeal to nature they perceive in anarcho-primitivist ideology and deep ecology.[22][23]
Ted Kaczynski also argued that certain anarcho-primitivists have exaggerated the short working week of primitive 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]
^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."
^"Anarchy in the USA". The Guardian. London. 20 April 2001.
^Kaczynski, Theodore (2008). The Truth About Primitive Life: A Critique of Primitivism.
Bibliography
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Becker, Michael (2010). Anarcho-Primitivism: The Green Scare in Green Political Theory (Annual Meeting Paper). Western Political Science Association. pp. 1–16.
Cudworth, Erika (2019). "Farming and Food". In Adams, Matthew S.; Levy, Carl (eds.). The Palgrave Handbook of Anarchism. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 641–658. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-75620-2_36. ISBN 978-3-319-75620-2. S2CID 242090793.
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Parson, Sean (2018). "Ecocentrism". In Franks, Benjamin; Jun, Nathan; Williams, Leonard (eds.). Anarchism: A Conceptual Approach. Routledge. pp. 219–233. ISBN 978-1-138-92565-6. LCCN 2017044519.
Price, Andy (2019). "Green Anarchism". In Adams, Matthew S.; Levy, Carl (eds.). The Palgrave Handbook of Anarchism. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 281–291. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-75620-2_16. ISBN 978-3-319-75620-2. S2CID 242090793.
Shakoor, Abdul; Ahmad, Mustanir (2022). "Anarcho-Primitivism in D.H. Lawrence's Post War Fiction: An Eco-Critical Analysis". Pakistan Journal of Social Research. 4 (4): 10–17. doi:10.52567/pjsr.v4i04.782. ISSN 2710-3137. S2CID 254323210.
Smith, Mick (2002). "The State of Nature: The Political Philosophy of Primitivism and the Culture of Contamination". Environmental Values. 11 (4): 407–425. doi:10.3197/096327102129341154. ISSN 1752-7015.
Further reading
Filiss, John (2002). "What is Primitivism?". Primitivism. Archived from the original on 30 July 2019.
Sheppard, Brian Oliver (2008) [2003]. Anarchism vs Primitivism. London: Active Distribution. OCLC 1291401071.
Zerzan, John; Carnes, Alice, eds. (1991). Questioning Technology. New Society Publishers. ISBN 0-86571-205-0.