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Anarcho-primitivism
Anarcho-primitivism is an anarchist critique of the origins and progress of civilization.
According to anarcho-primitivism, the shift from → hunter-gatherer to agricultural
subsistence gave rise to social stratification, coercion, and alienation. Anarcho-primitivists
advocate a return to non-"civilized" ways of life through deindustrialisation, abolition of
division of labour or specialization, and abandonment of large-scale organization
technologies. There are other non-anarchist forms of primitivism, and not all primitivists
point to the same phenomenon as the source of modern, civilized problems.
Many traditional anarchists reject the critique of civilization, many even denying that
anarcho-primitivism has anything to do with anarchism, while some, such as → Wolfi
Landstreicher, endorse the critique but do not consider themselves anarcho-primitivists.
Anarcho-primitivists are often distinguished by their focus on the praxis of achieving a feral
state of being through "rewilding".
Concepts
Anarcho-primitivists argue that prior to the advent of agriculture, humans lived in small,
nomadic bands which were socially, politically, and economically egalitarian. Being without
hierarchy, these bands are sometimes viewed as embodying a form of anarchism. → John
Moore writes that anarcho-primitivism seeks "to expose, challenge and abolish all the
multiple forms of power that structure the individual, social relations, and interrelations
with the natural world."[2]
Primitivists hold that, following the emergence of agriculture, the growing masses of
humanity subtly became evermore beholden to technological processes and abstract power
structures arising from the division of labour and hierarchy. Primitivists disagree over what
degree of horticulture might be present in an anarchist society, with some arguing that
permaculture could have a role but others advocating a strictly → hunter-gatherer
subsistence.
Primitivism has drawn heavily upon cultural anthropology and archaeology. Within the last
half-century, societies once viewed as barbaric have been largely reevaluated by
academics, some of whom now hold that early humans lived in relative peace and
prosperity. Frank Hole, an early-agriculture specialist, and Kent Flannery, a specialist in
Anarcho- primitivism 3
Mesoamerican civilization, have noted that, "No group on earth has more leisure time than
hunters and gatherers, who spend it primarily on games, conversation and relaxing."[3] [4]
Scholars such as Karl Polanyi and → Marshall Sahlins characterized primitive societies as
gift economies with "goods valued for their utility or beauty rather than cost; commodities
exchanged more on the basis of need than of exchange value; distribution to the society at
large without regard to labor that members have invested; labor performed without the
idea of a wage in return or individual benefit, indeed largely without the notion of 'work' at
all."[5] Other scholars and thinkers such as → Paul Shepard, influenced by anthropologist
Claude Lévi-Strauss, have written of the "Evolutionary Principle" which roughly states that
when a species is removed from its natural habitat its behaviors will become pathological.
Shepard has written at length on ways in which the human species' natural "ontogeny",
which developed through millions of years of evolution in a foraging mode of existence, has
been disrupted due to a sedentary lifestyle caused by agriculture.[6]
Civilization
Anarcho-primitivists view civilization as the logic, institutions, and physical apparatus of
domestication, control, and domination. They focus primarily on the question of origins.
Civilization is seen as the underlying problem or root of oppression, and must therefore be
dismantled or destroyed.
Anarcho-primitivists describe the rise of civilization as the shift over the past 10,000 years
from an existence within and deeply connected to the web of life, to one psychologically
separated from and attempting to control of the rest of life. They argue that prior to
civilization there generally existed ample leisure time, considerable gender equality and
social equality, a non-destructive approach to the natural world, the absence of organized
violence, no mediating or formal institutions, and strong health and robustness.
Anarcho-primitivists state that civilization inaugurated mass warfare, the subjugation of
women, population growth, busy work, concepts of property, entrenched hierarchies, as
well as encouraging the spread of diseases. They claim that civilization begins with and
relies on an enforced renunciation of instinctual freedom and that it is impossible to reform
away such a renunciation.
relationship with both the land and the plants and animals being domesticated - ultimately,
it even requires a totalitarian relationship with humanity. They say that whereas, in a state
of wildness, all life shares and competes for resources, domestication destroys this balance.
The domesticated landscape (e.g. pastoral lands/agricultural fields and, to a lesser degree,
horticulture and gardening) is seen to necessitate the end of open sharing of the resources
that formerly existed; where once “this was everyone’s,” it is now “mine.”
Anarcho-primitivists argue that this notion of ownership laid the foundation for social
hierarchy as property and power emerged. It inevitably entailed the cultivation and
exploitation of the surrounding environs and the creation of a simultaneous monopoly and
monopsony by humans, and for humans - generating over time the value-based social
structures we now know in which every conceivable physical thing from food to earth to
genes to ideas are viewed as quantifiable assets, which are someone's private property. It
also involved the destruction, enslavement, or assimilation of other groups of early people
who did not attempt to make such a transition, or who were not as far along in the
transition as the destroying, enslaving, and assimilating groups.
To primitivists, domestication not only changes the ecology from a free to a totalitarian
order, it enslaves the species that are domesticated, as well as the domesticators
themselves. According to primitivism, then, humans are nearing the beginning of the last
phase of the domestication process as we are now experimenting with direct genetic
engineering, and are making dramatic and frightening advances in the fields of psychology,
anthropology, and sociology. This thereby allows us to quantify and objectify ourselves,
until we too become commodities and property of no greater or lesser fundamental import
than any other asset.
Rejection of science
Primitivists reject modern science as a method of understanding the world with a view to
changing it. Science is not considered to be neutral by primitivists. It is seen as loaded with
the motives and assumptions that come out of, and reinforce, civilization.
Modern scientific thought, according to primitivists, attempts to see the world as a
collection of separate objects to be observed and understood. In order to accomplish this
task, primitivists believe that scientists must distance themselves emotionally and
physically, to have a one-way channel of information moving from the observed thing to the
observer's self, which is defined as not a part of that thing.
Primitivists argue that this mechanistic worldview is tantamount to being the dominant
religion of our time. Believing that science seeks to deal only with the quantitative,
primitivists suggest that it does not admit subjective values or emotions. While primitivists
perceive science as claiming that only those things that are reproducible, predictable, and
the same for all observers are real and important, primitivists believe that reality itself is
not reproducible, predictable, or the same for all observers.
Science is seen by primitivists as only partially considering reality, and is therefore guilty of
putative reductionism. Observability, objectifiability, quantifiability, predictability,
controllability, and uniformity are said to be the objects and means of science. This, say
primitivists, leads to the world view that everything should be objectified, quantified,
controlled, and in uniformity with everything and everyone else. Primitivists also see
science as promoting the idea that anomalous experience, anomalous ideas, and anomalous
people should be cast off or destroyed like imperfectly shaped machine components.
primitivists that this leads very rapidly to the establishment of a complex technological
system that seems to have an existence independent of the humans who created it.
Primitivists believe that this system methodically destroys, eliminates, or subordinates the
natural world, constructing a world fit only for machines.
“ The industrial way of life leads to the industrial way of death. From Shiloh to Dachau, from ”
Antietam to Stalingrad, from Hiroshima to Vietnam and Afghanistan, the great specialty of
industry and technology has been the mass production of human corpses.
[7]
— → Edward Abbey
Beyond Leftism
Primitivists do not see themselves as part of the Left (see also → post-left anarchy). Rather
they view the socialist and liberal orientations as corrupt. Primitivists argue that the Left
has proven itself to be a monumental failure in its objectives. The Left, according to
primitivists, is a general term and can roughly describe all socialist leanings (from social
democrats and liberals to communists) which wish to re-socialize “the masses” into a more
“progressive” agenda, often using coercive and manipulative approaches in order to create
a false “unity” or the creation of political parties. While primitivists understand that the
methods or extremes in implementation may differ, the overall push is seen as the same:
the institution of a collectivized and monolithic world-view based on morality.
Anarcho- primitivism 7
Rather than the familiar organizational model, primitivists advocate the use of informal,
affinity-based associations that they claim tend to minimize alienation from decision-making
processes, and reduce mediation between our desires and our actions.
Anarcho- primitivism 8
Influences
Anarchists contribute to an anti-authoritarian push, which challenges all abstract power on
a fundamental level, striving for truly egalitarian relationships and promoting communities
based upon mutual aid . Primitivists, however, extend ideas of non-domination to all life, not
just human life, going beyond the traditional anarchist's analysis. From anthropologists,
primitivists are informed with a look at the origins of civilization, so as to understand what
they are up against and how they got here, to help inform a change in direction. Inspired by
the Luddites, primitivists rekindle an anti-technological/industrial direct action orientation.
Insurrectionalists infuse a perspective which waits not for the fine-tuning of critique, but
identifies and spontaneously attacks civilization's current institutions.
Primitivists claim they owe much to the Situationists, and their critique of the Spectacle
and alienating commodity society. → Deep ecology informs the primitivist perspective with
an understanding that the well-being and flourishing of all life is linked to the awareness of
the inherent worth and intrinsic value of the non-human world independent of its economic
use value. Primitivists see deep ecology’s appreciation for the richness and diversity of life
as contributing to the realization that present human interference with the non-human
world is coercive and excessive.
Bioregionalists bring the perspective of living within one’s bioregion, and being intimately
connected to the land, water, climate, plants, animals, and general patterns of their
bioregion.
Primitivists have been profoundly influenced by the various indigenous cultures and
earth-based peoples throughout history and those who still currently exist. While
primitivists attempt to learn and incorporate sustainable techniques for survival and
healthier ways of interacting with life, they see it as important not to flatten or generalize
native peoples and their cultures, and to respect and attempt to understand their diversity
without co-opting cultural identities and characteristics. Primitivists also feel that it is
important to understand that all humans have come from earth-based peoples forcibly
removed from our connections with the earth, and therefore have a place within
anti-colonial struggles.
They are also inspired by the feral, those who have escaped domestication and have
re-integrated with the wild. And, of course, primitivists honor the wild beings which make
up the Earth. It is important to remember that, while many anarcho-primitivists draw
influence from similar sources, anarcho-primitivism is something very personal to each
individual who identifies or connects with these ideas and actions.
Associations
In the United States anarcho-primitivism has been notably advocated by writers → John
Zerzan, Kevin Tucker, → Daniel Quinn, → Derrick Jensen, and John Gowdy. The
anarcho-primitivist movement has connections to radical environmentalism, gaining some
attention due to the ideas of → Theodore Kaczynski ("the Unabomber") following his
Luddite bombing campaign. Recently anarcho-primitivism has been enthusiastically
explored by → Green Anarchy, → Species Traitor, and occasionally → Anarchy: A Journal of
Desire Armed, and even → CrimethInc.. The current anarcho-primitivist movement
originated in the journal → Fifth Estate, and was developed over a series of years in the
1970s and 1980s by writers such as → Fredy Perlman, → David Watson, Bob Brubaker and
John Zerzan. Vast theoretical differences between Watson's and Zerzan's forms of
primitivism caused a split in the late 1980s.
During the 1990s the UK magazine → Green Anarchist aligned itself with
anarcho-primitivism, although there are many green anarchists who are not
anarcho-primitivists.
Anti-civilization anarchists also organize groups in Spain, Israel, Turkey, Sweden, Finland,
and India.
Anarcho-primitivism is associated with and has influenced the radical tendencies within
Neo-Tribalism.
Criticism
Population
Both critics and proponents of anarcho-primitivism generally agree that if everyone lived as
a hunter-gatherer, the earth would be able to support far fewer people than today's
population of over 6.5 billion.[9] [10]
Anarcho- primitivism 11
Hypocrisy
Lifestyle
Another common criticism, which some believe suggests hypocrisy, is that few primitivist
philosophers live in primitive societies themselves.
Jensen states that while the critics are accurate in saying that primitivists do not live a
completely primitivist lifestyle, the critics are not accurate in saying that the primitives
choose not to. He believes that no legitimate options exist within the system to live such a
lifestyle, and that it is necessary that people "dismantle the industrial economy" before they
have a real choice about how they will live.[11]
For instance, → Theodore Kaczynski, who did live a primitive lifestyle said:
The honest truth is that I am not really politically oriented. I would have really rather
just be living out in the woods. If nobody had started cutting roads through there and
cutting the trees down and come buzzing around in helicopters and snowmobiles I
would still just be living there and the rest of the world could just take care of itself. I
got involved in political issues because I was driven to it, so to speak.
— → Theodore Kaczynski[14]
Jensen also claims that focusing primarily on lifestyle changes "serves the interests of those
in power by keeping our focus off them." and instead considering one's self to be "the
problem", rather than "those in power" [15]
Practicality
Another question regarding anarcho-primitivism is the practicality. John Zerzan admits that
primitivist ideals are difficult even for the convinced to put into practice: “It’s a huge
challenge. You've got these great grandiose ideas, but the rubber has to hit the road
somewhere, and we know that. I don’t know how that's going to work.… [W]e are a long
way from connecting with that reality and we have to face that. You start off with
questioning things and trying to enlarge the space where people can have dialogue and
raise the questions that are not being raised anywhere else. But we don’t have blueprints as
to what people should do.”[24]
Other primitivist thinkers have suggested that primitivism as a philosophy is rich with
numerous practical applications even in our current context, including: paleolithic diet,
nutrition and exercise, reducing consumerism, simple living, a do-it-yourself orientation,
increasing local self-sufficiency, spending more time outdoors, going hunting and fishing,
connecting with a local land-base, practicing nature awareness and primitive wilderness
skills, increasing focus on personal relationships including family and local community, and
activism on solidarity issues with indigenous peoples. Primitivism as a world view also
tends to give credence to long-standing examples from indigenous peoples of solutions to
various modern social problems, which touch on political issues as diverse as "gay rights"
and abortion, to environmentalism, hunting and vegetarianism.
Mass Society
Brian Sheppard asserts that anarcho-primitivism is not a form of anarchism at all. In
Anarchism Vs. Primitivism he says: "In recent decades, groups of quasi-religious mystics
have begun equating the primitivism they advocate (rejection of science, rationality, and
technology often lumped together under a blanket term "technology") with anarchism. In
reality, the two have nothing to do with each other."[25]
Flood agrees with this assertion and points out that primitivism clashes with what he
identifies as the fundamental goal of anarchism, "the creation of a free mass society".[26]
Primitivists do not believe that a "mass society" can be free. They believe industry and
agriculture inevitably lead to hierarchy and alienation. They claim that the division of labor
that techno-industrial societies require to function force people into reliance on factories
and the labor of other specialists to produce their food, clothing, shelter, and other
necessities and that this dependence forces them to remain a part of this society, whether
they like it or not. [27]
Anarcho- primitivism 13
See also
• Antimodernism • Post-left anarchy
• Eco-communalism • Neo-Luddism
• Deindustrialization
References
• What Is Green Anarchy? An Introduction to Anti-Civilization Anarchist Thought and
Practice. By the Green Anarchy Collective. (Most of the information in this article was
sourced from this primer: HTML [29], PDF [30].)
• → Zerzan, John (ed.) (2005). Against Civilization: Readings and Reflections. illus. R. L.
Tubbesing (enl. ed. ed.). Los Angeles: Feral House. ISBN 0-922915-98-9.
• Zerzan, John (1994). → Future Primitive and Other Essays. Brooklyn: Autonomedia. ISBN
1-57027-000-7.
• Zerzan, John (2002). Running on Emptiness: The Pathology of Civilisation. Los Angeles:
Feral House. ISBN 0-922915-75-X.
• → Watson, David (1998). Against the Megamachine. Brooklyn: Autonomedia. ISBN
1-57027-087-2.
• → Kaczynski, Ted (1996) [1995]. The Unabomber Manifesto: Industrial Society and Its
Future (3rd ed. ed.). Berkeley: Jolly Roger Press. ISBN 0-9634205-2-6.
• Kaczynski, Ted (1999). "Ship of Fools [31]", Binghamton, NY: OFF! Magazine (student
zine at SUNY Binghamton).
• → Glendinning, Chellis (1994). My Name is Chellis and I'm in Recovery from Western
Civilization. Shambhala. ISBN 0-87773-996-X.
• Hardayal, Lala (1914). The Social Conquest of the Hindu Race and the Meaning of
Equality. San Francisco.
• Zerzan, John (2002). Running on Emptiness: The Pathology of Civilisation. Los Angeles:
Feral House. ISBN 0-922915-75-X.
• → Ellul, Jacques (1964). The Technological Society. trans. John Wilkinson. New York:
Knopf.
• → Perlman, Fredy (1983). → Against His-Story, Against Leviathan!. Detroit: Black & Red.
• → Jensen, Derrick (2000). A Language Older Than Words. New York: Context Books.
ISBN 1-893956-03-2.
Anarcho- primitivism 14
• Jensen, Derrick (2002). The Culture of Make Believe. New York: Context Books. ISBN
1-893956-28-8.
• Jensen, Derrick (2006). → Endgame. 2 Vols. New York: Seven Stories Press. ISBN
1-58322-730-X and ISBN 1-58322-724-5.
• Mander, Jerry (1992). In the Absence of the Sacred: The Failure of Technology and the
Survival of the Indian Nations. New York: Sierra Club Books.
• → Moore, John. "A Primitivist Primer [32]", London: Green Anarchist (magazine).
• → Quinn, Daniel (1992). Ishmael. New York: Bantam. ISBN 0-553-07875-5.
• → Green Anarchy: An Anti-Civilization Journal of Theory and Action
• → Species Traitor: An Insurrectionary Anarcho-Primitivist Journal
• Disorderly Conduct (journal)
• Fifth Estate: An Anti-Authoritarian Magazine of Ideas and Action
• → Barclay, Harold (1990). People without Government: An Anthropology of Anarchy (rev.
ed. ed.). Seattle: Left Bank Books. ISBN 0-939306-09-3.
External links
[33]
• Green Anarchy
• Primitivism.com [34]
• The Green Anarchist Info/Shop [35]
• Anticiv.net archive [36]
• Resources for Green Anarchism and Christianity at Jesus Radicals [37]
[38]
• In the Land of the Living: a journal of anarcho-primitivism and christianity
[39]
• Creel Commission June 2006 conversation with John Zerzan and the UK band, also
here Jackalope Recordings [40]
• A Primitivist Primer: What is Anarcho-Primitivism? [41] by → John Moore
• "What is anarcho-primitivism?" from the Anarchist FAQ [42] – a critique of the ideology
from an anarchist perspective
• A critique of primitivism, anarcho-primitivism and anti-civilisationism [43] - anarchist
criticism of primitivism
• 5 Common Objections to Primitivism, and Why They're Wrong [44] - an anarcho-primitivist
response to common criticisms
• The Primal Wound [45] Critical of primitivism, but somewhat sympathetic
• yabanil.net [46] Turkish
• Introduction to John Zerzan's conferences in Montreal (plus videos) [47] by Layla AR
References
[1] "Su obra más representativa es Walden, aparecida en 1854, aunque redactada entre 1845 y 1847, cuando
Thoreau decide instalarse en el aislamiento de una cabaña en el bosque, y vivir en íntimo contacto con la
naturaleza, en una vida de soledad y sobriedad. De esta experiencia, su filosofía trata de transmitirnos la idea
que resulta necesario un retorno respetuoso a la naturaleza, y que la felicidad es sobre todo fruto de la riqueza
interior y de la armonía de los individuos con el entorno natural. Muchos han visto en Thoreau a uno de los
precursores del ecologismo y del anarquismo primitivista representado en la actualidad por Jonh Zerzan. Para
George Woodcock(8), esta actitud puede estar también motivada por una cierta idea de resistencia al progreso
y de rechazo al materialismo creciente que caracteriza la sociedad norteamericana de mediados de siglo XIX."
"LA INSUMISIÓN VOLUNTARIA. EL ANARQUISMO INDIVIDUALISTA ESPAÑOL DURANTE LA DICTADURA Y
LA SEGUNDA REPÚBLICA (1923-1938)" by Xavier Diez (http:/ / www. acracia. org/ xdiez. html)
[2] A Primitivist Primer: what is anarcho-primitivism? (http:/ / www. eco-action. org/ dt/ primer. html)
[3] Kirkpatrick Sale (1985). Dwellers in the Land: The Bioregional Vision. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. ISBN
0871568470. OCLC 11811919 (http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 11811919).
Anarcho- primitivism 15
[4] John M. Gowdy (1998). Limited Wants, Unlimited Means: A Reader on Hunter-Gatherer Economics. Island
Press. pp. 265. ISBN 155963555X.
