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Future Primitive: And Other Essays (Autonomedia New Autonomy)

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I have only recently became acquainted with John Zerzan, and this is the first work of his that I have read. Having said this, I would have to say that this is one of the best works of Anarchy, and radical thought that has been written since the turn of the century. I say this because of the high level of intellectual development that this work reveals. Zerzan, instead of using anarchic stereotypes, instead writes with wit, humor, originality, and passion; as he delves into areas such as archeaology, anthropology, political science, and even postmodern philosphy. In doing so he illustrates the importance and veracity of anarchism, with a complex and intelligent argument that is hard to refute.

This is not just a great work of anarchist thought it is a tour de force of intellectual vigor and philosophical investigation. To anyone who says anarchy is dead, this book will go along way in changing their minds. It might even transform the way you look at the world. Zerzan is possibly the most significant anarchist thinker since the likes of Emma Goldman and Prince Petr Kropotkin, to which his wide intellectual breadth bears a great resemblance. This is a great book that should be read by anyone concerned with the future of the world, and humanity's place in it.

Zerzan develops the ultimate revolutionary critique: he takes on no particular, historical civilization, but "civilization" itself, in general. His argument is intriguing; essentially, the transition from gatherer-hunters to agricultural civilizations is the original cause of all social misery. To the point, in fact, where he seems to equate this transition to the biblical Fall. His ideas are spectacular--not because he always convinces me, but because he makes a plausible case for civilization in general as an evolutionary dead-end. He brings a posture of skepticism toward the modern world to its ultimate conclusion. Read this and gain new perspective on the world you live in.

Zerzan's razor-sharp prose cuts through the fluff of postmodernism and sears away the thin ideological veneer of technological, industrial progress.�@He cites and highlights the ecological, social, spiritual and material catastrophes of modern life by juxtaposing them with harmonious, egalitarian, and relatively peaceful indigenous cultures. Referencing a wealth of anthropological research that documents the superior health, well-being, freedom and equality of so-called primitive, uncivilized peoples, Zerzan subverts the age-old fallacy of modernism and calls for a revival of a "future primitive." Never lacking in originality, clarity or depth, Zerzan's writing forces the reader to question the fundamental assumptions upon which modern life hinges. As with everything this author has penned, this book is not to be ignored.

Zerzan's take on paleo-history, anthropology and the archaeological record wouldn't pass muster in a first year course, let alone an authoritative book. He routinely presents hypothesis as fact, exploits chosen portions of scholarly studies to support his ideological ends, while ignoring aspects of said works which contradict his claims. If this is truly the brightest light in anarchism today (as some wish to claim) the State's got nothing to fear. Don't take my word for it: simply go to his source material, check for yourself. None of it is remotely as concrete as he would have you believe. In light of his obvious awareness of some of the details of studies he cites, his omissions of the bits that contradict his claims is pure deceit. The lives of hunter-gatherers are infinitely more complex than he would have you believe; the primitivist imaginings that would cast them as idealized visions of a lost state of grace constitute little more than a contemporary version of the old colonial game: let's declare them to be 'us' at some past state, project our ideations onto them, and make them dance to the tune of our desire. Whether its done in support of the State, or against it, it is most always done by those who have never spent a day of their life amongst such peoples. There is ancient evidence of hunting and the consumption of meat by hominids (is 1.8 million years good enough?); it is completely uncertain, from an evolutionary perspective, that the origin of domestication was an intentional process. Instead, it has been convincingly demonstrated that it might well be the product of millenia of co-evolution between plants and people; so much so that we may legitimately pose the question, "do people cultivate and domesticate plants, or do plants cultivate and domesticate people to tend them, and further their line?". Bottom line: this book is fodder that will be readily devoured by the converted, but for serious scholars of human history, and those of an independent mind, it's simply preaching masquerading as analysis: and in my book, preachers and bosses are the same.

When one considers the time at which this book was written, more specifically when the essay Future Primitive was written, the ideas expressed are on the edge of archealogical thought. As a student of archeaology and anthropology (at a university not just my spare time) this book represents many theories that are VERY popular. The idea that the data in this book is heavily manipulated is ridiculous. While john certaintly interjects and interprets with his philosophy in mind, that does nothing to change the actual data he is talking about. Perhaps one of his most controversial ideas is about the emmergence of big game hunting (that there is little early evidence for it), but his theory about such is one also held by such mainstream writers as Jared Diamond. His theory about the rise of agriculture and the deliberatness of its arrival is one that many hold. WHile most data does suggest a corelation between specified gathering and then slow domestication, this does not change the fact that civilization is a choice. One that is now very clearly represented. The full manifestations of civilization didn't always exist, and for this reason (perhaps) civilization spread. But as it is clear now what civilization entails, it is time to be done with it.