Anarcho-primitivism

 ( Primitivism ) 

Anarcho-primitivism is an anarchist critique of civilization that advocates a return to non-civilized ways of life through deindustrialization, abolition of the division of labor or specialization, abandonment of large-scale organization and all technology other than prehistoric technology, and the dissolution of agriculture. Anarcho-primitivists critique the origins and alleged progress of the Industrial Revolution and industrial society. 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 from hunter-gatherer to agricultural subsistence during the Neolithic Revolution gave rise to coercion, social alienation, and social stratification.

Anarcho-primitivism argues that civilization is at the root of societal and environmental problems. 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.

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Roots The roots of primitivism lay in Enlightenment philosophy and the critical theory of the Frankfurt School. The early-modern philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau blamed agriculture and cooperation for the development of social inequality and causing habitat destruction. In his Discourse on Inequality, Rousseau depicted the state of nature as a "primitivist utopia"; however, he stopped short of advocating a return to it. Instead, he called for political institutions to be recreated anew, in harmony with nature and without the artificiality of modern civilization. Later, critical theorist Max Horkheimer argued that environmental degradation stemmed directly from social oppression, which had vested all value in labor and consequently caused widespread alienation.

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Development The modern school of anarcho-primitivism was primarily developed by John Zerzan, whose work was released at a time when green anarchism 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.

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. 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. 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 labor.

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.

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Adoption and practice Primitivist ideas were taken up by the eco-terrorism Ted Kaczynski, although he has been repeatedly criticized for his violent means by more pacifistic anarcho-primitivists, who instead advocate for non-violent forms of direct action. Primitivist concepts have also taken root within the philosophy of deep ecology, inspiring the direct actions of groups such as Earth First!. Another radical environmentalist group, the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), was directly influenced by anarcho-primitivism and its calls for rewilding.

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.

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!

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See also

• Abecedarians, religious sect supposedly opposed to learning
• Agrarian socialism
• Anti-modernization
• Back-to-the-land movement
• Degrowth
• Doomer
• Earth liberation
• Ecofeminism
• Ecofascism
• Eco-socialism
• Ecoterrorism
• Environmental ethics
• Evolutionary psychology
• Freedomites
• Individualists Tending to the Wild
• Jacques Camatte
• National Anarchism
• Neo-Luddism
• Neo-tribalism
• Noble savage
• Primitive communism
• Romanticism
• Solarpunk
• Survivalism

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Notes

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Bibliography

• Elisa Aaltola (2025). 9780230289680, Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9780230289680
• (2025). 9783319756202, Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9783319756202
• Matthew Humphrey (2025). 9780415874564, Routledge. ISBN 9780415874564
• Roderick T. Long (2025). 9780415874564, Routledge. ISBN 9780415874564
• Peter H. Marshall (2025). 9780006862451, Harper Perennial. ISBN 9780006862451
• Brian Morris (2025). 9789004356894, Brill Publishers. . ISBN 9789004356894
• Sean Parson (2025). 9781138925656, Routledge. ISBN 9781138925656
• Andy Price (2025). 9781441142702, Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 9781441142702
• (2025). 9783319756202, Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9783319756202
• Johnathan Purkis (2025). 9781441142702, Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 9781441142702

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Further reading

• (1991). 9780865712058, New Society Publishers. . ISBN 9780865712058
• John Zerzan (1994). 9781570270000, Autonomedia. ISBN 9781570270000
• John Zerzan (1999). 9781890532017, Columbia Alternative Library Press. . ISBN 9781890532017
• John Zerzan (2025). 9781932595314, Feral House. . ISBN 9781932595314

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External links

• Articles tagged with " anarcho-primitivism" and " anti-civ" at The Anarchist Library.

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