[5] Future Primitive (http:/ / www. awok. org/ future_primitive/ )
[6] PaulShepardindex (http:/ / home. earthlink. net/ ~frshepard/ )
[7] The Guardian, April 21 2004
[8] An Introduction to Anti-Civilization Anarchist Thought (http:/ / www. greenanarchy. org/ index.
php?action=viewwritingdetail& writingId=283)
[9] https:/ / www. cia. gov/ library/ publications/ the-world-factbook/ print/ xx. html The CIA World Factbook
[10] (http:/ / 64. 233. 183. 104/ search?q=cache:f4XRs8QsJeQJ:www. public. iastate. edu/ ~cfford/ WorstMistake.
ppt+ public. iastate. edu/ ~cfford/ WorstMistake. ppt& hl=en& ct=clnk& cd=1& gl=uk& client=firefox-a)Jared
Diamond - The worst mistake in the history of the Human Race
[11] Jensen, Derrick (2006). Endgame, Volume 1: The Problem of Civilization. New York City: Seven Stories Press.
pp. 128. ISBN 978-1-58322-730-5.
[12] Zerzan, John. " Zerzan and Media: An Ignominious Tale (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ media. htm)"
(in English). Insurgent Desire. . Retrieved on 2009-03-14.
[13] Connor, John; John Filiss, Leif Fredrickson, Lawrence Jarach, Ron Leighton, Jason McQuinn, John Moore,
Jonathan Slyk. " An Open Letter on Technology and Mediation (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/
openletter. htm)" (in English). Insurgent Desire. . Retrieved on 2009-03-14.
[14] " Interview with Ted Kaczynski, Administrative Maximum Facility Prison, Florence, Colorado, USA (http:/ /
www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ tedk. htm)". Earth First Journal!. June 1999. . Retrieved on 2009-03-14.
[15] Jensen, Derrick (2006). Endgame, Volume 1: The Problem of Civilization. New York City: Seven Stories Press.
pp. 173–174. ISBN 978-1-58322-730-5.
[16] Goodall, Jane (2000). Reason for hope. Grand Central Publishing. pp. 127. ISBN 978-0446676137.
[17] Clastres, Pierre (1994). Archeology of Violence. Semiotext(e). ISBN 0936756950.
[18] Zerzan, John (2002). Running on Emptiness: The Pathology of Civilization. Feral House. ISBN 092291575X.
[19] Sahlins, Marshall (2003). Stone Age Economics. Routledge. ISBN 0415320100.
[20] Lee, Richard (1979). The !Kung San: Men, Women and Work in a Foraging Society. Cambridge University
Press. ISBN 0521295610.
[21] The Consequences of Domestication and Sedentism by Emily Schultz, et al. (http:/ / www. primitivism. com/
sedentism. htm)
[22] Elman, Service (1972). The Hunters. Prentice Hall. ISBN B000JNRGPK.
[23] Kelly, Robert L. (1995). The Foraging Spectrum: Diversity in Hunter-Gatherer Lifeways. Washington:
Smithsonian Institution. ISBN 1-56098-465-1.
[24] http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ mayday/ story/ 0,7369,475181,00. html Guardian Unlimited - Anarchy in the
USA
[25] Sheppard, Brian - Anarchism Vs. Primitivism (http:/ / libcom. org/ library/ anarchism-vs-primitivism)
[26] Flood, Andrew Is primitivism realistic? An anarchist reply to John Zerzan and others Anarchist Newswire
(2005) http:/ / www. anarkismo. net/ newswire. php?story_id=1890
[27] Against Mass Society by Chris Wilson (http:/ / www. primitivism. com/ mass-society. htm)
[28] Lance, Mark from lecture Anarchist Practice, Rational Democracy, and Community NCOR (2004) http:/ / dc.
indymedia. org/ newswire/ display/ 90971
[29] http:/ / www. greenanarchy. org/ index. php?action=viewwritingdetail& writingId=283
[30] http:/ / www. greenanarchy. info/ GA17_what_is_ga_primer. pdf
[31] http:/ / www. sacredfools. org/ CrimeScene/ CaseFiles/ S2/ ShipOfFoolsStory. htm
[32] http:/ / www. primitivism. com/ primer. htm
[33] http:/ / www. greenanarchy. org/
[34] http:/ / www. primitivism. com/
[35] http:/ / www. greenanarchy. info/
[36] http:/ / anticiv. smartamerican. com/ library. htm
[37] http:/ / www. jesusradicals. com/ anarchism/
[38] http:/ / www. inthelandoftheliving. org
[39] http:/ / www. creelcommission. com/ interviews. php
[40] http:/ / www. jackaloperecordings. com/ ?p=14
[41] http:/ / www. eco-action. org/ dt/ primer. html
[42] http:/ / www. infoshop. org/ faq/ secA3. html#seca39
[43] http:/ / www. libcom. org/ thought/ approaches/ primitivism/
[44] http:/ / anthropik. com/ 2005/ 10/ 5-common-objections-to-primitivism-and-why-theyre-wrong/
[45] http:/ / www. geocities. com/ vcmtalk/ primalwound. html
[46] http:/ / www. yabanil. net/
Anarcho- primitivism 16
Neotribalism
This article concerns the social philosophy known as Neo-Tribalism and not the
reemergence of ethnic identities that followed the end of the Cold War.
Postmodernism
preceded by Modernism
Post-anarchism
Posthumanism
Post-Marxism
Postmodernity
Postmodern architecture
Postmodern art
Postmodern Christianity
Postmodern dance
Postmodern feminism
Postmodern Fusion
Postmodern literature
Postmodern music
Postmodern picture book
Postmodern philosophy
Postmodern social construction of nature
Postmodern theater
Postmodernism in political science
Postmodernist anthropology
Postmodernist film
Postmodernist school
Post-postmodernism
Post-structuralism
Neotribalism is the ideology that human beings have evolved to live in a tribal, as opposed
to a mass, modern society, and thus cannot achieve genuine happiness until some
semblance of tribal lifestyles has been re-created or re-embraced.
General ideology
Neotribalist ideology is rooted in the social philosophies of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and
William Kingdon Clifford, who spoke of a "tribal self" thwarted by modern society. The
Evolutionary Principle of anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, which states that a species
removed from the environment in which it evolved will become pathological, has been cited
by Neotribalists as providing a scientific basis for their beliefs.
Certain aspects of industrial and post-industrial life, including the necessity of living in a
society of strangers and interacting with organizations that have memberships far above
Dunbar's number are cited as inherently detrimental to the human mind as it has evolved.
In a 1985 paper, "Psychology, Ideology, Utopia, & the Commons," psychologist Dennis Fox
[1]
proposed a number around 150 people. Recently some supporters of neo-Tribalism have
put forth the argument that their ideas have been scientifically proven by the discipline of
evolutionary psychology. This claim has been highly disputed, however.
Neotribalism 17
Sociological theory
Work by researchers such as Robert Putnam and a 2006 study published in the American
Sociological Review [2] seem to support at least the more moderate neo-Tribalist
arguments. Data has pointed to a general breakdown in the social structure of modern
civilization due to more frequent moves for economic reasons, longer commutes and a lack
of emphasis in the media narrative on the desirability of strong friendships and community
bonds.
The French Sociologist Michel Maffesoli [3] was perhaps the first to use the term
neo-Tribalism in a scholarly context.[4] Maffesoli predicted that as the culture and
institutions of modernism declined, societies would look to the organizational principles of
the distant past for guidance, and that therefore the post-modern era would be the era of
Neo-Tribalism. However, Maffesoli's anti-scientism is at odds with those in the movement
that look to evolutionary psychology and anthropology for support.
Commentators such as Ethan Watters have credited, or blamed, growing neotribalist
dynamics for contributing to the decline in marriage in the developed world, as 'modern
tribes' form alternate means for satisfying social interaction.
Dr. Plinio Correa de Oliveira wrote in his book "Revolution & Counter-Revolution" that the
Neo-Tribalist tendency would be the last stage of the Revolutionary process - although as a
Catholic reactionary, Oliveira regarded this prospect with dread.
Moderate tendency
Moderate neotribalists believe that a tribal social structure can co-exist with a modern
technological infrastructure. This is sometimes referred to as Urban Tribalism. For
example, under this scenario, people might reside in a large house or other building with a
communal group of 12-20 individuals all abiding by a defined set of rules, cultural rituals
and intimate relationships, but otherwise leading modern lives, going to a job, driving a car,
etc. In that it attempts to harmonize two seemingly contradictory cultures, namely modern
existence and tribalism, the moderate tendency can be considered syncretic in a cultural or
even political sense.
The Moderate orientation is associated with commentators such as Ethan Watters and a
generally optimistic view on the possibility of a peaceful and non-disruptive transition to
neo-Tribalism. Moderates interpret the 'environment' mentioned in the Evolutionary
Principle to be mainly social.
Neotribalism 18
Radical tendency
Radical neo-Tribalists such as → John Zerzan believe that healthy tribal life can only thrive
after technological civilization has either been destroyed or severely reduced in scope. →
Daniel Quinn, associated with the New tribalists, formulated the concept of "walking away":
abandoning the owner/conqueror worldview of civilization—though not necessarily its
geographical space—and making a living with others in tribal businesses. Others, such as →
Derrick Jensen, argue that both violent and nonviolent efforts are called for, as they believe
that it is appropriate and necessary to escape a collapsing culture. Many, such as The Tribe
of Anthropik [5] take a survivalist bent and believe that a collapse is inevitable no matter
what is done or said and concentrate their efforts on surviving and forming tribal cultures
in the aftermath.
In general radical neotribalist groups tend to agree that the current population of humanity
is unsustainable and thus a form of cultural change is fundamentally necessary to live, and
that the preferable, or perhaps inevitable form for society to take after this change is
tribalism. The call for a revolution (in the style of the Industrial Revolution) is needed to
accomplish this change.
Criticism
Critics have pointed out that membership in modern 'tribes' is voluntary and shallow, i.e.
not based on deep cultural traditions and kinship ties. Therefore it is argued neotribalism is
likely to be nothing more than a fad - if it even really exists outside the minds of certain
pundits and weekend hobbyists.
The movement has also been accused of being Eurocentric, insulting traditional indigenous
cultures through insincere and inaccurate imitation, thereby reviving the 18th-century myth
of the Noble savage.
See also
• → Anarcho-primitivism
• Back-to-the-land movement
• Burning Man
• HMMGG Festival
• → Deep ecology
• EcoCommunalism
• Evolutionary psychology
• National Anarchism
• New tribalists
• Rainbow gathering
• Terence McKenna (counterculture advocate for an Archaic Revival)
• Tribalism
• Intentional Community
• Twin Oaks Community
• East Wind Community
• Drop City
Neotribalism 19
External links
• RAND Corporation White Paper - Tribes: The First and Forever Form [6]
• The core concepts of neo-Tribalism [7] by Shadan Taliesin Janara
• Bay Area National ANarchists [8] Tribalist group in the Bay Area, California
• Church Planting Village [9] - Christian's view of Affinity Groups as equal to
"neo-Tribalism"
• The Critique of Civilization [10] by Ran Prieur
• The Culture Cult [11] by Roger Sandall
• Forming Tribalized Communities [12] by Forbes Leslie
• In favor of sheltering [13] from Newsvine
• Modern Tribalism [14] Documentary on the subject
• "Peer-Shared Households, Quasi-Communes and Neo-Tribes [15]" by Sue Heath (1994) in
Current Society (The Journal of the International Sociological Association)
• Tribal Revival [16] The revival of tribal culture multimedia show
• New Tribal Society [17] a new tribal network
References
[1] http:/ / www. dennisfox. net/ papers/ commons. html
[2] (http:/ / www. asanet. org/ galleries/ default-file/ June06ASRFeature. pdf)
[3] http:/ / translate. google. com/ translate?prev=_t& hl=en& ie=UTF-8& u=http%3A%2F%2Ffr. wikipedia.
org%2Fwiki%2FMichel_Maffesoli& sl=fr& tl=en& history_state0=en|fr|tribe& swap=1|
[4] Michel Maffesoli, The Time of the Tribes: The Decline of Indivdiualism in Mass Society, (Sage: London, 1996).
[5] http:/ / www. anthropik. com
[6] http:/ / www. rand. org/ pubs/ working_papers/ 2007/ RAND_WR433. pdf
[7] http:/ / neotribe. tribe. net/ thread/ ebb13ba4-0a52-4111-b309-d327977fbdf7
[8] http:/ / www. bayareanationalanarchists. com/ blog/
[9] http:/ / www. churchplantingvillage. net/ site/ c. iiJTKZPEJpH/ b. 784369/ k. 9DA9/ Affinity_Groups. htm
[10] http:/ / www. ranprieur. com/ essays/ changevery. html
[11] http:/ / www. culturecult. com
[12] http:/ / www. wechange. org/ forming_tribalized_communities
[13] http:/ / celestina. newsvine. com/ _news/ 2007/ 01/ 08/ 511036-in-favor-of-sheltering-
[14] http:/ / www. lowfifilmworks. com/ production. html
[15] http:/ / csi. sagepub. com/ cgi/ content/ abstract/ 52/ 2/ 161
[16] http:/ / www. tribalrevival. org/
[17] http:/ / www. newtribalsociety. org/ blog/ ?page_id=333
Simple living 20
Simple living
Simple living (voluntary simplicity) is a lifestyle characterized by minimizing the "more
is better" pursuit of wealth and consumption. Adherents may choose simple living for a
variety of personal reasons, such as spirituality, health, increase in 'quality time' for family
and friends, stress reduction, personal taste or frugality. E. F. Schumacher summarized it
by saying, "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It
takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction."
Others cite socio-political goals aligned with the anti-consumerist movement, including
conservation, social justice and sustainable development. According to Duane Elgin, "we
can describe voluntary simplicity as a manner of living that is outwardly more simple and
inwardly more rich, a way of being in which our most authentic and alive self is brought
into direct and conscious contact with living."[1]
Simple living as a concept is distinguished from those living in forced poverty, as it is a
voluntary lifestyle choice. Although asceticism generally promotes living simply and
refraining from luxury and indulgence, not all proponents of voluntary simplicity are
ascetics.
History
The recorded history of voluntary simplicity, often associated with asceticism, begins with
the Shramana traditions of Iron Age India. Buddha and biblical Nazirites (notably John the
Baptist) were early ascetics. Various notable individuals have claimed that spiritual
inspiration led them to a simple living lifestyle, such as Francis of Assisi,[2] Ammon
Hennacy, Leo Tolstoy, Rabindranath Tagore, Albert Schweitzer, and Mahatma Gandhi.[3]
Simple living has traditions that stretch back to the Orient, resonating with leaders such as
Zarathustra, Buddha, Lao-Tse and Confucius and was heavily stressed in both Greco-Roman
culture and Judeo-Christian ethics.[3]
Epicureanism, based on the teachings of the Athens-based philosopher Epicurus, flourished
from about the fourth century BC to the third century AD. Epicureanism upheld the
untroubled life as the paradigm of happiness, made possible by carefully considered
choices. Specifically, Epicurus pointed out that troubles entailed by maintaining an
extravagant lifestyle tend to outweigh the pleasure of partaking in it. He therefore
concluded that what is necessary for happiness, bodily comfort, and life itself should be
maintained at minimal cost, while all things beyond what is necessary for these should
either be tempered by moderation or completely avoided.[4]
Various religious groups including the Shakers, Mennonites, Amish, Harmony Society, and
some Quakers have for centuries practiced lifestyles in which some forms of wealth or
technology are excluded for religious or philosophical reasons. There is a Quaker belief
called Testimony of Simplicity that a person ought to live her or his life simply.
Henry David Thoreau, a North American naturalist and author, is often considered to have
made the classic non-sectarian statement advocating a life of simple and sustainable living
in his book Walden (1854).
In Victorian Britain, Henry Stephens Salt, an admirer of Thoreau, popularised the idea of
"Simplification, the saner method of living".[5] Other British advocates of the simple life
included Edward Carpenter, William Morris, and the members of "The Fellowship of the
Simple living 21
New Life."[6] C.R. Ashbee and his followers also practiced some of these ideas, thus linking
simplicity with the Arts and Crafts movement[7] . British novelist John Cowper Powys
advocated the simple life in his 1933 book A Philosophy of Solitude.[8] John Middleton
Murry and Max Plowman practised a simple lifestyle at their Aldephi Centre in Essex in the
[9]
1930s. .
George Lorenzo Noyes, a naturalist, mineralogist, development critic, writer, and artist, is
known as the Thoreau of Maine. He lived a wilderness lifestyle, advocating through his
creative work a simple life and reverence for nature. During the 1920s and 1930s, the
Vanderbilt Agrarians of the Southern United States advocated a lifestyle and culture
centered upon traditional and sustainable agrarian values as opposed to the progressive
urban industrialism which dominated the Western world at that time.
From the 1920s to the 1960s, a number of modern authors articulated both the theory and
practice of living simply, among them Gandhian Richard Gregg, economists Ralph Borsodi
and Scott Nearing, anthropologist-poet → Gary Snyder, and utopian fiction writer Ernest
Callenbach. Gregg wrote a book entitled The Value of Voluntary Simplicity (1936) and many
decades later Duane Elgin wrote the highly influential book Voluntary Simplicity (1981).
There are eco-anarchist groups in the United States and Canada today promoting lifestyles
of simplicity. In the United Kingdom, the Movement for Compassionate Living was formed
by Kathleen and Jack Jannaway in 1984, to spread the vegan message and promote simple
living and self-reliance as a remedy against the exploitation of humans, animals, and the
Earth.
Practice
Some people practice voluntary simplicity to reduce need for purchased goods or services
and, by extension, reduce their need to sell their time for money. Some will spend the extra
free time helping family or others. During the holiday season, such people often perform
alternative giving. Others may spend the extra free time to improve their quality of life, for
example pursuing creative activities such as art and crafts (see starving artist). The
philosophy behind these choices is examined at length in Ernest Callenbach's 1972
non-fiction book Living Poor with Style, which also devotes hundreds of pages to practical
tips and how-to guides for both voluntary and involuntary practitioners of simple living.
Another approach is to focus more fundamentally on the underlying motivation of buying
and consuming so many resources for a good quality of life.[10] Though our society often
seeks to buy happiness, materialism very frequently fails to satisfy, and may even increase
the level of stress in life. It has been said that "the making of money and the accumulation
of things should not smother the purity of the soul, the life of the mind, the cohesion of the
family, or the good of the society."[11]
The grassroots awareness campaign, National Downshifting Week (UK)[12] (founded 1995)
encourages participants to positively embrace living with less. Campaign creator, British
writer and broadcaster on downshifting and sustainable living, Tracey Smith says, "The
more money you spend, the more time you have to be out there earning it and the less time
you have to spend with the ones you love". National Downshifting Week encourages
participants to 'Slow Down and Green Up' and contains a list of suggestions for individuals,
companies, children and schools to help adopt green or eco-friendly policies and habits,
develop corporate social and environmental responsibility in the workplace, and create
eco-protocols and lessons that work alongside the national curriculum, respectively.
Simple living 22
Another practice is the adoption of a simplified diet. Diets that may simplify domestic food
production and consumption include veganism and the Gandhi diet.
Politics
Many Green Parties often advocate voluntary simplicity as a consequence of their "four
pillars" or the "Ten Key Values" of the United States Green Party. This includes, in policy
terms, their rejection of genetic modification and nuclear power and other technologies
they consider to be hazardous. The Greens' support for simplicity is based on the reduction
in natural resource usage and environmental impact. This concept is expressed in Ernest
Callenbach's "green triangle" of ecology, frugality and health.
Many with similar views avoid involvement even with green politics as compromising
simplicity, however, and advocate forms of green anarchism that attempt to implement
these principles at a smaller scale, e.g. the ecovillage.
The alleged relationship between economic growth and war, when fought for control and
exploitation of natural and human resources, is considered a good reason for promoting a
simple living lifestyle. Avoiding the perpetuation of the resource curse is a similar objective
of many simple living adherents. Opposition to war has led some to a form of tax resistance
in which they reduce their tax liability by taking up a simple living lifestyle.[13]
Technology
Although simple living is often a secular pursuit, it may still involve reconsidering personal
definitions of "→ appropriate technology", as Anabaptist groups such as the Amish or
Mennonites have done. People who eschew modern technology are often referred to as
Luddites or → Neo-Luddism adherents.[14]
People who practice simple living have diverse views on the role of technology. Some
simple living adherents, such as → Kirkpatrick Sale, are strong critics of modern
technology,[14] while others see the Internet as a key component of simple living in the
future, including the reduction of an individual's carbon footprint through telecommuting
and less reliance on paper. Voluntary simplicity may include high-tech components —
indeed computers, Internet, photovoltaic arrays, wind and water turbines, and a variety of
other cutting-edge technologies can be used to make a simple lifestyle within mainstream
culture easier and more sustainable.
