Primitivism

Primitivism, also called anarcho-primitivism, is a philosophy advocating a return to a pre-industrial and usually pre-agricultural society. It is usually considered to be an anarchist philosophy.

Primitivism can also refer to any philosophy which seeks to return to the roots of a larger movement, such as Muslims and Christians who seek to return to the first few centuries of Islam or Christianity.

Primitivism believes that industrial society inevitably produces oppressive structures through specialization of tasks or division of labor, and that technology has similar negative implications. Some forms of primitivism question civilization itself.

Many primitivists believe that civilization has forced humans to use an excessive amount of symbolism in their daily lives. People observe the world around them and express themselves very much through written and spoken language, live much of their lives through ritual and schedule, and think mostly in terms of language and common symbolism. Primitivists believe that this tendency toward excessive symbolism reduces more direct, unfiltered, sensual experience, and directly limits our thoughts and feelings to those expressable in their language.

The primitivist movement has connections to radical environmentalism.

Primitivism has been notably advocated by John Zerzan, and to some extent by Theodore Kaczynski (the Unabomber) and Derrick Jensen.

During the 1990s the UK magazine Green Anarchist aligned itself with the primitivist movement, although there are many who would describe themselves as 'green anarchists' who would not see themselves as subscribing to this philosophy.

The magazine Green Anarchy was started by one of the founders of Green Anarchist. Green Anarchy is published in Eugene, Oregon. One of the editors is John Zerzan.

See also

• Radical anthropology
• Amish
• Antimodernism
• Green anarchy

External links

• A critique of primitivism, anarcho-primitivism and anti-civilisationism - social anarchist criticism of primitivism
• "5 Common Objections to Primitivism, and Why They're Wrong" - a primitivist response to critics
• Primitivism text archive (libcom.org)

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