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RE: Anarchism is Deeply, Intimately Personal
It feels like this is just the tip of the iceberg you've posted. and I mean that in a positive way! Have you read John Zerzans work?
It feels like this is just the tip of the iceberg you've posted. and I mean that in a positive way! Have you read John Zerzans work?
I am not familiar with Zerzan. Maybe you can give me a brief breakdown of his ideas?
John Zerzan is one of the very few that truly understands anarchy. He sees all man made systems of rule as unsustainable and unethical and looks to Nature as a model for forming a rule free culture.
In a comment above, you stated that anarchy means "without rulers". It actually means "without rules". This is in reference to man's rules and not just the "leaders" that create and enforce them. The reason for this is that man's rules can always be broken by psychopaths and sociopaths because they're not scared of the consequences of cheating. This means that in any system dependent upon man's rules, psychopaths will rise to the top of the power structure and explains the mess our species is in today.
Zerzan has figured this out and realizes that the only rules that man can't break are Nature's rules. If you over fish the river, you either starve, move, or breed less. If you rape a man's wife, he's probably going to kill you. If you fall, it hurts. He advocates a full return to hunter/gatherer lifestyles as they are solely governed by Nature's autonomous resource based economy. I'm with him but differ in that I believe that we can integrate diy green tech and repurposing of civ's waste into the lifestyle so things like the communication and health issues that the hunter gatherers of the past struggled with aren't an issue.
I've been studying anarchism for 30 years but only started to live it about three years ago when I started living nomadically full time, using gift economy, freeganism, bushcraft/primitive skills, and scavenging civ's waste to meet my needs. Despite a broken neck and worn out body and only having a few friends minimally participating in gift economy with me, I'm happier, healthier, and more free than I've ever been. I'm actually making slow progress on diy green tech inventions as well.
I very occasionally use money, just to make things happen a little faster but I feel terrible about it whenever I do because I know that by valuing money, I am strengthening a man made rule/slavery system and going against my ethics. I keep telling myself that I'll go completely money free once I finish some inventions and buy a few acres to use as a home base. Buying/owning land is something I really don't believe in either but civilization doesn't respect feral human rights so I don't have much choice if I want any kind of stability. I won't be doing any development on my land though, just camping and storing some supplies underground. I'm buying the land to preserve it so that's how I can justify it and still sleep at night.
If you're not a green anarchist yet, if you truly believe in anarchy and can follow the logic to the end, you'll be a green anarchist someday because any other lifestyle ends up creating archy.
This article I wrote might explain a little better:
https://steemit.com/anarchism/@apocaloptimisto/how-and-why-government-exists