Simple living 23
The idea of food miles, the number of miles a given item of food or its ingredients has
travelled between the farm and the table, is used by simple living advocates to argue for
locally grown food. This is now gaining mainstream acceptance, as shown by the popularity
of books such as The 100-Mile Diet, and Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A
Year of Food Life. In each of these cases, the authors devoted a year to reducing their
carbon footprint by eating locally.[15]
Advertising is criticised for encouraging a consumerist mentality. Many advocates of
voluntary simplicity tend to agree that cutting out, or cutting down on, television viewing is
a key ingredient in simple living. Some see the Internet, podcasting, community radio or
pirate radio as viable alternatives.
Economics
A new economics movement has been building since the UN conference on the environment
in 1972,[16] and the publication that year of Only One Earth, The Limits to Growth, and
Blueprint For Survival, followed in 1973 by Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If People
Mattered.[17]
Recently, David Wann has introduced the idea of “simple prosperity” as it applies to a
sustainable lifestyle. From his point of view, and as a point of departure for what he calls
real → sustainability, “it is important to ask ourselves three fundamental questions: what is
the point of all our commuting and consuming? What is the economy for? And, finally, why
do we seem to be unhappier now than when we began our initial pursuit for rich
abundance?”[18] In this context, simple living is the opposite of our modern quest for
affluence and, as a result, it becomes less preoccupied with quantity and more concerned
about the preservation of cities, traditions and nature.
A reference point for this new economics can be found in James Robertson's A New
Economics of Sustainable Development,[17] and the work of thinkers and activists, who
participate in his Working for a Sane Alternative network and program. According to
Robertson, the shift to sustainability is likely to require a widespread shift of emphasis from
raising incomes to reducing costs.
The principles of the new economics, as set out by Robertson, are the following:
• systematic empowerment of people (as opposed to making and keeping them dependent),
as the basis for people-centred development
• systematic conservation of resources and the environment, as the basis for
environmentally sustainable development
• evolution from a “wealth of nations” model of economic life to a one-world model, and
from today's inter-national economy to an ecologically sustainable, decentralising,
multi-level one-world economic system
• restoration of political and ethical factors to a central place in economic life and thought
• respect for qualitative values, not just quantitative values
• respect for feminine values, not just masculine ones[17]
Simple living 24
See also
• Affluenza
• Car-free movement
• Corporate poverty
• Intentional community
• Intentional living
• Wwoofing
Further reading
• Berry, Wendell, What Are People For? (North Point Press, 1990), ISBN 0-86547-437-0
• Dacyzyn, Amy, The Complete Tightwad Gazette: Promoting Thrift as a Viable Alternative
Lifestyle. (1998), ISBN 0375752250
• de Graaf et al., John, Affluenza (2002), ISBN 1-57675-199-6
• Eller, Vernard, The Simple Life (1973) (http:/ / www. hccentral. com/ eller3/ index. html),
ISBN 0802815375
• Nearing, Scott and Helen, The Good Life: Helen and Scott Nearing's Sixty Years of
Self-Sufficient Living (Schocken, 1970)
Simple living 25
External links
• Affluenza: PBS Program on the Epidemic of Overconsumption (http:/ / www. pbs. org/
kcts/ affluenza/ )
• Buy Nothing Christmas (http:/ / www. buynothingchristmas. org/ index. html)
• The Testament Of Quaker Simplicity (http:/ / www. nwfriends. org/ wp-content/ uploads/
2007/ 09/ the-testimony-of-quaker-simplicity. pdf)
Neo-Luddism
Neo-Luddism is a modern movement of opposition to specific or general technological
development.
The term "Neo-Luddite" is derived from Luddite, a political/historical term relating to a
political movement by that name, that took place in England during the Industrial
Revolution
The term "neo-Luddite" is often deployed by advocates of technology to describe persons or
organizations that resist technological advances.
Views
Neo-Luddites come from a variety of political backgrounds, ranging from anarchists (such
as anarcho-primitivists) to → political conservatives (such as eco-fascists).
Neo-Luddites claim that there are a wide range of problems with the development of
technology including:
• Increases in government/corporate control over individual lives, which might lead to a
totalitarian state
• loss of personal privacy due to development of surveillance technologies
• dehumanization
• alienation[1] , depression, and other mental disorders[2]
• environmental degradation[3]
• increased division of labor[3] [4]
• Health problems caused by industrialization, such as cancers, heart disease, and birth
defects
• social decay
• the destruction of tribal[5] and → nature-based[6] ways of life
Some neo-Luddites, such as those in the anarcho-primitivist or green anarchist movements
advance explicitly anti-technology arguments, viewing technology as a fundamental form of
oppression, destruction, and alienation. Notable thinkers and writers in this vein include →
John Zerzan, → Derrick Jensen, → Jacques Ellul, → Kirkpatrick Sale, and → Chellis
Glendinning.
The actions and words of → Theodore Kaczynski[7] and groups like the Earth Liberation
Front may also be seen as a militant articulation of Luddism.
The historical Luddite movement of the early 19th century is often referenced positively by
people who consider themselves Luddites.
Neo- Luddism 26
See also
• → Anarcho-primitivism
• Green anarchism
• Luddite
• → Deep ecology
• → Transhumanism
• → Monkeywrenching
• Eco-terrorism
• → Theodore Kaczynski
• CLODO
Further reading
• Sale, Kirkpatrick (1996) Rebels Against The Future: The Luddites And Their War On The
Industrial Revolution: Lessons For The Computer Age Basic Books, ISBN
978-0201407181
• Postman, Neil (1992) Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology Knopf, New
York, ISBN 0-394-58272-1
• Quigley, Peter (1998) Coyote in the Maze: Tracking Edward Abbey in a World of Words
University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, ISBN 0-87480-563-5
• Roszak, Theodore (1994) The Cult of Information: A Neo-Luddite Treatise on High-Tech,
Artificial Intelligence, and the True Art of Thinking (2nd ed.) University of California
Press, Berkeley, California, ISBN 0-520-08584-1
• Tenner, Edward (1996) Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of
Unintended Consequences Knopf, New York, ISBN 0-679-42563-2
External links
• Bill Joy essay: Why The Future Doesn't Need Us - Wired Magazine [8]
• Insurgent Desire (collection of neo-Luddite/Green Anarchist essays) [9]
• Primitivism writings archive [10]
• Luddism and the Neo-Luddite Reaction by Martin Ryder, University of Colorado at
Denver School of Education [11]
References
[1] Jensen, Derrick; Julie Mayeda. " Enemy of the State: An Interview with John Zerzan (http:/ / www.
insurgentdesire. org. uk/ enemy. htm)". . Retrieved on 2009-03-13.
[2] Zerzan, John. " The Mass Psychology of Misery (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ massmisery. htm)". .
Retrieved on 2009-03-13.
[3] Zerzan, John. " Greasing the Rails to a Cyborg Future (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ greasing. htm)". .
Retrieved on 2009-03-13.
[4] Jensen, Derrick (May 15, 2001). " You May Be an Anarchist -And Not Even Know It (http:/ / www.
insurgentdesire. org. uk/ jensen. htm)". The Sun. . Retrieved on 2009-03-13.
[5] Tucker, Kevin. " Revolt of the Savages: Primitive Revolts Against Civilization (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire.
org. uk/ savages. htm)". Green Anarchy Issue #14. . Retrieved on 2009-03-13.
[6] Sepulveda, Jesus (August 2005). " Stones Can Speak: Bolivia and the Lulaization of South America (http:/ /
www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ stones. htm)". Green Anarchy, Issue #21. . Retrieved on 2009-03-13.
[7] Kaczynski, Theodore (Spring 2002). " Hit Where It Hurts (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ hti. htm)".
Green Anarchy Issue #8. . Retrieved on 2009-03-13.
[8] http:/ / www. wired. com/ wired/ archive/ 8. 04/ joy. html
Neo- Luddism 27
Deep ecology
Part of the Politics series on
Green politics
Environment Portal
Politics portal
Development
The phrase "deep ecology" was coined by the Norwegian philosopher Arne Næss in 1973,[1]
and he helped give it a theoretical foundation. "For Arne Næss, ecological science,
concerned with facts and logic alone, cannot answer ethical questions about how we should
live. For this we need ecological wisdom. Deep ecology seeks to develop this by focusing on
deep experience, deep questioning and deep commitment. These constitute an
interconnected system. Each gives rise to and supports the other, whilst the entire system
is, what Næss would call, an ecosophy: an evolving but consistent philosophy of being,
thinking and acting in the world, that embodies ecological wisdom and harmony."[2] Næss
rejected the idea that beings can be ranked according to their relative value. For example,
judgments on whether an animal has an eternal soul, whether it uses reason or whether it
has consciousness (or indeed higher consciousness) have all been used to justify the
ranking of the human animal as superior to other animals. Næss states that from an
ecological point of view "the right of all forms [of life] to live is a universal right which
cannot be quantified. No single species of living being has more of this particular right to
live and unfold than any other species." This metaphysical idea is elucidated in Warwick
Fox's claim that we and all other beings are "aspects of a single unfolding reality".[3] . As
such Deep Ecology would support the view of Aldo Leopold in his book, A Sand County
Almanac that humans are "plain members of the biotic community". They also would
support Leopold's "Land Ethic": "a thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity,
stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise." Daniel
Quinn in Ishmael, showed that an anthropocentric myth underlies our current view of the
world, and a jellyfish would have an equivalent jellyfish centric view[4] .
Deep ecology offers a philosophical basis for environmental advocacy which may, in turn,
guide human activity against perceived self-destruction. Deep ecology and
environmentalism hold that the science of ecology shows that ecosystems can absorb only
limited change by humans or other dissonant influences. Further, both hold that the actions
of modern civilization threaten global ecological well-being. Ecologists have described
change and stability in ecological systems in various ways, including homeostasis, dynamic
[5]
equilibrium, and "flux of nature". Regardless of which model is most accurate,
environmentalists contend that massive human economic activity has pushed the biosphere
far from its "natural" state through reduction of biodiversity, climate change, and other
influences. As a consequence, civilization is causing mass extinction. Deep ecologists hope
to influence social and political change through their philosophy.
Scientific
Næss and Fox do not claim to use logic or induction to derive the philosophy directly from
scientific ecology [6] but rather hold that scientific ecology directly implies the metaphysics
of deep ecology, including its ideas about the self and further, that deep ecology finds
scientific underpinnings in the fields of ecology and system dynamics.
In their 1985 book Deep Ecology,[7] Bill Devall and George Sessions describe a series of
sources of deep ecology. They include the science of ecology itself, and cite its major
contribution as the rediscovery in a modern context that "everything is connected to
everything else". They point out that some ecologists and natural historians, in addition to
their scientific viewpoint, have developed a deep ecological consciousness—for some a
political consciousness and at times a spiritual consciousness. This is a perspective beyond
Deep ecology 29
the strictly human viewpoint, beyond anthropocentrism. Among the scientists they mention
particularly are Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold, John Livingston, Paul R. Ehrlich and Barry
Commoner, together with Frank Fraser Darling, Charles Sutherland Elton, Eugene Odum
and Paul Sears.
A further scientific source for deep ecology adduced by Devall and Sessions is the "new
physics." which they describe as shattering Descartes's and Newton's vision of the universe
as a machine explainable in terms of simple linear cause and effect, and instead providing a
view of Nature in constant flux and the idea that observers are separate an illusion. They
refer to Fritjof Capra's The Tao of Physics and The Turning Point for their characterisation
of how the new physics leads to metaphysical and ecological views of interrelatedness,
which, according to Capra, should make deep ecology a framework for future human
societies. Devall and Sessions also credit the American poet and social critic → Gary
Snyder—with his devotion to Buddhism, Native American studies, the outdoors, and
alternative social movements—as a major voice of wisdom in the evolution of their ideas.
The scientific version of the Gaia hypothesis was also an influence on the development of
deep ecology.
Spiritual
The central spiritual tenet of deep ecology is that the human species is a part of the Earth
and not separate from it. A process of self-realisation or "re-earthing" is used for an
individual to intuitively gain an ecocentric perspective. The notion is based on the idea that
the more we expand the self to identify with "others" (people, animals, ecosystems), the
more we realize ourselves. Transpersonal psychology has been used by Warwick Fox to
support this idea.
In relation to the Judeo-Christian tradition, Næss offers the following criticism: "The
arrogance of stewardship [as found in the Bible] consists in the idea of superiority which
underlies the thought that we exist to watch over nature like a highly respected middleman
between the Creator and Creation."[8] This theme had been expounded in Lynn Townsend
White, Jr.'s 1967 article "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis",[9] in which however
he also offered as an alternative Christian view of man's relation to nature that of Saint
Francis of Assisi, who he says spoke for the equality of all creatures, in place of the idea of
man's domination over creation.
Experiential
Drawing upon the Buddhist tradition is the work of Joanna Macy. Macy, working as an
anti-nuclear activist in USA, found that one of the major impediments confronting the
activists' cause was the presence of unresolved emotions of despair, grief, sorrow, anger
and rage. The denial of these emotions led to apathy and disempowerment.
We may have intellectual understanding of our interconnectedness, but our culture,
experiential deep ecologists like John Seed argue, robs us of emotional and visceral
experience of that interconnectedness which we had as small children, but which has been
socialised out of us by a highly anthropocentric alienating culture.
Through "Despair and Empowerment Work" and more recently "The Work that
Reconnects", Macy and others have been taking Experiential Deep Ecology into many
countries including especially the USA, Europe (particularly Britain and Germany), Russia
and Australia.
Deep ecology 30
Principles
Proponents of deep ecology believe that the world does not exist as a resource to be freely
exploited by humans. The ethics of deep ecology hold that a whole system is superior to any
of its parts. They offer an eight-tier platform to elucidate their claims:[15]
1. The well-being and flourishing of human and nonhuman life on Earth have value in
themselves (synonyms: intrinsic value, inherent value). These values are independent
of the usefulness of the nonhuman world for human purposes.
2. Richness and diversity of life forms contribute to the realization of these values and
are also values in themselves.
3. Humans have no right to reduce this richness and diversity except to satisfy vital
human needs.
4. The flourishing of human life and cultures is compatible with a substantial decrease of
the human population. The flourishing of nonhuman life requires such a decrease.
5. Present human interference with the nonhuman world is excessive, and the situation
is rapidly worsening.
6. Policies must therefore be changed. These policies affect basic economic,
technological, and ideological structures. The resulting state of affairs will be deeply
different from the present.
7. The ideological change is mainly that of appreciating life quality (dwelling in
situations of inherent value) rather than adhering to an increasingly higher standard of
living. There will be a profound awareness of the difference between big and great.
8. Those who subscribe to the foregoing points have an obligation directly or indirectly
to try to implement the necessary changes.
Movement
In practice, deep ecologists support decentralization, the creation of ecoregions, the
breakdown of industrialism in its current form, and an end to authoritarianism.
Deep ecology is not normally considered a distinct movement, but as part of the green
movement. The deep ecological movement could be defined as those within the green
movement who hold deep ecological views. Deep ecologists welcome the labels "Gaian" and
"Green" (including the broader political implications of this term, e.g. commitment to
peace). Deep ecology has had a broad general influence on the green movement by
providing an independent ethical platform for Green parties, political ecologists and
Deep ecology 31
environmentalists.
The philosophy of deep ecology helped differentiate the modern ecology movement by
pointing out the anthropocentric bias of the term "environment", and rejecting the idea of
humans as authoritarian guardians of the environment.
Interests in nature
For something to require rights and protection intrinsically, it must have interests.[16] Deep
ecology is criticised for presuming that plants, for example, have their own interests. Deep
ecologists claim to identify with the environment, and in doing so, criticise those who claim
they have no understanding what the environment's interests are. The criticism is that the
interests that a deep ecologist purports to give to nature, such as growth, survival, balance
are really human interests. "The earth is endowed with 'wisdom', wilderness equates with
'freedom', and life forms are said to emit 'moral' qualities."[17] It has also been argued that
species and ecosystems themselves have rights.[18] However, the overarching criticism
assumes that humans, in governing their own affairs, are somehow immune from this same
assumption; i.e. how can governing humans truly presume to understand the interests of
the rest of humanity. While the deep ecologist critic would answer that the logical
application of language and social mores would provide this justification, i.e. voting
patterns etc, the deep ecologist would note that these "interests" are ultimately observable
solely from the logical application of the behavior of the life form, which is the same
standard used by deep ecologists to perceive the standard of interests for the natural world.
Deepness
Deep ecology is criticised for its claim to be deeper than alternative theories, which by
implication are shallow. However despite repeated complaints about use of the term it still
enjoys wide currency; deep evidently has an attractive resonance for many who seek to
establish a new ethical framework for guiding human action with respect to the natural
world. It may be presumptuous to assert that one's thinking is deeper than others'. When
Arne Næss coined the term deep ecology he compared it favourably with shallow
environmentalism which he criticized for its utilitarian and anthropocentric attitude to
nature and for its materialist and consumer-oriented outlook.[19] [20] Against this is Arne
Næss's own view that the "depth" of deep ecology resides in the persistence of its
interrogative questioning, particularly in asking "Why?" when faced with initial answers.
Ecofeminist response
Both ecofeminism and deep ecology put forward a new conceptualization of the self. Some
ecofeminists, such as Marti Kheel,[21] argue that self-realization and identification with all
nature places too much emphasis on the whole, at the expense of the independent being.
Ecofeminists contend that their concept of the self (as a dynamic process consisting of
relations) is superior. Ecofeminists would also place more emphasis on the problem of
androcentrism rather than anthropocentrism.
Deep ecology 32
subject.[27] [28] Judi Bari was another prominent Earth Firster who espoused deep ecology.
Many Earth First! actions have a distinct deep ecological theme; often these actions will
ostensibly be to save an area of old growth forest, the habitat of a snail or an owl, even
individual trees. It should however be noted that, especially in the United Kingdom, there
are also strong anti-capitalist and anarchist currents in the movement, and actions are
often symbolic or have other political aims. At one point Arne Næss also engaged in
environmental direct action, though not under the Earth First! banner, when he tied himself
to a Norwegian fjord in a successful protest against the building of a dam.[29]
Robert Greenway and Theodore Roszak have employed the Deep Ecology (DE) platform as a
means to argue for Ecopsychology. Although Ecopsychology is a highly differentiated
umbrella that encompasses many practices and perspectives, its ethos is generally
consistent with DE. As this now almost forty-year old "field" expands and continues to be
reinterpreted by a variety of practitioners, social and natural scientists, and humanists,
"ecopsychology" may change to include these novel perspectives.
Early Influences
• Mary Hunter Austin | Ralph Waldo Emerson | Aldo Leopold
• John Muir | Henry David Thoreau
• Joanna Macy
Deep ecology 34
See also
• Anarcho-primitivism • Neotribalism
• EcoCommunalism • Permaculture
• Growth Fetish
• Human ecology
Notes
[1] Næss, Arne (1973) 'The Shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Movement.' Inquiry 16: 95-100
[2] Harding, Stephan (2002), "What is Deep Ecology"
[3] Fox, Warwick, (1990) Towards a Transpersonal Ecology (Shambhala Books)
[4] Quinn, Daniel (1995), "Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit" (Bantam)
[5] Botkin, Daniel B. (1990). Discordant Harmonies: A New Ecology for the Twenty-First Century. Oxford Univ.
Press, NY, NY. ISBN 0-19-507469-6.
[6] : The Shallow and the Deep, Long Range Ecology movements A summary by Arne Naess (http:/ / www. alamut.
com/ subj/ ideologies/ pessimism/ Naess_deepEcology. html)
[7] Devall, Bill; Sessions, George (1985). Deep Ecology. Gibbs M. Smith. ISBN 0-87905-247-3. pp. 85-88
[8] Næss, Arne. (1989). Ecology, Community and Lifestyle: Outline of an Ecosophy. p. 187. ISBN 0-521-34873-0
[9] White, Jr, Lynn Townsend (March 1967). "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis". Science 155 (3767):
1203–1207. doi: 10.1126/science.155.3767.1203 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1126/ science. 155. 3767. 1203). PMID
17847526. ( HTML copy (http:/ / www. zbi. ee/ ~kalevi/ lwhite. htm), PDF copy (http:/ / web. lemoyne. edu/
~glennon/ LynnWhitearticle. pdf)).
[10] Spinoza and Deep Ecology (http:/ / www. springerlink. com/ content/ e8213222t8hk5736/ )
[11] http:/ / ndpr. nd. edu/ review. cfm?id=2601
[12] http:/ / www. newciv. org/ mem/ prof-newslog. php?did=373& vid=373& xmode=show_article&
artid=000373-000019& amode=standard& aoffset=0& time=1246755640
[13] http:/ / books. google. ca/ books?id=HTBMPKH9_2UC& source=gbs_navlinks_s
[14] http:/ / www. springerlink. com/ content/ x36131180168g245/
[15] Devall and Sessions, op. cit., p. 70.
