Primitivism Beyond Subsistence

There is no one factor that determines human societies.  Religion, economics, power, and even subsistence do not dictate how life will be lived.  No doubt they all have very important influences and impacts, but no one individual part determines life.  So why is so much primitivist debate centered around subsistence?  Is the primal war a struggle that is fighting for a return to one particular way of getting food (foraging)?  Of course not, but from many debates, discussions, and arguments, it seems like that.

“How do we return to a hunter-gatherer lifestyle?”  “Are we physically able to make a return?”  Won’t the end of agriculture be the cause of death for billions?”  Etc….  And of course each questions has its own set of implications regarding culture, organization, population, defense, etc.  The most logical arguments that I have heard to these ends is that by a switch to subsistence horticulture and permaculture, coupled with wild food gathering and hunting, we can gradually make our way towards a future primitive society.  In a very small nut shell, populations would naturally be reduced, governments would fail, capitalism would die out, and civilization would “collapse”….I’ll leave it at that.  You can find out the rest on your own.

Again, subsistence does not determine everything.  Just as there are (or were) some peaceful, egalitarian, and eco-friendly agrarian/horticultural societies, so too were there some not so nice, destructive foraging bands (although not that many).

The “primitive”, just like civilization, is an encapsulating word which has many physical manifestations but is more a paradigm than a material thing.  Therefore, when considering the feral future, we must not get so worked up over subsistence.  Subsistence is something we must recognize and work to change in our own lives, but there is more that we must look at and must do.  We can do these simultaneously with a shift from subsistence, or before, or after – but no doubt it must be done.

Beyond subsistence, what is the primitive?  I could talk about the different and important views of nature which helps to foster a non-hierarchical, egalitarian, and interdependent relationship with Mother Earth.  I could also talk about egalitarian social organization, no authoritarian figures, little to no division of labor, non-specialized fully participating human beings who can do all one needs to in order to live (to live is to go beyond mere survival) and who has a role in group decision making, etc.  These are all important things that we must emulate and adapt in our lives, inside and outside of civilization.  What I want to talk about is somewhat different, perhaps the “essence” of anarcho-primtivism.

With the inception and hegemony of civilization, the potential to create new and unique lives was destroyed.  In civilization, only civilization can be (re)created and maintained.  There is no alternative.  In fact, that’s why there is so much debate around primitivism, its hard for modern human beings living inside of civilization (all civilizations, not just Western) to even imagine an alternate way of living.  If civilization only creates civilization, then primitivism must create alternatives.  The essence and main point behind primitivism is about creating alternatives.

Creating an alternative, whether it is completely outside of civilization, or carving out an alternative niche existing inside of civilization is perhaps the most uncivilized thing to do.  Anarchists are on the right track with dumpster diving, squatting, DIY, gardens, and other great folk sciences.  It’s an alternative that we must explore while we are in civilization.  Of course, its not enough, but it’s a start.  It’s not easy to abandon civilization completely, especially since there is still a machine that we have to fight.  Completely abandon it, and you loose.

Primitivism is about alternatives.  Not alternatives dictated by primitivists, policy makers, social scientists, or even me, but ones which are created and innovated by yourself and your loved ones.  The feral future I see is a future of experiments in living, ways which have perhaps never been explored.  There is no one world-wide anarcho-foraging culture.  People everywhere are experiencing their own alternatives – actualizing the primitive.

Look at it this way.  The “primitive” lifestyle is our inheritence, but it has been buried deep within us by an experiment that went very, very wrong.  We now have the knowledge and power to relearn our ancestry as well as our identity crisis – we know what not to replicate, as well as what to incorporate.  However, we’re not going to be stuck recreating a past world.  We are going to use the tools of the primitive past to build ourselves a wild, peaceful, beautiful, adventurous feral future!