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]
Criticisms
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.[17] He further responds that working to entirely avoid such hypocrisy is ineffective, self-serving, and a convenient misdirection of activist energies.[18] Primitivist John Zerzan admits that living with this hypocrisy is a
necessary evil for continuing to contribute to the larger intellectual conversation.[19]
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.[20][21]
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.[22]
^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."
Humphrey, Matthew (2013). "Environmentalism". In Gaus, Gerald F.; D'Agostino, Fred (eds.). The Routledge Companion to Social and Political Philosophy.
Routledge. pp. 291–302.
ISBN978-0-415-87456-4.
LCCN2012013795.
Long, Roderick T. (2013). "Anarchism". In Gaus, Gerald F.; D'Agostino, Fred (eds.). The Routledge Companion to Social and Political Philosophy.
Routledge. pp. 217–230.
ISBN978-0-415-87456-4.
LCCN2012013795.
Parson, Sean (2018). "Ecocentrism". In Franks, Benjamin; Jun, Nathan; Williams, Leonard (eds.). Anarchism: A Conceptual Approach.
Routledge. pp. 219–233.
ISBN978-1-138-92565-6.
LCCN2017044519.