[16] Feinberg, Joel. " The Rights of Animals and Future Generations (http:/ / www. animal-rights-library. com/
texts-m/ feinberg01. htm)". . Retrieved on 2006-04-25.
[17] Joff (2000). " The Possibility of an Anti-Humanist Anarchism (http:/ / library. nothingness. org/ articles/ anar/
en/ display/ 310)". . Retrieved on 2006-04-25.
[18] Pister, E. Phil (1995). " The Rights of Species and Ecosystems (http:/ / www. nativefish. org/ articles/
Fish_Rights. php)". Fisheries 20 (4). . Retrieved on 2006-04-25.
[19] Great River Earth Institute. " Deep Ecology: Environmentalism as if all beings mattered (http:/ / www.
greatriv. org/ de. htm)". . Retrieved on 2006-04-25.
[20] Panaman, Ben. " Animal Ethics Encyclopedia: Deep Ecology (http:/ / www. animalethics. org. uk/
aec-d-entries. html#Deep Ecology)". . Retrieved on 2006-04-25.
[21] Kheel, Marti. (1990): Ecofeminism and Deep Ecology; reflections on identity and difference from: Diamond,
Irene. Orenstein. Gloria (editors), Reweaving the World; The emergence of ecofeminism. Sierra Club Books. San
Francisco. pp 128-137. ISBN 0-87156-623-0
[22] Botkin, Daniel B. (2000). No Man's Garden: Thoreau and a New Vision for Civilization and Nature.
Shearwater Books. pp. 42, 39. ISBN 1-55963-465-0.
[23] Anthropocentrism and Deep Ecology by William Grey (http:/ / www. uq. edu. au/ ~pdwgrey/ pubs/
anthropocentrism. html)
Deep ecology 35
[24] Bookchin, Murray (1987). " Social Ecology versus Deep Ecology: A Challenge for the Ecology Movement
(http:/ / dwardmac. pitzer. edu/ Anarchist_Archives/ bookchin/ socecovdeepeco. html)". Green
Perspectives/Anarchy Archives. .
[25] Alan AtKisson. " Introduction To Deep Ecology, an interview with Michael E. Zimmerman (http:/ / www.
context. org/ ICLIB/ IC22/ Zimmrman. htm)". In Context (22). . Retrieved on 2006-05-04.
[26] Wall, Derek (1994). Green History. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-07925-X.
[27] David Levine, ed (1991). Defending the Earth: a dialogue between Murray Bookchin and Dave Foreman.
[28] Bookchin, Murray; Graham Purchace, Brian Morris, Rodney Aitchtey, Robert Hart, Chris Wilbert (1993).
Deep Ecology and Anarchism. Freedom Press. ISBN 0-900384-67-0.
[29] J. Seed, J. Macy, P. Flemming, A. Næss, Thinking like a mountain: towards a council of all beings, Heretic
Books (1988), ISBN 0-946097-26-7, ISBN 0-86571-133-X.
Caution by the link to "The Shallow and the Deep" - there are several faults in the quote of
the original article. (Added words, wrong commas which can by misleading)
Bibliography
• Bender, F. L. 2003. The Culture of Extinction: Toward a Philosophy of Deep Ecology
Amherst, New York: Humanity Books.
• Devall, W. and G. Sessions. 1985. Deep Ecology: Living As if Nature Mattered Salt Lake
City: Gibbs M. Smith, Inc.
• Drengson, Alan. 1995. The Deep Ecology Movement
• Katz, E., A. Light, et al. 2000. Beneath the Surface: Critical Essays in the Philosophy of
Deep Ecology Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
• Næss, A. 1989. Ecology, Community and Lifestyle: Outline of an Ecosophy Translated by
D. Rothenberg. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Nelson, C. 2006. Ecofeminism vs. Deep Ecology, Dialogue, San Antonio, TX: Saint Mary's
University Dept. of Philosophy.
• Passmore, J. 1974. Man’s Responsibility for Nature London: Duckworth.
• Sessions, G. (ed) 1995. Deep Ecology for the Twenty-first Century Boston: Shambhala.
• Taylor, B. and M. Zimmerman. 2005. Deep Ecology" in B. Taylor, ed., Encyclopedia of
Religion and Nature, v 1, pp. 456-60, London: Continuum International. Also online at
(http:/ / www. religionandnature. com/ ern/ sample. htm)
Further reading
• Conesa-Sevilla, J. (2006). The Intrinsic Value of the Whole: Cognitive and utilitarian
evaluative processes as they pertain to ecocentric, deep ecological, and ecopsychological
"valuing." The Trumpeter, 22, 2, 26-42.
• Jozef Keulartz, Struggle for nature : a critique of radical ecology, London [etc.] :
Routledge, 1998
• Michael Tobias ed, Deep Ecology, Avant Books (1984, 1988) ISBN 0-932238-13-0.
• Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, HarperOne (1990) ISBN 0062505955,
978-0062505958.
• Harold Glasser (ed), The Selected Works of Arne Næss, Volumes 1-10. Springer, (2005),
ISBN 1-4020-3727-9. ( review (http:/ / home. ca. inter. net/ ~greenweb/
Naess_Appreciation. html))
• Jack Turner, The Abstract Wild, Tucson, Univ of Arizona Press (1996)
• de Steiguer, J.E. 2006. The Origins of Modern Environmental Thought. The University of
Arizona Press. 246 pp.
Deep ecology 36
Educational Programs
• * Naropa University Master of Arts Transpersonal Psychology, Ecopsychology
Concentration (http:/ / www. naropa. edu/ academics/ graduate/ psychology/ tcp/ ecoc/ )
External links
• Northwest Earth Institute (http:/ / www. nwei. org) Discussion course on Deep Ecology
• Philosophy, Cosmology and Conciousness, California Institude of Integral Studies. (http:/
/ www. ciis. edu/ pcc/ )
• Downloadable interview with Dr. Alan Drengson about Deep Ecology and Arne Næss.
June 6, 2008. (http:/ / besustainable. com/ greenmajority/ 2008/ 06/ 06/ tgm-88/ )
• Nature Worship in Hinduism (http:/ / www. hinduwisdom. info/ Nature_Worship. htm)
• Church of Deep Ecology (http:/ / www. churchofdeepecology. org/ )
• Deep Ecology Movement (http:/ / www. deepecology. org/ movement. htm), Alan
Drengson, Foundation for Deep Ecology.
• Environmental Ethics Journal (http:/ / www. cep. unt. edu/ enethics. html)
• Foundation for Deep Ecology (http:/ / www. deepecology. org/ )
• Green Parties World Wide (http:/ / www. greens. org/ )
• The Great Story (http:/ / www. thegreatstory. org/ ) - a leading Deep Ecology/Deep Time
educational website
• Gaia Foundation (http:/ / gaia. iinet. net. au): an Australian organisation based upon the
principles of Deep Ecology. See especially its links page.
• The Green Web (http:/ / home. ca. inter. net/ ~greenweb/ index. htm) a left biocentric
environmental research group, with a number of writings on deep ecology
• The Trumpeter (http:/ / trumpeter. athabascau. ca/ ), Canadian journal of ecosophy, quite
a number of articles from Næss among others
• Welcome to All Beings (http:/ / www. joannamacy. net): Joanna Macy on the work of
Experiential Deep Ecology
• Social Ecology vs Deep Ecology (http:/ / dwardmac. pitzer. edu/ ANARCHIST_ARCHIVES/
bookchin/ socecovdeepeco. html) - A Challenge for the Ecology Movement by Murray
Bookchin
• Deep Ecology in the Song of Songs (http:/ / www. song-of-songs. net)
Neolithic Revolution 37
Neolithic Revolution
The Neolithic Revolution was the first agricultural revolution—the transition from →
hunting and gathering communities and bands, to agriculture and settlement (settlement is
currently being questioned). Archaeological data indicate that various forms of
domestication of plants and animals arose independently in at least 7-8 separate locales
worldwide, with the earliest known developments taking place in the Middle East around
10,000 BC (BCE) or earlier.[1]
However, the Neolithic Revolution involved far more than the adoption of a limited set of
food-producing techniques. During the next millennia it would transform the small, mobile
and fairly egalitarian groups of hunter-gatherers that had hitherto dominated human
history, into sedentary societies based in built-up villages and towns, which radically
modified their natural environment by means of specialized cultivation and storage
technologies (e.g. irrigation) that allowed extensive surplus production. These
developments provided the basis for high population densities, complex labor
diversification, trading economies, centralized administrations and political structures,
hiearchical ideologies and depersonalized systems of knowledge (e.g. property regimes and
writing). The first full-blown manifestation of the entire Neolithic complex is seen in the
Middle Eastern Sumerian cities (ca. 5,300 BC), whose emergence also inaugurates the end
of the prehistoric Neolithic and the beginning of historical time.
The relationship of the above-mentioned Neolithic characteristics to the onset of
agriculture, their sequence of emergence and empirical relation to each other at various
Neolithic sites remains the subject of academic debate, and seems to vary from place to
place, rather than being the outcome of universal laws of social evolution.[2] [3]
Agricultural transition
The term Neolithic Revolution was coined in the 1920s
by Vere Gordon Childe to describe the first in a series
of agricultural revolutions in Middle Eastern history.
The period is described as a "revolution" to denote its
importance, and the great significance and degree of
change affecting the communities in which new
agricultural practices were gradually adopted and
refined.
The beginning of this process in different regions has Knap of Howar farmstead on a site
been dated from perhaps 10,000 years ago in occupied from 3500 BC to 3100 BC
Melanesia[4] [5] to 2,500 BC in Subsaharan Africa, with
some considering the developments of 9000-7000 BC in the → Fertile Crescent to be the
most important. This transition everywhere seems associated with a change from a largely
nomadic → hunter-gatherer way of life to a more settled, agrarian-based one, with the
inception of the domestication of various plant and animal species - depending upon which
species were locally available, and probably also influenced by local culture.
There are several competing (but not mutually exclusive) theories as to the factors which
drove populations to take up agriculture. The most prominent of these are:
Neolithic Revolution 38
Domestication of plants
Once agriculture started gaining momentum, cereal
grasses (beginning with emmer, einkorn and barley),
and not simply those that would favour greater caloric
returns through larger seeds, were selectively bred.
Plants that possessed traits such as small seeds or
bitter taste would have been seen as undesirable.
Plants that rapidly shed their seeds on maturity tended
not to be gathered at harvest, thus not stored and not Neolithic grind stone for processing
seeded the following season; years of harvesting grain
The process was not as linear as was once thought, but a more complicated effort, which
was undertaken by different human populations in different regions in many different ways.
Neolithic Revolution 40
Agriculture in Asia
The Neolithic Revolution is believed to have become widespread in southwest Asia around
8000 BC–7000 BC, though earlier individual sites have been identified. Although
archaeological evidence provides scant evidence as to which of the genders performed
what task in Neolithic cultures, by comparison with historical and contemporary
hunter-gatherer communities it is generally supposed that hunting was typically performed
by the men, whereas women had a more significant role in the gathering. By extension, it
may be theorised that women were largely responsible for the observations and initial
activities which began the Neolithic Revolution, insofar as the gradual selection and
refinement of edible plant species was concerned.
The precise nature of these initial observations and (later) purposeful activities which
would give rise to the changes in subsistence methods brought about by the Neolithic
Revolution are not known; specific evidence is lacking. However, several reasonable
speculations have been put forward; for example, it might be expected that the common
practice of discarding food refuse in middens would result in the regrowth of plants from
the discarded seeds in the (fertilizer-enriched) soils. In all likelihood, there were a number
of factors which contributed to the early onset of agriculture in Neolithic human societies.
Agriculture in Africa
The Revolution developed independently in different parts of the world, not just in the
Fertile Crescent. On the African continent, three areas have been identified as
independently developing agriculture: the Ethiopian highlands, the Sahel and West
Africa.[15]
The most famous crop domesticated in the Ethiopian highlands is coffee. In addition, Khat,
Ensete, Noog, teff and finger millet were also domesticated in the Ethiopian highlands.
Crops domesticated in the Sahel region include sorghum and pearl millet. The Kola nut,
extracts from which became an ingredient in Coca Cola, was first domesticated in West
Africa. Other crops domesticated in West Africa include African rice, African yams and the
oil palm.[15]
A number of crops that have been cultivated in Africa for millennia came after their
domestication elsewhere. Agriculture in the Nile River Valley developed from crops
domesticated in the → Fertile Crescent. Bananas and plantains which were first
domesticated in Southeast Asia, most likely Papua New Guinea, were re-domesticated in
Africa possibly as early as 5,000 years ago. Asian yams and taro were also cultivated in
Africa.[15]
Neolithic Revolution 41
Prof. Fred Wendorf and Dr. Romuald Schild, of the Department of Anthropology at
Southern Methodist University, originally thought to have found evidence of early
agriculture in Upper Paleolithic times at Wadi Kubbaniya, on the Kom Ombos plateau, of
Egypt, including a mortar and pestle, grinding stones, several harvesting implements and
charred wheat and barley grains — which may have been introduced from outside the
region. AMS dating since their first reports has invalidated their hypothesis.[16]
Many such grinding stones are found with the early Egyptian Sebilian and Mechian cultures
and evidence has been found of a neolithic domesticated crop-based economy dating
around 5000 BC.[17] Smith writes: "With the benefit of hindsight we can now see that many
Late Paleolithic peoples in the Old World were poised on the brink of plant cultivation and
animal husbandry as an alternative to the hunter-gatherer's way of life". Unlike the Middle
East, this evidence appears as a "false dawn" to agriculture, as the sites were later
abandoned, and permanent farming then was delayed until 4,500 BC with the Tasian and
Badarian cultures and the arrival of crops and animals from the Near East.
Domestication of animals
When hunter-gathering began to be replaced by sedentary food production it became more
profitable to keep animals close at hand. Therefore, it became necessary to bring animals
permanently to their settlements, although in many cases there was a distinction between
relatively sedentary farmers and nomadic herders. The animals' size, temperament, diet,
mating patterns, and life span were factors in the desire and success in domesticating
animals. Animals that provided milk, such as cows and goats, offered a source of protein
that was renewable and therefore quite valuable. The animal’s ability as a worker (for
example ploughing or towing), as well as a food source, also had to be taken into account.
Besides being a direct source of food, certain animals could provide leather, wool, hides,
and fertilizer. Some of the earliest domesticated animals included dogs (about 15,000 years
ago),[18] sheep, goats, cows, and pigs.[15]
the rest of Afroeurasia. This emigration was mainly on an east-west axis of similar climates,
as crops usually have a narrow optimal climatic range outside of which they cannot grow
for reasons of light or rain changes. For instance, wheat does not normally grow in tropical
climates, just like tropical crops such as bananas do not grow in colder climates. Some
authors like → Jared Diamond postulated that this East-West axis is the main reason why
plant and animal domestication spread so quickly from the → Fertile Crescent to the rest of
Eurasia and North Africa, while it did not reach through the North-South axis of Africa to
reach the Mediterranean climates of South Africa, where temperate crops were
successfully imported by ships in the last 500 years. The African Zebu is a separate breed of
cattle that was better suited to the hotter climates of central Africa than the fertile-crescent
domesticated bovines. North and South America were similarly separated by the narrow
tropical Isthmus of Panama, that prevented the andes llama to be exported to the Mexican
plateau.
Social change
It is often argued that agriculture gave humans more control over their food supply, but
this has been disputed by the finding that nutritional standards of Neolithic populations
were generally inferior to that of hunter gatherers, and life expectancy may in fact have
been shorter, in part due to diseases. Average height, for example, went down from 5' 10"
for men and 5' 6" for women to 5' 3" and 5' 1", respectively and it took until the twentieth
century for average human height to come back to the pre-Neolithic Revolution levels.[19]
Actually, by reducing the necessity for the carrying of children, Neolithic societies had a
major impact upon the spacing of children (carrying more than one child at a time is
impossible for hunter-gatherers, which leads to children being spaced four or more years
apart). This increase in the birth rate was required to offset increases in death rates and
required settled occupation of territory and encouraged larger social groups. These
sedentary groups were able to reproduce at a faster rate due to the possibilities of sharing
the raising of children in such societies. The children accounted for a denser population,
and encouraged the introduction of specialization by providing diverse forms of new labor.
The development of larger societies seemed to have led to the development of different
means of decision making and to governmental organization. Food surpluses made possible
the development of a social elite who were not otherwise engaged in agriculture, industry
or commerce, but dominated their communities by other means and monopolized
decision-making.
Subsequent revolutions
Andrew Sherratt has argued that following upon the
Neolithic Revolution was a second phase of discovery
that he refers to as the secondary products revolution.
Animals, it appears were first domesticated purely as a
source of meat. The Secondary Products Revolution
occurred when it was recognised that animals also
provided a number of other useful products. These
Domesticated cow being milked in
included:
Ancient Egypt
• hides and skins (from no domesticated animals)
• manure for soil conditioning (from all domesticated animals)
• wool (from sheep, llamas, alpacas, and Angora goats)
• milk (from goats, cattle, yaks, sheep, horses and camels)
• traction (from oxen, onagers, donkeys, horses and camels)
Sherratt argues that this phase in agricultural development enabled humans to make use of
the energy possibilities of their animals in new ways, and permitted permanent intensive
subsistence farming and crop production, and the opening up heavier soils for farming. It
also made possible nomadic pastoralism in semi arid areas, along the margins of deserts,
and eventually led to the domestication of both the dromedary and bactrian camel.
Overgrazing of these areas, particularly by herds of goats, greatly extended the areal extent
of deserts. Living in one spot would have more easily permitted the accrual of personal
possessions and an attachment to certain areas of land. From such a position, it is argued,
prehistoric people were able to stockpile food to survive lean times and trade unwanted
Neolithic Revolution 44
surpluses with others. Once trade and a secure food supply were established, populations
could grow, and society would have diversified into food producers and artisans, who could
afford to develop their trade by virtue of the free time they enjoyed because of a surplus of
food. The artisans, in turn, were able to develop technology such as metal weapons. Such
relative complexity would have required some form of social organisation to work efficiently
and so it is likely that populations which had such organisation, perhaps such as that
provided by religion were better prepared and more successful. In addition, the denser
populations could form and support legions of professional soldiers. Also, during this time
property ownership became increasingly important to all people. Ultimately, Childe argued
that this growing social complexity, all rooted in the original decision to settle, led to a
second Urban Revolution in which the first cities were built.
Disease
Throughout the development of sedentary societies, disease
spread more rapidly than it had during the time in which
hunter-gatherer societies existed. Inadequate sanitary practices
and the domestication of animals may explain the rise in deaths
and sickness during the Neolithic Revolution from disease, as
diseases jumped from the animal to the human population.
Some examples of diseases spread from animals to humans are
influenza, smallpox, and measles. In concordance with a
process of natural selection, the humans who first domesticated
the big mammals quickly built up immunities to the diseases as
within each generation the individuals with better immunities
had better chances of survival. In their approximately 10,000
Llama overlooking the ruins
years of shared proximity with animals, Eurasians and Africans of the Inca city of Machu
became more resistant to those diseases compared with the Picchu
indigenous populations encountered outside Eurasia and Africa.
For instance, the population of most Caribbean and several Pacific Islands have been
completely wiped out by diseases. According to the Population history of American
indigenous peoples, 90% of the population of certain regions of North and South America
were wiped out long before direct contact with Europeans. Some cultures like the Inca
Empire did have one big mammal domesticated, the Llama, but the Inca did not drink its
milk or live in a closed space with their herds, hence limiting the risk of contagion.
The causal link between the type or lack of agricultural development, disease and
colonisation is not supported by colonization in other parts of the world. Disease increased
after the establishment of British Colonial rule in Africa and India despite the areas having
diseases that Europeans had no natural immunity to. In India agriculture developed during
the Neolithic period with a wide range of animals domesticated. During colonial rule an
estimated 23 million people died from cholera between 1865 and 1949, and millions more
died from plague, malaria, influenza and tuberculosis. In Africa European colonisation was
accompanied by great epidemics, including malaria and sleeping sickness and despite parts
of colonised Africa having little or no agriculture Europeans were more susceptible than
these Africans. The increase of disease has been attributed to increased mobility of people,
increased population density, urbanisation, environmental deterioration and irrigation
schemes that helped to spread malaria rather than the development of agriculture.[20]
Neolithic Revolution 45
Technology
In his book Guns, Germs, and Steel, → Jared Diamond argues that Europeans and East
Asians benefited from an advantageous geographical location which afforded them a head
start in the Neolithic Revolution. Both shared the temperate climate ideal for the first
agricultural settings, both were near a number of easily domesticable plant and animal
species, and both were safer from attacks of other people than civilizations in the middle
part of the Eurasian continent. Being among the first to adopt agriculture and sedentary
lifestyles, and neighboring other early agricultural societies with whom they could compete
and trade, both Europeans and East Asians were also among the first to benefit from
technologies such as firearms and steel swords. In addition, they developed resistances to
infectious disease, such as smallpox, due to their close relationship with domesticated
animals. Groups of people who had not lived in proximity with other large mammals, such
as the Australian Aborigines and American indigenous peoples were more vulnerable to
infection and largely wiped out by diseases.
