''Future Primitive and Other Essays'' is a collection of essays by anarcho-primitivist philosopher John Zerzan published by

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in 1994. The book became the subject of increasing interest after Zerzan and his beliefs rose to fame in the aftermath of the trial of fellow thinker

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and the 1999 anti-WTO protests in Seattle. It was republished in 1996 by

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, and has since been translated into French (1998), Turkish (2000), Spanish (2001), and

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(2002). As is the case with Zerzan's previous collection of essays, '' Elements of Refusal'', ''Future Primitive'' is regarded by

Anarcho-Primitivists Anarcho-primitivism is an anarchist critique of civilization (anti-civ) that advocates a return to non-civilized ways of life through deindustrialization, abolition of the division of labor or specialization, and abandonment of large-scale or ...

and technophobes as an

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classic.

Thesis

''Future Primitive'' is an unequivocal assertion of the superiority of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Zerzan rejects the thesis that

time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

and

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...

are neutral scientific realities, arguing instead that they are carefully constructed means of enslaving people. He cites as examples the computer and the

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, which he maintains have an atomizing effect on society, creating novel divisions of labour, demanding ever increasing efficiency and portions of

leisure time Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leisure ...

. Life prior to

domestication Domestication is a sustained multi-generational relationship in which humans assume a significant degree of control over the reproduction and care of another group of organisms to secure a more predictable supply of resources from that group. ...

and

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

, Zerzan argues, was predominantly one of "leisure, intimacy with nature, sensual wisdom, sexual equality and health". In the Paleolithic era, as ''

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'' summarized Zerzan's thesis, "people roamed free, lived off the land and knew little or nothing of private property, government, money, war, even sexism. In the wild, the shackles of civilization weren't necessary, as people were instinctively munificent and kind, the primitivist argument goes."Alt URL
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References

External links

''Future Primitive and Other Essays''
(PDF) – Libcom.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Future Primitive And Other Essays 1994 non-fiction books Books about anarchism Green anarchism Literature critical of work and the work ethic Anarcho-primitivism American essay collections es:Futuro Primitivo

Thesis

See also

References

External links