During and after the Age of Discovery, European explorers, such as the Spanish
conquistadors, encountered other groups of people who had never or only recently adopted
agriculture, such as in the Pacific Islands, or lacked domesticated big mammals such as the
highlands people of Papua New Guinea.
See also
• Çatalhöyük, a Neolithic site in southern Anatolia
• Natufians, a settled culture preceding agriculture
• → Original affluent society
• Haplogroup G (Y-DNA)
• Haplogroup J2 (Y-DNA)
• Haplogroup J (mtDNA)
• Agricultural Revolution
• Neolithic tomb
• Surplus product
Further reading
• Bailey, Douglass. (2000). Balkan Prehistory: Exclusions, Incorporation and Identity.
Routledge Publishers. ISBN 0-415-21598-6.
• Bailey, Douglass. (2005). Prehistoric Figurines: Representation and Corporeality in the
Neolithic. Routledge Publishers. ISBN 0-415-33152-8.
• Balter, Michael (2005). The Goddess and the Bull: Catalhoyuk, An Archaeological Journey
to the Dawn of Civilization. New York: Free Press. ISBN 0-7432-4360-9.
• Bellwood, Peter. (2004). First Farmers: The Origins of Agricultural Societies. Blackwell
Publishers. ISBN 0-631-20566-7
• Cohen, Mark Nathan (1977)The Food Crisis in Prehistory: Overpopulation and the
Origins of Agriculture. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN
0-300-02016-3.
• Diamond, Jared (1999). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New
York: Norton Press. ISBN 0-393-31755-2.
• Diamond, Jared (2002) Evolution, Consequences and Future of Plant and Animal
Domestication. Nature Magazine, Vol 418.
Neolithic Revolution 46
References
[1] "Origin of agriculture and domestication of plants and animals linked to early Holocene climate amelioration",
Anil K. Gupta*, Current Science, Vol. 87, No. 1, 10 July 2004 (http:/ / www. ias. ac. in/ currsci/ jul102004/ 54.
pdf)
[2] "The Slow Birth of Agriculture", Heather Pringle* (http:/ / cas. bellarmine. edu/ tietjen/ images/
neolithic_agriculture. htm)
[3] "Zawi Chemi Shanidar", EMuseum, Minnesota State University (http:/ / www. mnsu. edu/ emuseum/
archaeology/ sites/ middle_east/ zawichemishanidar. html)
[4] Denham, Tim P.; et al. (2003). "Origins of Agriculture at Kuk Swamp in the Highlands of New Guinea". Science
301 (5630): 189–193. doi: 10.1126/science.1085255 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1126/ science. 1085255). PMID
12817084.
[5] The Kuk Early Agricultural Site (http:/ / whc. unesco. org/ en/ tentativelists/ 5059/ )
[6] Gordon Childe (1936). Man Makes Himself. Oxford university press.
[7] Charles E. Redman (1978). Rise of Civilization: From Early Hunters to Urban Society in the Ancient Near East.
San Francisco: Freeman.
[8] Hayden, Brian (1992). "Models of Domestication". in Anne Birgitte Gebauer and T. Douglas Price. Transitions
to Agriculture in Prehistory. Madison: Prehistory Press. pp. 11–18.
[9] Sauer, Carl, O (1952). Agricultural origins and dispersals. Cambridge, MA.
[10] Binford, Lewis R. (1968). "Post-Pleistocene Adaptations". in Sally R. Binford and Lewis R. Binford. New
Perspectives in Archaeology. Chicago: Aldine Publishing Company. pp. 313–342.
[11] Rindos, David (December 1987). The Origins of Agriculture: An Evolutionary Perspective. Academic Press.
ISBN 978-0125892810).
[12] Wright (2004). A Short History of Progress first=Ronald. Anansi. ISBN 0-88784-706-4).
[13] Weiss, Ehud; Kislev, Mordechai E.; Hartmann, Anat (2006). "Autonomous Cultivation Before Domestication".
Science 312 (5780): 1608–1610. doi: 10.1126/science.1127235 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1126/ science.
1127235). PMID 16778044.
[14] Tamed 11,400 Years Ago, Figs Were Likely First Domesticated Crop (http:/ / www. sciencedaily. com/
releases/ 2006/ 06/ 060602074522. htm),
[15] Diamond, Jared (1999). Guns, Germs, and Steel. New York: Norton Press. ISBN 0-393-31755-2.
Neolithic Revolution 47
[16] DR Harris, HE Gove, P Damon "The Impact on Archaeology of Radiocarbon Dating by Accelerator Mass
Spectrometry" Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A323, 23-43 1987 (http:/ / journals.
royalsociety. org/ content/ q41hm53kk451q861/ fulltext. pdf)
[17] The Cambridge History of Africa (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=JAca1F3qG34C& pg=PA70&
lpg=PA70& dq=Africa,+ neolithic& source=web& ots=wWVGAvbwDC& sig=oLsfZADAq2fplcionxe5hXjBgXw&
hl=en& ei=V8GKSaSbO9eitge6-eibBw& sa=X& oi=book_result& resnum=10& ct=result#PPA76,M1)
[18] McGourty, Christine (2002-11-22). " Origin of dogs traced (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ science/ nature/
2498669. stm)". BBC News. . Retrieved on 2006-11-29.
[19] The Borderlands of Science by Michael Shermer. p. 250
[20] Marshall, P. J. Ed. (1996), Cambridge illustrated History: British Empire, Cambridge University Press, ISBN
0-521-00254-0, p. 142
[21] http:/ / urss. ru/ cgi-bin/ db. pl?cp=& page=Book& id=53184& lang=en& blang=en& list=1
[22] http:/ / www. anansi. ca/ titles. cfm?pub_subid=237
[23] http:/ / www. cbc. ca/ ideas/ massey/ massey2004. html
[24] http:/ / www. ucalgary. ca/ ~eslinger/ crss/ 200/ 200_read/ 02. Wright,R.
_Gaugin'sQuestions_ShortHistoryOfProgress(2004)1-26. pdf
[25] http:/ / www. transportplanet. ca/ Stu'sNotes11. pdf
[26] http:/ / www. awok. org/ civilization-is-a-pyramid-scheme/
[27] http:/ / www. radio4all. net/ pub/ archive/ 04. 01. 05/ anitya@graffiti. net/
1400-1-20041124-Ronald_Wright_-_Short_History_of_Progress_-_1_-_Gauguin__s_Questions. mp3
[28] http:/ / www. radio4all. net/ pub/ archive/ 04. 01. 05/ anitya@graffiti. net/
1400-1-20041125-Ronald_Wright_-_Short_History_of_Progress_-_2_-_The_Great_Experiment. mp3
[29] http:/ / www. radio4all. net/ pub/ archive/ 09. 01. 05/ philippe@bainbridge. net/
1374-1-20050410-Ronald_Wright. mp3
[30] http:/ / www. pnas. org/ content/ early/ 2009/ 06/ 19/ 0812764106. full. pdf
Fertile Crescent
The Fertile Crescent is a region
in the Near East, incorporating the
Levant and Mesopotamia, and
often incorrectly extended to
Egypt. Mesopotamia is considered
the cradle of civilization and saw
the development of the earliest
human civilizations and is the
birthplace of writing and the
wheel. The region broadly
corresponds to present-day Iraq,
Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Kuwait,
Jordan, south-eastern Turkey and
City-states of the Fertile Crescent in the 2nd millennium BCE
west and south-western Iran. The
term "Fertile Crescent" was coined
by University of Chicago archaeologist James Henry Breasted in his "Ancient Records of
Egypt", around 1900.[1] The region was named so due to its rich soil and crescent shape.
Fertile Crescent 48
Geography
As crucial as rivers were to the rise of civilization in the Fertile Crescent, they were not the
only factor in the area's precocity. Ecologically the area is important as the "bridge"
between Africa and Eurasia. This "bridging role" has allowed the Fertile Crescent to retain
a greater amount of biodiversity than either Europe or North Africa, where climate changes
during the Ice Age led to repeated extinction events due to ecosystems becoming squeezed
against the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Coupled with the Saharan pump theory, this
Middle Eastern land-bridge is of extreme importance to the modern distribution of Old
World flora and fauna, including the spread of humanity.
The fact that this area has borne
the brunt of the tectonic
divergence between the African
and Arabian plates, and the
converging Arabian and Eurasian
plates, has also made this region a
very diverse zone of high
snow-covered mountains, fertile
broad alluvial basins and desert
plateaux, which has also increased
its biodiversity further and enabled
the survival into historic times of
species not found elsewhere.
As a result the Fertile Crescent has an impressive record of past human activity. As well as
possessing many sites with the skeletal and cultural remains of both pre-modern and early
modern humans (e.g. at Kebara Cave in Israel), later Pleistocene → hunter-gatherers and
Epipalaeolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherers (the Natufians), this area is most famous
for its sites related to the origins of agriculture. The western zone around the Jordan and
upper Euphrates rivers gave rise to the first known Neolithic farming settlements (referred
to as Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA)), which date to around 9,000 BCE (and includes sites
Fertile Crescent 49
such as Jericho). This region, alongside Mesopotamia (which lies to the east of the Fertile
Crescent, between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates), also saw the emergence of early
complex societies during the succeeding Bronze Age. There is also early evidence from this
region for writing, and the formation of state-level societies. This has earned the region the
nickname "The Cradle of Civilization."
Both the Tigris and Euphrates start in the Taurus Mountains of what is today Turkey.
Farmers in southern Mesopotamia had to protect their fields from flooding each year,
except Northern Mesopotamia which had just enough rain to make some farming
possible.[3]
Since the Bronze Age, the region's natural fertility has been greatly extended by irrigation
works, upon which much of its agricultural production continues to depend. The last two
millennia have seen repeated cycles of decline and recovery as past works have fallen into
disrepair through the replacement of states, to be replaced under their successors. Another
ongoing problem has been salination — the gradual concentration of salt and other
minerals in soils with a long history of irrigation.
In the contemporary era, river waters remain a potential source of friction in the region.
The Jordan lies on the borders of Israel, the kingdom of Jordan and the areas administered
by the Palestinian Authority. Turkey and Syria each control about a quarter of the length of
the Euphrates, on whose lower reaches Iraq is still heavily dependent.
See also
• Ancient Near East
• Cradle of civilization
• Early civilizations
• Greater Syria
• Fertile Crescent Plan
• Levant
• Mesopotamia
• → Neolithic Revolution
External links
[4]
• Ancient Fertile Crescent Almost Gone, Satellite Images Show - from National
Geographic News, May 18, 2001
References
[1] " Fertile Crescent (http:/ / education. yahoo. com/ reference/ encyclopedia/ entry/ FertileC)". Columbia
Encyclopedia. Columbia University Press. 2008. . Retrieved on 2008-09-23.
[2] Diamond, J. (March 1997). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. W.W. Norton & Company.
ISBN 0-393-03891-2.
[3] Beck, Roger B.; Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor, Dahia Ibo Shabaka, (1999). World History:
Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell. ISBN 0-395-87274-X.
[4] http:/ / news. nationalgeographic. com/ news/ 2001/ 05/ 0518_crescent. html
Hunter- gatherer 50
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer society is one whose primary subsistence method involves the direct
procurement of edible plants and animals from the wild, foraging and hunting without
significant recourse to the domestication of either. Hunter-gatherers obtain most from
gathering rather than hunting; up to 80% of the food is obtained by gathering.[1] The
demarcation between hunter-gatherers and other societies which rely more upon
domestication (see agriculture and pastoralism and neolithic revolution) is not a clear-cut
one, as many contemporary societies use a combination of both strategies to obtain the
foodstuffs required to sustain themselves.
History
Hunting and gathering was presumably the subsistence strategy employed by human
societies for more than two million years, until the end of the Mesolithic period. The first
hunter-gatherers may have lived in mixed habitats which allowed them to collect seafood,
eggs, nuts, and fruits and scavenge the occasional dead animal and in this sense were more
meat scavengers than actual hunters. Rather than killing large animals themselves for
meat, they used carcasses of large animals killed by other predators or carcasses from
animals that died by natural causes.[2] The transition into the subsequent Neolithic period
is chiefly defined by the unprecedented development of nascent agricultural practices.
Agriculture → originated and spread in several different areas including the Middle East,
Asia, Mesoamerica, and the Andes beginning as early as 10,000 years ago.
Many groups continued their hunter-gatherer ways of life, although their numbers have
perpetually declined partly as a result of pressure from growing agricultural and pastoral
communities. Many of them reside in arid regions and tropical forests in the developing
world. Areas which formerly were available to hunter-gatherers were -and continue to be-
encroached upon by the settlements of agriculturalists. In the resulting competition for land
use, hunter-gatherer societies either adopted these practices or moved to other areas. In
addition, → Jared Diamond has blamed a decline in the availability of wild foods,
particularly animal resources. In North and South America, for example, most large
mammal species had gone extinct by the end of the Pleistocene, according to Diamond,
because of overexploitation by humans,[3] although the overkill hypothesis he advocates is
strongly contested.
As the number and size of agricultural societies increased, they expanded into lands
traditionally used by hunter-gatherers. This process of agriculture-driven expansion led to
the development of complex forms of government in agricultural centers such as the →
Fertile Crescent, Ancient India, Ancient China, Olmec, and Norte Chico.
As a result of the now near-universal human reliance upon agriculture, the few
contemporary hunter-gatherer cultures usually live in areas seen as undesirable for
agricultural use.
Hunter- gatherer 51
Methods of study
Archaeological and paleontological evidence must be used to learn about prehistoric
hunter-gatherers, and ethnographic studies, as well as historical information, provide
information about living or historic hunter-gatherers. Interdisciplinary fields such as
ethnohistory, ethnoarchaeology, human behavioral ecology, paleoanthropology and
paleoethnobotany have also arisen in the search for insight into the hunter-gatherer past.
Common characteristics
Others, such as the Haida of present-day British Columbia, lived in such a rich environment
that they could remain sedentary, like many other Native Americans of the Pacific
Northwest coast. These groups demonstrate more hierarchical social organization.
War in hunter-gatherer societies is usually caused by grudges and vendettas rather than for
territory or economic benefit.[8]
Hunter- gatherer 52
A vast amount of ethnographic and archaeological evidence demonstrates that the sexual
division of labor in which men hunt and women gather wild fruits and vegetables is an
extremely common phenomenon among hunter-gatherers worldwide, but there are a
number of documented exceptions to this general pattern. A study done on the Aeta people
of the Philippines states: "About 85% of Philippine Aeta women hunt, and they hunt the
same quarry as men. Aeta women hunt in groups and with dogs, and have a 31% success
rate as opposed to 17% for men. Their rates are even better when they combine forces with
men: mixed hunting groups have a full 41% success rate among the Aeta."[6] It was also
found among the Ju'/hoansi people of Namibia that women helped the men during hunting
by helping them track down quarry.[9] Moreover, recent archaeological research done by
the anthropologist and archaeologist Steven Kuhn from the University of Arizona suggests
that the sexual division of labor did not exist prior to the Upper Paleolithic and developed
relatively recently in human history. The sexual division of labor may have arisen to allow
humans to acquire food and other resources more efficiently.[10] It would, therefore, be an
over-generalization to say that men always hunt and women always gather.
At the 1966 "Man the Hunter" conference,
anthropologists → Richard Borshay Lee and
→ Irven DeVore suggested that
egalitarianism was one of several central
characteristics of nomadic hunting and
gathering societies because mobility
requires minimization of material
possessions throughout a population;
therefore, there was no surplus of
A 19th century engraving of an Indigenous Australian
resources to be accumulated by any single encampment.
member. Other characteristics Lee and
DeVore proposed were flux in territorial boundaries as well as in demographic composition.
At the same conference, → Marshall Sahlins presented a paper entitled, "→ Notes on the
Original Affluent Society," in which he challenged the popular view of hunter-gatherers
living lives "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short," as Thomas Hobbes had put it in 1651.
According to Sahlins, ethnographic data indicated that hunter-gatherers worked far fewer
hours and enjoyed more leisure than typical members of industrial society, and they still ate
well. Their "affluence" came from the idea that they are satisfied with very little in the
material sense. This, he said, constituted a Zen economy.
One way to divide hunter-gatherer groups is by their return systems. James Woodburn uses
the categories "immediate return" hunter-gatherers for egalitarian and "delayed return" for
nonegalitarian. Immediate return foragers consume their food within a day or two after
they procure it. Delayed return foragers store the surplus food (Kelly[11] , 31). Some
Marxists have theorised that hunter-gatherers would have used primitive communism, and
anarcho-primitivists elaborate the mechanics further by asserting it would have been a gift
economy, (although this would not have applied for all hunter-gatherer societies). Mutual
exchange and sharing of resources (i.e., meat gained from hunting) are important in the
economic systems of hunter-gatherer societies.[8]
Hunter- gatherer 53
Modern context
In the early 1980s, a small but vocal
segment of anthropologists and
archaeologists attempted to
demonstrate that contemporary
groups usually identified as
hunter-gatherers do not, in most
cases, have a continuous history of
hunting and gathering, and that in
many cases their ancestors were
agriculturalists and/or pastoralists
who were pushed into marginal areas
as a result of migrations, economic
Shoshoni tipis, circa 1900.
exploitation, and/or violent conflict.
The result of their effort has been the
general acknowledgement that there has been complex interaction between
hunter-gatherers and non-hunter-gatherers for millennia.
Some of the theorists who advocate this “revisionist” critique imply that, because the "pure
hunter-gatherer" disappeared not long after colonial (or even agricultural) contact began,
nothing meaningful can be learned about prehistoric hunter-gatherers from studies of
modern ones (Kelly[14] , 24-29; see Wilmsen[15] ); however, most specialists who study
hunter-gatherer ecology (see cultural ecology and human behavioral ecology) disagree with
this conclusion. As well, Lee and Guenther have refuted most of the arguments put forward
by Wilmsen and currently the revisionist school has been largely discredited.
There are contemporary hunter-gatherer peoples who, after contact with other societies,
continue their ways of life with very little external influence. One such group is the Pila
Nguru or the Spinifex People of Western Australia, whose habitat in the Great Victoria
Desert has proved unsuitable for European agriculture (and even pastoralism). Another are
the Sentinelese of the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean, who live on North Sentinel
Island and to date have maintained their independent existence, repelling attempts to
engage with and contact them.
Social movements
There are some modern social movements related to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle:
• → Anarcho-primitivism, which strives for the abolishment of civilization and the return to
a life in the wild.
• Freeganism involves gathering of discarded food (and sometimes other materials) in the
context of an urban or suburban environment.
• Gleaning involves the gathering of food that traditional farmers have left behind in their
fields.
• Paleolithic diet, which strives to achieve a diet similar to that of ancient hunter-gatherer
groups.
Hunter- gatherer 55
See also
• Anarcho-primitivism • Neanderthals
• Batek • Nomads
• Bushmen • Nukak-Makú
• Cro-Magnon • Paleolithic
• Mbuti
Further reading
• Barnard, A. J., ed. (2004). Hunter-gatherers in history, archaeology and anthropology.
Berg. ISBN 1-85973-825-7.
• Bettinger, R. L. (1991). Hunter-gatherers: archaeological and evolutionary theory.
Plenum Press. ISBN 0-306-43650-7.
• Brody, Hugh (2001). The Other Side Of Eden: hunter-gatherers, farmers and the shaping
of the world. North Point Press. ISBN 0-571-20502-X.
• Lee, Richard B. and Irven DeVore, eds. (1968). Man the hunter. Aldine de Gruyter. ISBN
0-202-33032-X.
• Morrison, K. D. and L. L. Junker, eds. (2002). Forager-traders in South and Southeast
Asia: long term histories. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-01636-3.
• Panter-Brick, C., R. H. Layton and P. Rowley-Conwy, eds. (2001). Hunter-gatherers: an
interdisciplinary perspective. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-77672-4.
• Turnbull, Colin (1987). The Forest People. Touchstone. ISBN 978-0671640996.
External links
• African Pygmies [16] Culture and photos of these African hunter-gatherers.
• Nature's Secret Larder - Wild Foods & Hunting Tools. [17]
• Reconstructed bone flutes, sound sample and playing instructions. [18]
• A wiki dedicated to the scientific study of the diversity of foraging societies without
recreating myths [19]
• Balmer, Yves (2003–2009). "Ethnological videos clips. Living or recently extinct
traditional tribal groups and their origins. [20]". Andaman Association. http:/ / www.
andaman-video. org.
Hunter- gatherer 56
References
[1] Traditional Peoples Today: Continuity and Change in the Modern World by Göran Burenhult
[2] The Last Rain Forests: A World Conservation Atlas by David Attenborough, Mark Collins
[3] Diamond, Jared. (1998). Guns, Germs and Steel. London: Vintage. ISBN 0-09-930278-0.
[4] African Bushmen Tour U.S. to Fund Fight for Land (http:/ / news. nationalgeographic. com/ news/ 2004/ 09/
0914_040914_labushmen_2. html)
[5] John Gowdy (1998). Limited Wants, Unlimited Means: A reader on Hunter-Gatherer Economics and the
Environment. St Louis: Island Press. pp. 342. ISBN 155963555X.
[6] Dahlberg, Frances. (1975). Woman the Gatherer (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=eTPULzP1MZAC&
pg=PA120& dq=Gathering+ and+ Hominid+ Adaptation& sig=f2ulfIDfAvoqEcolNjz6MTIrM84#PPA126,M1).
London: Yale university press. ISBN 0-30-02989-6. .
[7] Erdal, D. & Whiten, A. (1996) "Egalitarianism and Machiavellian Intelligence in Human Evolution" in Mellars,
P. & Gibson, K. (eds) Modelling the Early Human Mind. Cambridge MacDonald Monograph Series
[8] Thomas M. Kiefer (Spring 2002). " Anthropology E-20 (http:/ / www. suluarchipelago. com/ E20Website2002/
default. htm)". Lecture 8 Subsistence, Ecology and Food production. Harvard University. . Retrieved on
2008-03-11.
[9] Biesele, Megan; Barclay, Steve (March 2001), "Ju/’Hoan Women’s Tracking Knowledge And Its Contribution To
Their Husbands’ Hunting Success", African Study Monographs Suppl.26: 67–84
[10] Stefan Lovgren. " Sex-Based Roles Gave Modern Humans an Edge, Study Says (http:/ / news.
nationalgeographic. com/ news/ 2006/ 12/ 061207-sex-humans. html)". National Geographic News. . Retrieved
on 2008-02-03.
[11] Kelly, Robert L. (1995). The Foraging Spectrum: Diversity in Hunter-Gatherer Life ways. Washington:
Smithsonian Institution. ISBN 1-56098-465-1.
[12] Portera, Claire C.; Marlowe, Frank W. (January 2007). " How marginal are forager habitats? (http:/ / www.
anthro. fsu. edu/ people/ faculty/ marlowe_pubs/ how marginal are forager habitats. pdf)" (PDF). Journal of
Archaeological Science 34 (1): 59–68. doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2006.03.014 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1016/ j. jas. 2006.
03. 014). .
[13] Lee, Richard B. & Daly, Richard, eds., ed (1999). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Hunters and Gatherers.
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-60919-4.
[14] Kelly, Raymond (October 2005). "The evolution of lethal intergroup violence". PNAS 102: 15294. doi:
10.1073/pnas.0505955102 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1073/ pnas. 0505955102). PMID 16129826.
[15] Wilmsen, Edwin (1989). Land Filled With Flies: A Political Economy of the Kalahari. University Of Chicago
Press. ISBN 0-226-90015-0.
[16] http:/ / www. pygmies. info/
[17] http:/ / www. naturessecretlarder. co. uk
[18] http:/ / www. ancientinstruments. co. uk
[19] http:/ / foragers. wikidot. com/ start
[20] http:/ / www. andaman-video. org
Original affluent society 57
Overview
The basis of Sahlins’ argument is that hunter-gatherer societies are able to achieve
affluence by desiring little and meeting those needs/desires with what is available to them.
This he calls the "Zen road to affluence, which states that human material wants are finite
and few, and technical means unchanging but on the whole adequate" (Sahlins, Original).
This he compares to the western way towards affluence, which he terms as the
"Galbraithean way" where "man’s wants are great, not to say infinite, whereas his means
are limited..." and "the gap between means and ends can eventually be narrowed by
industrial productivity" (Sahlins, Man, 86). Thus Sahlins argues that hunter-gatherer and
western societies take separate roads to affluence, the former by desiring little, the latter
by producing much (85). Through this comparison Sahlins also stresses that
hunter-gatherer societies cannot be examined through an ethnocentric framework when
measuring their affluence. For example, one cannot apply the general principles of
economics (principles which reflect western values and emphasize surplus) to
hunter-gatherers nor should one believe that the → Neolithic Revolution brought
unquestioned progress.
By stepping away from western notions of affluence, the theory of the original affluent
society thus dispels notions about hunter-gatherer societies that were popular at the time of
the symposium. Sahlins states that hunter-gatherers have a "marvellously varied diet"
(Sahlins, Original) based on the abundance of the local flora and fauna. This demonstrates
that hunter-gatherers do not exist on a mere subsistence economy but rather live amongst
plenty. Through thorough knowledge of their environment hunter-gatherers are able to
change what foreigners may deem as meagre and unreliable natural resources into rich
subsistence resources. Through this they are able to effectively and efficiently provide for
themselves and minimize the amount of time spent procuring food. "[T]he food quest is so
successful that half the time the people do not know what to do with themselves" (Sahlins,
Original). Hunter-gatherers also experience "affluence without abundance" (Sahlins,
Original) as they simply meet their required ends and do not require surplus nor material
possessions (as these would be a hindrance to their nomadic lifestyle). The lack of surplus
Original affluent society 58
also demonstrates that they trust their environment will continuously provide for them. By
foraging only for their immediate needs amongst plentiful resources, hunter-gatherers are
able to increase the amount of leisure time available to them. Thus, despite living in what
western society deems to be material poverty, hunter-gatherer societies work less than
people practicing other modes of subsistence while still providing for all their needs, and
therefore increase their amount of leisure time. These are the reasons why the original
affluent society is that of the hunter-gatherer (Sahlins, Affluent).
Through his thesis on the affluent society, Sahlins deconstructed the then popular notions
that hunter-gatherers are primitive and constantly working hard to ward off starvation.
However, one must take into consideration that there has been much progress in this field
since 1966 and that ideas on the category of hunter-gatherer are always shifting, with new
paradigms continuously emerging (Barnard, 210). One must also acknowledge that one
cannot generalize about hunter-gatherer societies. Although they have been pushed to the
margins of society, there are still many such societies in the world and they differ greatly
from each other.
Criticisms
(Bird-David, 1992:26). Hence, it is claimed that the society studied is far from "purely"
hunter-gatherer.
See also
• → Marshall Sahlins
• → Hunter-gatherer
• → Richard Borshay Lee
• The Affluent Society
References
• Barnard, A. (1983). "Contemporary Hunter-Gatherers: Current Theoretical Issues in
Ecology and Social Organization", Annual Review of Anthropology 12 pp.193-214.
• Bird-David, N. (1992), “Beyond the Original Affluent Society: A Culturalist Reformation”,
Current Anthropology 33(1) pp.25-47.
• Kaplan, D. (2000), “The Darker Side of the Original Affluent Society”, Journal of
Anthropological Research 56(3) pp.301-324.
• Lee, R. B. (1965). Subsistence Ecology of !Kung Bushmen. PhD Dissertation, * University
of California, Berkeley.
• Lee, R. B. (1979). The !Kung San: Men, Women and Work in a Foraging Society.
(Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press).
• Sahlins, M. (1968). "Notes on the Original Affluent Society", Man the Hunter. R.B. Lee
and I. DeVore (New York: Aldine Publishing Company) pp.85-89.
• Sahlins, M. (2005). The Original Affluent Society [1] [Online] in M. Sahlins, Stone Age
Economics
References
[1] http:/ / www. eco-action. org/ dt/ affluent. html
Sustainability 60
Sustainability
Sustainability, in a broad sense, is the capacity to endure. In ecology the word describes
how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. For humans it is the
potential for long-term improvements in wellbeing, which in turn depend on the wellbeing
of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources.
Sustainability has become a wide-ranging term that can be applied to almost every facet of
life on Earth, from a local to a global scale and over various time periods. Long-lived and
healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems. Invisible
chemical cycles redistribute water, oxygen, nitrogen and carbon through the world's living
and non-living systems, and have sustained life for millions of years. As the earth’s human
population has increased, natural ecosystems have declined and changes in the balance of
natural cycles has had a negative impact on both humans and other living systems.
There is now abundant scientific evidence that humanity is living unsustainably. Returning
human use of natural resources to within sustainable limits will require a major collective
effort. Since the 1980s, human sustainability has implied the integration of economic, social
and environmental spheres to: “meet the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”[2]
Efforts to live more sustainably can take many forms from reorganising living conditions
(e.g., ecovillages, eco-municipalities and sustainable cities), reappraising economic sectors
(green building, sustainable agriculture), or work practices (sustainable architecture),
using science to develop new technologies (green technologies, renewable energy), to
adjustments in individual lifestyles.
Sustainability 61
Definition
Although the definition of sustainable
development (above), given by the
Brundtland Commission, is frequently
quoted,[4] it is not universally accepted and
has undergone various interpretations.[5] [6]
Definitions of sustainability may be
expressed as statements of fact, intent, or
value with sustainability treated as either a
"journey" or "destination."[7] Where we are
now, where we need to be going, and how
we are to get there are all open to
interpretation[8] and will depend on the
particular context under consideration.[9] The three pillars of sustainability. Adams, W.M.
(2006). "The Future of Sustainability: Re-thinking
What can meaningfully be described as
Environment and Development in the Twenty-first
sustainable will depend on the scale of Century." Report of the IUCN Renowned Thinkers
space and time that is appropriate to the Meeting, 29–31 January, 2006. Retrieved on:
item under consideration. For example, if 2009-02-16.
it is a part."[22] For this reason a second diagram shows economy as a component of society,
both bounded by, and dependent upon, the environment. As the American World Bank
ecological economist Herman Daly famously asked, "what use is a sawmill without a
forest?"[23] The concept of living within environmental constraints underpins the IUCN,
UNEP and WWF definition of sustainability: "improving the quality of human life while
living within the carrying capacity of supporting eco-systems."[24]
The Earth Charter goes beyond defining what sustainability is, and seeks to establish the
values and direction needed to achieve it: "We must join together to bring forth a
sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic
justice, and a culture of peace. Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of
Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to
future generations."[25]
The next section traces the evolution of thinking about sustainability in human history.
History
Early civilizations
In early human history, although the energy and other resource demands of nomadic
hunter-gatherers was small, the use of fire and desire for specific foods may have altered
the natural composition of plant and animal communities.[26] Between 8,000 and 10,000
years ago, agriculture emerged in various regions of the world.[27] Agrarian communities
depended largely on their environment and the creation of a "structure of permanence."[28]
Societies outgrowing their local food supply or depleting critical resources either moved on
or faced collapse.
Archeological evidence suggests that the first
civilizations arose in Sumer, in southern
Mesopotamia (now Iraq) and Egypt, both dating
from around 3000 BCE. By 1000 BCE, civilizations
were also established in India, China, Mexico, Peru
and in parts of Europe.[29] [30] Sumer illustrates
issues central to the sustainability of human
civilization.[31] Sumerian cities practised intensive,
year-round agriculture from ca. 5300 BCE. The
surplus of storable food created by this economy
Sumerian harvester's sickle, 3000 BC,
allowed the population to settle in one place instead
made from baked clay.
of migrating in search of wild foods and grazing
land. It also allowed for a much greater population
density. The development of agriculture in Mesopotamia required many labourers to build
and maintain its irrigation system. This, in turn, led to political hierarchy, bureaucracy, and
religious sanction, along with standing armies to protect the emergent civilization.
Intensified agriculture allowed for population increase, but also led to deforestation in
upstream areas with resultant flooding and over-irrigation, which raised soil salinity. While
there was a shift from the cultivation of wheat to the more salt-tolerant barley, yields still
diminished. Eventually, decreasing agricultural production and other factors led to the
decline of the civilization. From 2100 BC to 1700 BC, it is estimated that the population was
reduced by nearly sixty percent.[31] [32] Civilizations similarly thought to have eventually
Sustainability 63
fallen because of poor management of resources include the Mayans, Anasazi and Easter
Islanders, among many others.[33] [34] In contrast, stable communities of shifting cultivators
and horticulturists existed in New Guinea and South America, and large agrarian
communities in China, India and elsewhere have farmed in the same localities for centuries.
Polynesian cultures have maintained stable communities for between 1,000 and 3,000 years
on small islands with minimal resources using rahui[35] and kaitiakitanga[36] to control
human pressure on the environment.
Concerns about the environmental and social impacts of industry were expressed by some
Enlightenment political economists and through the Romantic movement of the 1800s.
Overpopulation was discussed in an essay by → Thomas Malthus (see Malthusian
catastrophe), while John Stuart Mill foresaw the desirability of a "stationary state"
economy, thus anticipating concerns of the modern discipline of ecological economics.[39]
[40] [41]
In the late 19th century Eugenius Warming was the first botanist to study
physiological relations between plants and their environment, heralding the scientific
discipline of ecology.[42]
→ Peak oil
Related articles
Environmental problems were now becoming global in scale.[49] [50] [51] [52] The 1973 and
1979 energy crises demonstrated the extent to which the global community had become
dependent on a nonrenewable resource; President Carter in his State of the Union Address
called on Americans to "Conserve energy. Eliminate waste. Make 1980 indeed a year of
energy conservation."[53] While the developed world was considering the problems of
unchecked development the developing countries, faced with continued poverty and
deprivation, regarded development as essential to raise the living standards of their
peoples.[54] In 1980 the International Union for Conservation of Nature had published its
influential World Conservation Strategy,[24] followed in 1982 by its World Charter for
Nature,[55] which drew attention to the decline of the world’s ecosystems.
Sustainability 65
Renewable energy
Biofuel
Biomass
Geothermal
Hydropower
Solar power
Tidal power
Wave power
Wind power
Through the work of climate scientists in the IPCC there is increasing global awareness of
the threat posed by the human-induced enhanced greenhouse effect, produced largely by
forest clearing and the burning of fossil fuels.[59] [60] In March 2009 the Copenhagen
Climate Council, an international team of leading climate scientists, issued a strongly
worded statement: "The climate system is already moving beyond the patterns of natural
variability within which our society and economy have developed and thrived. These
parameters include global mean surface temperature, sea-level rise, ocean and ice sheet
dynamics, ocean acidification, and extreme climatic events. There is a significant risk that
many of the trends will accelerate, leading to an increasing risk of abrupt or irreversible
Sustainability 66
climatic shifts."[61]
Ecological economics now seeks to bridge the gap between ecology and traditional
neoclassical economics.[62] [63] : it provides an inclusive and ethical economic model for
society. A plethora of new concepts to help implement and measure sustainability are
becoming more widely accepted including: the Car-free movement, Smart Growth (more
sustainable urban environments), Life Cycle Assessment (the Cradle to Cradle analysis of
resource use and environmental impact over the life cycle of a product or process),
Ecological Footprint Analysis, green building, dematerialization (increased recycling of
materials), decarbonisation (removing dependence on fossil fuels) and much more.
The work of Bina Agarwal and → Vandana Shiva amongst many others, has brought some of
the cultural wisdom of traditional, sustainable agrarian societies into the academic
discourse on sustainability, and also blended that with modern scientific principles.[64] In
2009 the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States determined that
greenhouse gases "endanger public health and welfare" of the American people by
contributing to climate change and causing more heat waves, droughts and flooding, and
threatening food and water supplies.[65] Rapidly advancing technologies now provide the
means to achieve a transition of economies, energy generation, water and waste
management, and food production towards sustainable practices using methods of systems
ecology and industrial ecology.[66] [67]
Global goals
At the global level a number of key goals have been isolated:
Population
According to the 2008
Revision of the official United
Nations population estimates
and projections, the world
population is projected to
reach 7 billion early in 2012,
up from the current 6.9 billion
(May 2009), to exceed 9 billion
people by 2050. Most of the
increase will be in developing
Graph showing human population growth from 10,000 BC – AD 2000, countries whose population is
illustrating current exponential growth. projected to rise from 5.6
billion in 2009 to 7.9 billion in
2050. This increase will be distributed among the population aged 15–59 (1.2 billion) and
60 or over (1.1 billion) because the number of children under age 15 in developing
countries will decrease. In contrast, the population of the more developed regions is
expected to undergo only slight increase from 1.23 billion to 1.28 billion, and this would
have declined to 1.15 billion but for a projected net migration from developing to developed
countries, which is expected to average 2.4 million persons annually from 2009 to 2050.[77]
Long-term estimates of global population suggest a peak at around 2070 of nine to ten
billion people, and then a slow decrease to 8.4 billion by 2100.[78]
Emerging economies like those of China and India aspire to the living standards of the
Western world as does the non-industrialized world in general. It is the combination of
population increase in the developing world and unsustainable consumption levels in the
developed world that poses a stark challenge to sustainability.[79]
Phosphorus cycle
Water cycle
Nitrogen cycle Carbon cycle Oxygen cycle
Sustainability 69
Measurement
Sustainability measurement
To survive on planet Earth humans must live within its measurable biophysical
constraints.[82] By establishing quantitative measures for sustainability it is possible to set
goals, apply management strategies, and measure progress. The Natural Step (TNS)
framework developed by Karl-Henrik Robèrt examines sustainability and resource use from
its thermodynamic foundations to determine how humans use and apportion natural capital
in a way that is sustainable and just. The TNS framework's system conditions of
sustainability provide a means for the scientifically-based measurement of sustainability.[83]
Natural capital includes resources from the earth's crust (i.e., minerals, oil), those produced
by humans (synthetic substances), and those of the biosphere. Equitable access to natural
capital is also a component of sustainability.[83] The energy generated in use of
resources—referred to as exergy[84] —can be measured as the embodied energy of a
product or service over its life cycle. Its analysis, using methods such as Life Cycle Analysis
or Ecological Footprint analysis provide basic indicators of sustainability on various
scales.[85]
There is now a vast number of sustainability indicators,[86] metrics, benchmarks, indices,
reporting procedures, audits and more. They include environmental, social and economic
measures separately or together over many scales and contexts. Environmental factors are
integrated with economics through ecological economics, resource economics and
thermoeconomics, and social factors through metrics like the Happy Planet Index which
measures the well-being of people in the nations of the world while taking into account
their environmental impact.[87] [88] Some of the best known and most widely used
sustainability measures are listed in the side bar, they include corporate sustainability
reporting, Triple Bottom Line accounting, and estimates of the quality of sustainability
governance for individual countries using the Environmental Sustainability Index and
Environmental Performance Index.
Sustainability 70
Human sustainability
Is humanity living within the
carrying capacity of the planet
– are humans living sustainably
on planet Earth? The
Ecological footprint measures
human consumption in terms of
the biologically productive land
needed to provide the
resources, and absorb the
wastes of the average global
citizen. In 2008 it required 2.7
global hectares per person,
30% more than the natural Ecological footprint for different nations compared to their HDI.
biological capacity of 2.1 global
hectares (assuming no provision for other organisms).[50] The resulting ecological deficit
must be met from unsustainable extra sources and these are obtained in three ways:
embedded in the goods and services of world trade; taken from the past (e.g. fossil fuels);
or borrowed from the future as unsustainable resource usage (e.g. by over exploiting
forests and fisheries).
The figure (right) indicates the sustainability of a range of countries in terms of the
Ecological Footprint compared to the UN Human Development Index (a measure of
standard of living): it shows what is necessary for countries to maintain an acceptable
standard of living for their citizens while, at the same time, living at a globally sustainable
level. The general trend is for higher standards of living to become less sustainable. As
always population growth has a marked influence on levels of consumption and the
efficiency of resource use.[89] At present Cuba is the best example in this category.[90] The
sustainability goal is to raise the global standard of living without increasing the use of
resources beyond globally sustainable levels; that is, to not exceed "one planet"
consumption. A wealth of information generated by reports at the national, regional and
city scales confirm the global trend towards societies that are becoming less sustainable
over time.[91] [92]
Sustainability 71
Environmental dimension
Healthy ecosystems provide vital goods and services to humans and other organisms. There
are two major ways of reducing negative human impact and enhancing ecosystem services:
a) Environmental management. This direct approach is based largely on information
gained from earth science, environmental science and conservation biology.
However, this is management at the end of a long series of indirect causal factors that are
initiated by human consumption, so a second approach is through demand management of
human resource use.
b) Management of human consumption of resources, an indirect approach based
largely on information gained from economics. Herman Daly has suggested three
broad criteria for ecological sustainability: renewable resources should provide a
sustainable yield (the rate of harvest should not exceed the rate of regeneration); for
non-renewable resources there should be equivalent development of renewable
substitutes; waste generation should not exceed the assimilative capacity of the
environment. [94]
Sustainability 72
Environmental management
At the global scale and in the broadest sense environmental management involves the
oceans, freshwater systems, land and atmosphere, but following the sustainability principle
of scale it can be equally applied to any ecosystem from a tropical rainforest to a home
garden.[95]
In March 2009 at a meeting of the Copenhagen Climate Council 2,500 climate experts from
80 countries issued a keynote statement that there is now "no excuse" for failing to act on
global warming and that without strong carbon reduction targets "abrupt or irreversible"
shifts in climate may occur that "will be very difficult for contemporary societies to cope
with".[96] [97] Management of the global atmosphere now involves assessment of all aspects
of the carbon cycle to identify opportunities to address human-induced climate change and
this has become a major focus of scientific research because of the potential catastrophic
effects on biodiversity and human communities (see Energy below).
Other human impacts on the atmosphere include the air pollution in cities, the pollutants
including toxic chemicals like nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides, volatile organic compounds
and particulate matter that produce photochemical smog and acid rain, and the
chlorofluorocarbons that degrade the ozone layer. Anthropogenic particulates such as
sulphate aerosols in the atmosphere reduce the direct irradiance and reflectance (albedo)
of the Earth's surface. Known as global dimming the decrease is estimated to have been
about 4% between 1960 and 1990 although the trend has subsequently reversed. Global
dimming may have disturbed the global water cycle by reducing evaporation and rainfall in
some areas. It also creates a cooling effect and this may have partially masked the effect of
greenhouse gases on global warming.[98]
Oceans
Sustainability 73
Freshwater
Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface . Of this, 97.5% is the salty water of the oceans
and only 2.5% freshwater, most of which is locked up in the Antarctic ice sheet. The
remaining freshwater is found in lakes, rivers, wetlands, the soil, aquifers and atmosphere.
All life depends on the solar-powered global water cycle, the evaporation from oceans and
land to form water vapour that later condenses from clouds as rain, which then becomes
the renewable part of the freshwater supply.[103] Awareness of the global importance of
preserving water for ecosystem services has only recently emerged as, during the 20th
century, more than half the world’s wetlands have been lost along with their valuable
environmental services. Biodiversity-rich freshwater ecosystems are currently declining
faster than marine or land ecosystems [104] making them the world's most vulnerable
habitats.[50] Increasing urbanization pollutes clean water supplies and much of the world
still does not have access to clean, safe water.[103] In the industrial world demand
management has slowed absolute usage rates but increasingly water is being transported
over vast distances from water-rich natural areas to population-dense urban areas and
Sustainability 74
energy-hungry desalination is becoming more widely used. Greater emphasis is now being
placed on the improved management of blue (harvestable) and green (soil water available
for plant use) water, and this applies at all scales of water management. [104]
Land
Loss of biodiversity stems largely from the habitat loss and fragmentation produced by the
human appropriation of land for development, forestry and agriculture as natural capital is
progressively converted to man-made capital. Land use change is fundamental to the
operations of the biosphere because alterations in the relative proportions of land dedicated
to urbanisation, agriculture, forest, woodland, grassland and pasture have a marked effect
on the global water, carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles and this can impact
negatively on both natural and human systems.[105] At the local human scale major
sustainability benefits accrue from the pursuit of green cities and sustainable parks and
[106] [107]
gardens.
Forests
Since the Neolithic Revolution about 47% of the world’s forests have been lost to human
use. Present-day forests occupy about a quarter of the world’s ice-free land with about half
of these occurring in the tropics[108] In temperate and boreal regions forest area is
gradually increasing (with the exception of Siberia), but deforestation in the tropics is of
major concern.[109]
Forests moderate the local climate and the global water
cycle through their light reflectance (albedo) and
evapotranspiration. They also conserve biodiversity,
protect water quality, preserve soil and soil quality,
provide fuel and pharmaceuticals, and purify the air.
These free ecosystem services have no market value
and so forest conservation has little appeal when
compared with the economic benefits of logging and
clearance which, through soil degradation and organic
decomposition returns carbon dioxide to the
[110]
atmosphere. The United Nations Food and
Beech Forest – Grib Skov, Denmark
Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that about
90% of the carbon stored in land vegetation is locked
up in trees and that they sequester about 50% more carbon than is present in the
atmosphere. Changes in land use currently contribute about 20% of total global carbon
emissions (heavily logged Indonesia and Brazil are a major source of emissions).[110]
Climate change can be mitigated by sequestering carbon in reafforestation schemes,
plantations and timber products. Also wood biomass can be utilized as a renewable
carbon-neutral fuel. The FAO has suggested that, over the period 2005–2050, effective use
of tree planting could absorb about 10–20% of man-made emissions – so monitoring the
condition of the world's forests must be part of a global strategy to mitigate emissions and
protect ecosystem services.[111] However, climate change may pre-empt this FAO scenario
as a study by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations in 2009 concluded
that the stress of a 2.5C (4.5F) temperature rise above pre-industrial levels could result in
the release of vast amounts of carbon[112] so the potential of forests to act as carbon "sinks"
is "at risk of being lost entirely".[113]
Sustainability 75
Cultivated land
Feeding more than six billion human bodies takes a heavy toll on
the Earth’s resources. This begins with the appropriation of
about 38% of the Earth’s land surface[114] and about 20% of its
net primary productivity.[115] Added to this are the
resource-hungry activities of industrial agribusiness – everything
from the crop need for irrigation water, synthetic fertilizers and
pesticides to the resource costs of food packaging, transport
(now a major part of global trade) and retail. Food is essential to
Rice paddy
life. But the list of environmental costs of food production is a
long one: topsoil depletion, erosion and conversion to desert
from constant tillage of annual crops; overgrazing; salinization; sodification; waterlogging;
high levels of fossil fuel use; reliance on inorganic fertilisers and synthetic organic
pesticides; reductions in genetic diversity by the mass use of monocultures; water resource
depletion; pollution of waterbodies by run-off and groundwater contamination; social
problems including the decline of family farms and weakening of rural communities.[116]
All of these environmental problems associated with industrial agriculture and agribusiness
are now being addressed through such movements as sustainable agriculture, organic
farming and more sustainable business practices.[117]
Extinctions
The 2008 IUCN Red List warns that long-term droughts and extreme weather put additional
stress on key habitats and, for example, lists 1,226 bird species as threatened with
extinction, which is one-in-eight of all bird species.[121] [122] The Red List Index also
identifies 44 tree species in Central Asia as under threat of extinction due to
over-exploitation and human development and threatening the region's forests which are
home to more than 300 wild ancestors of modern domesticated fruit and nut cultivars.[123]
Sustainability 76
Biological invasions
Water security and food security are inextricably linked. In the decade 1951-60 human
water withdrawals were four times greater than the previous decade. This rapid increase
resulted from scientific and technological developments impacting through the economy -
especially the increase in irrigated land, growth in industrial and power sectors, and
intensive dam construction on all continents. This altered the water cycle of rivers and
lakes, affected their water quality and had a significant impact on the global water
cycle.[132] Currently towards 35% of human water use is unsustainable, drawing on
diminishing aquifers and reducing the flows of major rivers: this percentage is likely to
increase if climate change worsens, populations increase, aquifers become progressively
depleted and supplies become polluted and unsanitary.[133] From 1961 to 2001 water
Sustainability 78
demand doubled - agricultural use increased by 75%, industrial use by more than 200%,
and domestic use more than 400%.[134] Humans currently use 40-50% of the globally
available freshwater in the approximate proportion of 70% for agriculture, 22% for
industry, and 8% for domestic purposes and the total volume is progressively
[132]
increasing.
Water efficiency is being improved on a global scale by increased demand management,
improved infrastructure, improved water productivity of agriculture, minimising the water
intensity (embodied water) of goods and services, addressing shortages in the
non-industrialised world, concentrating food production in areas of high productivity; and
planning for climate change. At the local level people are becoming more
water-self-sufficient by harvesting rainwater and reducing use of mains water. [104] [135]
Food
The American Public Health Association (APHA) defines a "sustainable food system"[136]
[137]
as "one that provides healthy food to meet current food needs while maintaining
healthy ecosystems that can also provide food for generations to come with minimal
negative impact to the environment. A sustainable food system also encourages local
production and distribution infrastructures and makes nutritious food available, accessible,
and affordable to all. Further, it is humane and just, protecting farmers and other workers,
consumers, and communities."[138] Concerns about the environmental impacts of
agribusiness and the stark contrast between the obesity problems of the Western world and
the poverty and food insecurity of the developing world have generated a strong movement
towards healthy, sustainable eating as a major component of overall ethical
consumerism.[139] The environmental effects of different dietary patterns depend on many
factors, including the proportion of animal and plant foods consumed and the method of
food production.[140] [141] [142] [143] The World Health Organization has published a Global
Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health which was endorsed by the May 2004 World
Health Assembly. It recommends the Mediterranean diet which is associated with health
and longevity and is low in meat, rich in fruits and vegetables, low in added sugar and
limited salt, and low in saturated fatty acids; the traditional source of fat in the
Mediterranean is olive oil, rich in monounsaturated fat. The healthy rice-based Japanese
diet is also high in carbohydrates and low in fat. Both diets are low in meat and saturated
fats and high in legumes and other vegetables; they are associated with a low incidence of
Sustainability 79
Materials
Sustainable use of materials has targeted the idea of dematerialization, converting the
linear path of materials (extraction, use, disposal in landfill) to a circular material flow that
reuses materials as much as possible, much like the cycling and reuse of waste in
nature.[148] This approach is supported by product stewardship and the increasing use of
material flow analysis at all levels, especially individual countries and the global
economy.[149]
Toxic substances
Synthetic chemical production has escalated following the stimulus it received during the
second World War. Chemical production includes everything from herbicides, pesticides
and fertilizers to domestic chemicals and hazardous substances.[150] Apart from the
build-up of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, chemicals of particular concern
include: heavy metals, nuclear waste, chlorofluorocarbons, persistent organic pollutants
and all harmful chemicals capable of bioaccumulation. Although most synthetic chemicals
are harmless there there needs to be rigorous testing of new chemicals, in all countries, for
adverse environmental and health effects. International legislation has been established to
deal with the global distribution and management of dangerous goods.[151] [152]
Sustainability 80
Waste
Every economic activity produces material that can
be classified as waste. The average human uses
45-85 tonnes of materials each year.[147] To reduce
waste industry, business and government are now
mimicing nature by turning the waste produced by
industrial metabolism into resource.
Dematerialization is being encouraged through the The waste hierarchy
[153]
ideas of industrial ecology, ecodesign and
ecolabelling (see side bar). In addition to the well-established “reduce, reuse and recycle”
shoppers are using their purchasing power for ethical consumerism.[154]
Economic dimension
Sustainability interfaces with
economics through the social and
ecological consequences of
economic activity.[155]
Sustainability economics
represents: "... a broad
interpretation of ecological
economics where environmental
and ecological variables and issues
are basic but part of a
multidimensional perspective.
Social, cultural, health-related and
The Great Fish Market, painted by Jan Brueghel the Elder monetary/financial aspects have to
be integrated into the
[156]
analysis." At present the average per capita consumption of people in the developing
world is sustainable but population numbers are increasing and individuals are aspiring to
high consumption Western lifestyles. The developed world population is only increasing
slightly but consumption levels are unsustainable. The challenge for sustainability is to curb
and manage Western consumption while raising the standard of living of the developing
world without increasing its resource use and environmental impact. This must be done by
using strategies and technology that break the link between, on the one hand, economic
growth and on the other, environmental damage and resource depletion.[157]
In addressing this issue several key areas have been targeted for economic analysis and
reform: the environmental effects of unconstrained economic growth; the consequences of
nature being treated as an economic externality; and the possibility of a more ethical
economics that takes greater account of the social and environmental consequences of
market behaviour.[158]
Sustainability 81
The economic importance of nature is indicated by the use of the expression ecosystem
services to highlight the market relevance of an increasingly scarce natural world that can
no longer be regarded as both unlimited and free.[170] In general as a commodity or service
becomes more scarce the price increases and this acts as a restraint that encourages
frugality, technical innovation and alternative products. However, this only applies when
the product or service falls within the market system.[171] As ecosystem services are
generally treated as economic externalities they are unpriced and therefore overused and
degraded, a situation sometimes referred to as the Tragedy of the Commons.[170]
Part of the business of protecting the biological world has been the "internalisation" of
these "externalities" using market strategies like ecotaxes and incentives, tradeable permits
for carbon, water and nitrogen use etc., and an increasing willingness to accept payment
for ecosystem services. Green economics encourages alternatives to free market capitalism
Sustainability 82
by supporting a gift economy, local currencies, Local Exchange Trading Systems and other
methods (see side bar).[172]
Economic opportunity
Treating the environment as an externality may generate short-term profit at the expense of
sustainability.[173] Sustainable business practices, on the other hand, integrate ecological
concerns with social and economic ones (i.e., the triple bottom line).[174] Growth that
depletes ecosystem services is sometimes termed "uneconomic growth" as it leads to a
decline in quality of life.[175] [176] Minimising such growth can provide opportunities for
local businesses. For example, industrial waste can be treated as an "economic resource in
the wrong place". The benefits of waste reduction include savings from disposal costs,
fewer environmental penalties, and reduced liability insurance. This may lead to increased
market share due to an improved public image.[177] Energy efficiency can also increase
profits by reducing costs.
The idea of sustainability as a business opportunity has led to the formation of
organizations such as the Sustainability Consortium of the Society for Organizational
Learning, the Sustainable Business Institute, and the World Council for Sustainable
Development.[178] The expansion of sustainable business opportunities can contribute to job
creation through the introduction of green-collar workers.[179]
Social dimension
Sustainability issues are generally expressed in scientific and environmental terms, but
implementing change is a social challenge that entails, among other things, international
and national law, urban planning and transport, local and individual lifestyles and ethical
consumerism.[180] "The relationship between human rights and human development,
corporate power and environmental justice, global poverty and citizen action, suggest that
responsible global citizenship is an inescapable element of what may at first glance seem to
be simply matters of personal consumer and moral choice."[181]
Human settlements
Local sustainability
One approach to sustainable living, exemplified by small-scale urban transition towns and
rural ecovillages, seeks to create self-reliant communities based on principles of → simple
living, which maximise self-sufficiency particularly in food production. These principles, on
a broader scale, underpin the concept of a bioregional economy.[186] Other approaches,
loosely based around new urbanism, are successfully reducing environmental impacts by
altering the built environment to create and preserve sustainable cities which support
sustainable transport. Residents in compact urban neighbourhoods drive fewer miles, and
have significantly lower environmental impacts across a range of measures, compared with
those living in sprawling suburbs.[187]
Ultimately, the degree of human progress towards sustainability will depend on large scale
social movements which influence both community choices and the built environment.
Eco-municipalities may be one such movement.[188] Eco-municipalities take a systems
approach, based on sustainability principles. The eco-municipality movement is
participatory, involving community members in a bottom-up approach. In Sweden, more
than 70 cities and towns — 25 per cent of all municipalities in the country — have adopted
a common set of "Sustainability Principles" and implemented these systematically
throughout their municipal operations. There are now twelve eco-municipalities in the
United States and the American Planning Association has adopted sustainability objectives
based on the same principles.[189]
Sustainability principles
1. Reduce dependence upon fossil fuels,
underground metals, and minerals.
2. Reduce dependence upon synthetic chemicals
and other unnatural substances.
3. Reduce encroachment upon nature.
[189]
4. Meet human needs fairly & efficiently.
Sustainability 84
According to Murray Bookchin, the idea that humans must dominate nature is common in
hierarchical societies. Bookchin contends that capitalism and market relationships, if
unchecked, have the capacity to reduce the planet to a mere resource to be exploited.
Nature is thus treated as a commodity: “The plundering of the human spirit by the market
place is paralleled by the plundering of the earth by capital.” [190] Still more basically,
Bookchin [191] argued that most of the activities - work - that consume energy and destroy
the environment is senseless because it contributes little to quality of life and well being.
It's function is quite other. It is to legitimse, even constitute, hierarchy. Thus understanding
the apparently unstoppable transformation of organic into hierarchical societies is crucial
to finding a way forward. Social ecology, founded by Bookchin, is based on the conviction
that nearly all of humanity's present ecological problems originate in, indeed are mere
symptoms of, dysfunctional social arrangements. Whereas most authors proceed as if our
ecological problems can be fixed by implementing recommendations which stem from
physical, biological, economic etc studies, Bookchin's claim is that these problems can only
be resolved by understanding the underlying social processes and intervening in those
processes by applying the concepts and methods of the social sciences.[192]
→ Deep ecology establishes principles for the well-being of all life on Earth and the richness
and diversity of life forms. This is only compatible with a substantial decrease of the human
population and the end of human interference with the nonhuman world. To achieve this,
deep ecologists advocate policies for basic economic, technological, and ideological
structures that will improve the quality of life rather than the standard of living . Those who
subscribe to these principles are obliged to make the necessary change happen.[193]
Transition
The earth has a finite capacity to provide resources and to
absorb waste, and human demands already exceed that
capacity.[194] Current lifestyles in the developed world, to which
many people in the developing world also aspire, rely on
depleting natural capital and are unsustainable.[195] The United
Nations have stated, in the Millennium Declaration, that
"current unsustainable patterns of production and consumption
must be changed".[196] Yet weight of information and scientific
evidence is often insufficient to produce necessary social
change, especially if that change entails moving people out of
their comfort zones.[197]
See also
• Agroecology
• Applied Sustainability
• Conservation biology
• Conservation ethic
• Conservation movement
• Conservation reliant species
• centre for Appropriate Rural Technology
• Energy and Environment
• Energetics
• Environmental movement
• Environmental protection
• Ecology movement
• Habitat conservation
• List of sustainability principles
• Natural resource
• Social sustainability
• Timeline of environmental events
• Water conservation
• World Forestry Congress
• Zero carbon city
Sustainability 86
Further reading
Books
• Atkinson, G., Dietz, S. & Neumayer, E. (2007). Handbook of Sustainable Development.
Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. ISBN 9781843765776.
• Benyus, J. (1997). Biomimicry: Innovations Inspired by Nature. New York: William
Morrow. ISBN 0060533226.
• Blackburn, W.R. (2007). The Sustainability Handbook. London: Earthscan. ISBN
9781844074952.
• Bookchin, M. (2005). The Ecology of Freedom: the Emergence and Dissolution of
Hierarchy. Oakland, CA.: AK Press. ISBN 9781904859260.
• Brundtland, G.H. (ed.), (1987). Our Common Future: The World Commission on
Environment and Development, Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 019282080X.
• Costanza, R., Graumlich, L.J. & Steffen, W. (eds), (2007). Sustainability or Collapse? An
Integrated History and Future of People on Earth. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press. ISBN
9780262033664.
• Cothran, H. (ed.). (2003). Global Resources: Opposing Viewpoints. New York:
Greenhaven Press. ISBN 1565106733.
• Daly, H. (1996). Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development. Boston:
Beacon Press. ISBN 0807047090
• Daly, H. & Cobb, J. (1989). For the Common Good: Redirecting the Economy Toward
Community, the Environment, and a Sustainable Future. Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN
0807047058 Review [209] Retrieved on: 2009-03-12.
• Dodds, W.K. (2008). Humanity’s Footprint: Momentum, Impact, and our Global
Environment. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231139670 .
• Hargroves, K. & Smith, M. (eds.) (2005). The Natural Advantage of Nations: Business
Opportunities, Innovation and Governance in the 21st Century. London:
Earthscan/James&James. ISBN 1844071219. (See the book's online companion here
[210]) Retrieved on: 2009-03-12.
• McDonough, W. & Braungart, M. (2002). Cradle to Cradle. New York: North Point Press.
ISBN 0865475873.
• Norton, B. (2005). Sustainability, A Philosophy of Adaptive Ecosystem Management.
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226595214.
• Richardson, B.J. & Wood, S. (eds) (2006). Environmental Law for Sustainability: a
Reader. Oxford: Hart Publishing. ISBN 9781841135441.
• Robèrt, K-H. (2002). The Natural Step Story: Seeding a Quiet Revolution. Gabriola Island,
BC.: New Society Publishers. ISBN 9780865714533.
• Speth, J.G. (2008). The Bridge at the edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and
Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability. Devon, PA.: Yale University Press. ISBN
9780300151152.
• Steffen, A. (2006). Worldchanging: A User's Guide to the 21st Century. New York:
Abrams. ISBN 9780810930957.
Sustainability 87
External links
• Sustainability [216] at the Open Directory Project
• Elements of sustainability [217] at Microdocs.
• Breaking news in sustainability [218] at Microdocs
• Roadmap for a Sustainable Earth [219] on-line book by Hiroshi Komiyama and Steven
Kraines
• Learning for sustainability [220]
• International Federation of Accountants Sustainability Framework [221]
• Sustainable Food Guidelines [222] published by Sustain: The alliance for better food and
farming (UK)
• Going Green: Sustainable Living Resource Guide [223] by Middletown Thrall Library
• Compilation of Fact Sheets Published by the University of Michigan's Center for
Sustainable Systems [224]
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[224] http:/ / www. css. snre. umich. edu/ facts/ factsheets. html
Peak oil 96
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original logistic model are used, using more complex functions to allow for real world
factors. While each version is applied to a specific domain, the central features of the
Hubbert curve (that production stops rising and then declines) remain unchanged, albeit
with different profiles.
Some observers, such as petroleum industry experts Kenneth S. Deffeyes and Matthew
Simmons, believe the high dependence of most modern industrial transport, agricultural
and industrial systems on the relative low cost and high availability of oil will cause the
post-peak production decline and possible severe increases in the price of oil to have
negative implications for the global economy. Predictions vary greatly as to what exactly
these negative effects would be. If political and economic changes only occur in reaction to
high prices and shortages rather than in reaction to the threat of a peak, then the degree of
economic damage to importing countries will largely depend on how rapidly oil imports
decline post-peak. According to the Export Land Model, oil exports drop much more quickly
than production drops due to domestic consumption increases in exporting countries.
Supply shortfalls would cause extreme price inflation, unless demand is mitigated with
planned conservation measures and use of alternatives.[3]
Optimistic estimations of peak production forecast the global decline will begin by 2020 or
later, and assume major investments in alternatives will occur before a crisis, without
requiring major changes in the lifestyle of heavily oil-consuming nations. These models
show the price of oil at first escalating and then retreating as other types of fuel and energy
sources are used.[4]
Pessimistic predictions of future oil production operate on the thesis that either the peak
has already occurred,[5] [6] [7] we are on the cusp of the peak, or that it will occur shortly[8]
and, as proactive mitigation may no longer be an option, predict a global depression,
perhaps even initiating a chain reaction of the various feedback mechanisms in the global
market which might stimulate a collapse of global industrial civilization, potentially leading
to large population declines within a short period. Throughout the first two quarters of
2008, there were signs that a global recession was being made worse by a series of record
oil prices.[9]
The International Energy Agency estimated in January 2009 that oil demand fell in 2008 by
0.3%, and that it would fall by 0.6% in 2009. Oil consumption had not fallen for two years in
a row since 1982-1983.[22]
The EIA estimated that the United States' demand for petroleum-based transportation fuels
fell 7.1% in 2008, which is "the steepest one-year decline since at least 1950." The agency
stated that gasoline usage in the United States may have peaked in 2007, in part due to
increasing interest in and mandates for use of biofuels and energy efficiency.[23]
Peak oil 99
Population
Another significant factor on petroleum demand has
been human population growth. Oil production per
capita peaked in the 1970s.[24] The United States
Census Bureau predicts that the world’s population in
2030 will be almost double that of 1980.[25] Author Matt
Savinar predicts that oil production in 2030 will have
declined back to 1980 levels as worldwide demand for
oil significantly out-paces production.[26] [27] Physicist World population
One factor that has so far helped ameliorate the effect of population growth on demand is
the decline of population growth rate since the 1970s, although this is offset to a degree by
increasing average longevity in developed nations. In 1970, the population grew at 2.1%.
By 2007, the growth rate had declined to 1.167%.[30] However, oil production is still
outpacing population growth to meet demand. World population grew by 6.2% from 6.07
billion in 2000 to 6.45 billion in 2005,[25] whereas according to BP, global oil production
during that same period increased from 74.9 to 81.1 million barrels (11.91×106 to
12.89×106 m3), or by 8.2%.[31] or according to EIA, from 77.762 to 84.631 million barrels
(12.3632×106 to 13.4553×106 m3), or by 8.8%.[29]
example, has abundant renewable energy resources, but still depends critically on liquid
fuels from petroleum, all of which it must import. If the supply of petroleum should fall
faster than people can learn how to build renewable energy infrastructure using only
renewable inputs, it may not be possible to maintain the intensive agriculture necessary to
support the high global population.
Petroleum Supply
Discoveries
“ All the easy oil and gas in the world has pretty much been found. Now comes the harder ”
work in finding and producing oil from more challenging environments and work areas.
[37]
— William J. Cummings, Exxon-Mobil company spokesman, December 2005
To pump oil, it first needs to be discovered. The peak of world oilfield discoveries occurred
in 1965[38] at around 55 billion barrels(Gb)/year.[39] According to the ASPO, the rate of
discovery has been falling steadily since. Less than 10 Gb/yr of oil were discovered each
year between 2002-2007.[40]
Reserves
Conventional crude oil reserves
include all crude oil that is
technically possible to produce
from reservoirs through a well
bore, using primary, secondary,
improved, enhanced, or tertiary
methods. This does not include
liquids extracted from mined solids
or gasses (oil sands, oil shales,
gas-to-liquid processes, or
coal-to-liquid processes).[41]
In many major producing countries, the majority of reserves claims have not been subject
to outside audit or examination. Most of the easy-to-extract oil has been found.[37] Recent
price increases have led to oil exploration in areas where extraction is much more
expensive, such as in extremely deep wells, extreme downhole temperatures, and
environmentally sensitive areas or where high technology will be required to extract the oil.
A lower rate of discoveries per explorations has led to a shortage of drilling rigs, increases
Peak oil 101
Peak reserves
Reserves in effect peaked in 1980, when production first surpassed new discoveries, though
[6]
creative methods of recalculating reserves has made this difficult to establish exactly.
“ World reserves are confused and in fact inflated. Many of the so-called reserves are in fact ”
resources. They’re not delineated, they’re not accessible, they’re not available for production
— Sadad I. Al Husseini, former VP of Aramco, presentation to the Oil and Money conference,
[7]
October 2007.
Al-Husseini's estimated that 300 billion () of the world’s 1200 billion barrels (190×109 m3)
of proved reserves should be recategorized as speculative resources.[7]
One difficulty in forecasting the date of peak oil is the
opacity surrounding the oil reserves classified as
'proven'. Many worrying signs concerning the depletion
of 'proven reserves' have emerged in recent years.[46]
[47]
This was best exemplified by the 2004 scandal
surrounding the 'evaporation' of 20% of Shell's
reserves.[48]
worth.
• Producer countries are bestowed a stronger international stature
• Governments of consumer countries may seek a means to foster sentiments of security
and stability within their economies and among consumers.
The Energy Watch Group (EWG) 2007 report shows total world Proved (P95) plus Probable
(P50) reserves to be between 854 and 1,255 Gb (30 to 40 years of supply if demand growth
were to stop immediately). Major discrepancies arise from accuracy issues with OPEC's
self-reported numbers. Besides the possibility that these nations have overstated their
reserves for political reasons (during periods of no substantial discoveries), over 70 nations
also follow a practice of not reducing their reserves to account for yearly production. 1,255
Gb is therefore a best-case scenario.[6] Analysts have suggested that OPEC member nations
have economic incentives to exaggerate their reserves, as the OPEC quota system allows
greater output for countries with greater reserves.[43]
Kuwait, for example, was reported by a January 2006 issue of Petroleum Intelligence
Weekly to have only 48 Gb in reserve, of which only 24 were "fully proven." This report was
based on "leaks of confidential documents" from Kuwait, and has not been formally denied
by the Kuwaiti authorities. This leaked document dates back from 2001[49] so the figure
includes oil that have been produced since 2001, roughly 5-6 billion barrels,[17] but
excludes revisions or discoveries made since then. Additionally, the reported 1.5 Gb of oil
burned off by Iraqi soldiers in the first Gulf War[50] are conspicuously missing from Kuwait's
Peak oil 102
figures.
On the other hand investigative journalist Greg Palast argued in 2006 that oil companies
have an interest in making oil look more rare than it is, to justify higher prices.[51] Other
analysts in 2003 argued that oil producing countries understated the extent of their
reserves to drive up the price.[52]
Unconventional sources
A 2003 article in Discover magazine claimed that thermal depolymerization could be used
to manufacture oil indefinitely, out of garbage, sewage, and agricultural waste. The article
claimed that the cost of the process was $15 per barrel.[66] A follow-up article in 2006
stated that the cost was actually $80 per barrel because the feedstock which had previously
been considered as hazardous waste now had market value.[67]
Production
The point in time when peak global oil production
occurs is the measure which defines peak oil. This is
because production capacity is the main limitation of
supply. Therefore, when production decreases, it
becomes the main bottleneck to the petroleum
supply/demand equation.
global supply from 1987 to 2005 were 1.2 million barrels per day (190×103 m3/d)
(1.7%).[68] In 2008, the IEA drastically reduced its prediction of production decline from
3.7% a year to 6.7% a year, based largely on better accounting methods, including actual
research of individual oil field production through out the world.[69]
The IEA's March 2008 Oil Market report showed global supply to be 87.5 mb/d, compared
to 84.3 mb/d in July 2007, a 3.8% increase on that interval. The great bulk of the increase
came in the non-OPEC sector, which now makes up 65% of global production.
Of the largest 21 fields, at least 9 are in decline.[70] In
April, 2006, a Saudi Aramco spokesman admitted that
its mature fields are now declining at a rate of 8% per
year (with a national composite decline of about
2%).[71] This information has been used to argue that
Ghawar, which is the largest oil field in the world and
responsible for approximately half of Saudi Arabia's oil
production over the last 50 years, has peaked.[43] [72]
The world's second largest oil field, the Burgan field in
Kuwait, entered decline in November, 2005.[73]
Mexico announced that its giant Cantarell Field entered depletion in March, 2006,[77] due
to past overproduction. In 2000, PEMEX built the largest nitrogen plant in the world in an
attempt to maintain production through nitrogen injection into the formation,[78] but by
2006, Cantarell was declining at a rate of 13% per year.[79]
OPEC had vowed in 2000 to maintain a production level sufficient to keep oil prices
between $22–28 per barrel, but did not prove possible. In its 2007 annual report, OPEC
projected that it could maintain a production level which would stabilize the price of oil at
around $50–60 per barrel until 2030.[80] On November 18, 2007, with oil above $98 a
barrel, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, a long-time advocate of stabilized oil prices,
announced that his country would not increase production to lower prices.[81] Saudi
Arabia's inability, as the world's largest supplier, to stabilize prices through increased
production during that period suggests that no nation or organization had the spare
production capacity to lower oil prices. The implication is that those major suppliers who
had not yet peaked were operating at or near full capacity.[43]
Commentators have pointed to the Jack 2 deep water test well in the Gulf of Mexico,
announced September 5, 2006,[82] as evidence that there is no imminent peak in global oil
production. According to one estimate, the field could account for up to 11% of US
production within seven years.[83] However, even though oil discoveries are expected after
Peak oil 105
the peak oil of production is reached,[84] the new reserves of oil will be harder to find and
extract. The Jack 2 field, for instance, is more than 20000 feet (6100 m) under the sea floor
in 7000 feet (2100 m) of water, requiring 8.5 kilometers of pipe to reach. Additionally, even
the maximum estimate of 15 billion barrels (2.4×109 m3) represents slightly less than 2
[13]
years of U.S. consumption at present levels.
The increasing investment in harder-to-reach oil is a sign of oil companies' belief in the end
of easy oil.[37] In addition, while it is widely believed that increased oil prices spur an
increase in production, an increasing number of oil industry insiders are now coming to
believe that even with higher prices, oil production is unlikely to increase significantly
beyond its current level. Among the reasons cited are both geological factors as well as
"above ground" factors that are likely to see oil production plateau near its current level.[85]
Recent work points to the difficulty of increasing production even with vastly increased
investment in exploration and production, at least in mature petroleum regions. A 2008
Journal of Energy Security analysis of the energy return on drilling effort in the United
States points to an extremely limited potential to increase production of both gas and
(especially) oil. By looking at the historical response of production to variation in drilling
effort, this analysis showed very little increase of production attributable to increased
drilling. This was due to a tight quantitative relationship of diminishing returns with
increasing drilling effort: as drilling effort increased, the energy obtained per active drill rig
was reduced according to a severely diminishing power law. This fact means that even an
enormous increase of drilling effort is unlikely to lead to significantly increased oil and gas
production in a mature petroleum region like the United States.[86]
Because world population grew faster than oil production, production per capita peaked in
1979 (preceded by a plateau during the period of 1973-1979).[24]
amenable to oil exploration, ExxonMobil is not making nearly the investment in finding new
oil that it did in 1981.[89]
In October 2007, the Energy Watch Group, a German research group founded by MP
Hans-Josef Fell, released a report claiming that oil production peaked in 2006 and will
decline by several percent annually. The authors predict negative economic effects and
social unrest as a result.[6] [104] They state that the IEA production plateau prediction uses
purely economic models which rely on an ability to raise production and discovery rates at
will.[6]
Peak oil 108
Matthew Simmons, Chairman of Simmons & Company International, said on October 26,
2006 that global oil production may have peaked in December 2005, though he cautions
that further monitoring of production is required to determine if a peak has actually
occurred.[105]
At least one oil company, French supermajor Total S.A., has announced plans to shift their
focus to nuclear energy instead of oil and gas. A Total senior vice president explained that
this is because they believe oil production will peak before 2020, and they would like to
diversify their position in the energy markets.[106]
The UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security (ITPOES) reported in late
October 2008 that peak oil is likely to occur by 2013. ITPOES consists of eight companies:
Arup, FirstGroup, Foster + Partners, Scottish and Southern Energy, Solarcentury,
Stagecoach Group, Virgin Group, Yahoo. Their report includes a chapter written by Shell
corporation.[107]
Plateau oil
In 2008, the IEA predicted a plateau by 2020 and a peak by 2030. The report called for a
"global energy revolution" to prepare mitigations by 2020 and avoid "more difficult days"
and large wealth transfers from OECD nations to oil producing nations.[69]
Peak oil 109
No peak oil
The view that oil extraction will never enter a depletion phase is often referred to as
"cornucopian" in ecology and sustainability literature[113] [114] [115]
Abdullah S. Jum'ah, President, Director and CEO of Saudi Aramco states that the world has
adequate reserves of conventional and nonconventional oil sources that will last for more
than a century.[116] [117] As recently as 2008 he pronounced "We have grossly
underestimated mankind’s ability to find new reserves of petroleum, as well as our capacity
to raise recovery rates and tap fields once thought inaccessible or impossible to produce.”
Jum’ah believes that in-place conventional and non-conventional liquid resources may
ultimately total between 13 trillion and 16 trillion barrels and that only a small fraction (1.1
trillion) has been extracted to date.[118]
“ I do not believe the world has to worry about ‘peak oil’ for a very long time. ”
[118]
— Abdullah S. Jum'ah, 2008-01
Economist Michael Lynch says that the Hubbert Peak theory is flawed and that there is no
imminent peak in oil production. He argued in 2004 that production is determined by
demand as well as geology, and that fluctuations in oil supply are due to political and
economic effects as well as the physical processes of exploration, discovery and
production.[119] This idea is echoed by Jad Mouawad, who explains that as oil prices rise,
new extraction technologies become viable, thus expanding the total recoverable oil
Peak oil 110
reserves. This, according to Mouwad, is one explanation of the changes in peak production
estimates.[120]
Leonardo Maugeri, group senior vice president, Corporate Strategies of Eni S.p.A.,
dismissed the peak oil thesis in a 2004 policy position piece in Science as "the current
model of oil doomsters," and based on several flawed assumptions. He characterizes the
peak oil theory as part of a series of "recurring oil panics" which have "driven Western
political circles toward oil imperialism and attempts to assert direct or indirect control over
oil-producing regions". Maugeri claims that the geological structure of the earth has not
been explored thoroughly enough to conclude that the declining trend in discoveries, which
began in the 1960s, will continue. He goes on to claim that complete global oil production,
discovery trends, and geological data are not available globally.[121]
Abiogenesis
The theory that petroleum is derived from biogenic processes is held by the overwhelming
majority of petroleum geologists.[122] Abiogenic theorists however, such as the late
professor of astronomy Thomas Gold at Cornell University, assert that the source of oil may
not be a limited supply of “fossil fuels”, but instead an abiotic process. They theorize that if
abiogenic petroleum sources are found to be abundant, Earth would contain vast reserves
of untapped petroleum.[123] The abiogenic origin hypothesis lacks scientific support, and all
current oil reserves have evidence of biological origin. It also has not been successfully
used in uncovering oil deposits by geologists.[122]
The most important counter arguments to the abiotic theory involve various biomarkers
which have been found in all samples of all the oil and gas accumulations found to date. The
prevailing view among geologists and petroleum engineers is that this evidence "provides
irrefutable proof that 99.99999% of all the oil and gas accumulations found up to now in the
planet earth have a biologic origin." In this process, oil is generated from kerogen by
pyrolysis.[124] While Thomas Gold hypothesized that bacteria exist deep within the Earth's
crust, and are the source of the biomarkers,[125] these bacteria have not been found, the
natural abiogenic formation of high-carbon hydrocarbons has not been demonstrated, and
evidence for the biotic origin of petroleum is abundant.
Other predictions
Methods which have been suggested for mitigating these urban and suburban issues
include the use of non-petroleum vehicles such as electric cars, battery electric vehicles,
transit-oriented development, new trains, new pedestrianism, smart growth, shared space,
urban consolidation and New Urbanism.
Mitigation
To avoid the serious social and economic implications a global decline in oil production
could entail, the Hirsch report emphasized the need to find alternatives at least 10–20 years
before the peak, and to phase out the use of petroleum over that time,[132] similar to the
plan Sweden announced in 2005. Such mitigation could include energy conservation, fuel
substitution, and the use of unconventional oil. Because mitigation can reduce the
consumption of traditional petroleum sources, it can also affect the timing of peak oil and
the shape of the Hubbert curve.
The "Transition town" Movement, started in Ireland and spread internationally by 'The
Transition Handbook' (Rob Hopkins) sees the combination of peak oil and climate change as
an opportunity to restructure society with local resilience and ecological stewardship.[136]
Oil price
In terms of 2007 inflation
adjusted dollars, the price of
oil peaked on 30 June 2008 at
over $143 a barrel. Before this
period, the maximum inflation
adjusted price was the
equivalent of $95–100, in
1980.[152] Crude oil prices in
the last several years have
steadily risen from about $25
a barrel in August 2003 to
over $130 a barrel in May New York Mercantile Exchange prices for West Texas
2008, with the most significant Intermediate 1996 - 2009
increases happening within
the last year. These prices are
well above those which caused
the 1973 and 1979 energy
crises. This has contributed to
fears of an economic recession
similar to that of the early
1980s.[9] One important
Long-term oil prices, 1861-2007 (top line adjusted for inflation).
Peak oil 115
indicator which supported the possibility that the price of oil had begun to have an effect on
economies was that in the United States, gasoline consumption dropped by .5% in the first
two months of 2008,[153] compared to a drop of .4% total in 2007.[154]
However some claim the decline in the US dollar against other significant currencies from
2007 to 2008 is a significant part of oil's price increases from $66 to $130.[155] The dollar
lost approximately 14% of its value against the Euro from May 2007 to May 2008, and the
price of oil rose 96% in the same time period.
Helping to fuel these price increases were reports that petroleum production is at[5] [6] [7]
or near full capacity.[8] [109] [156] In June 2005, OPEC admitted that they would 'struggle' to
pump enough oil to meet pricing pressures for the fourth quarter of that year.[157]
Demand pressures on oil have been strong. Global consumption of oil rose from 30 billion
barrels (4.8×109 m3) in 2004 to 31 billion in 2005. These consumption rates are far above
new discoveries for the period, which had fallen to only eight billion barrels of new oil
reserves in new accumulations in 2004.[158] In 2005, consumption was within 2 million
barrels per day (320×103 m3/d) of production, and at any one time there are about 54 days
of stock in the OECD system plus 37 days in emergency stockpiles.
Besides supply and demand pressures, at times security related factors may have
contributed to increases in prices,[156] including the "War on Terror," missile launches in
North Korea,[159] the Crisis between Israel and Lebanon,[160] nuclear brinkmanship
between the US and Iran,[161] and reports from the U.S. Department of Energy and others
showing a decline in petroleum reserves,[162]
Another factor in oil price is the cost of extracting crude. As the extraction of oil has
become more difficult, oil's historically high ratio of Energy Returned on Energy Invested
has seen a significant decline. The increased price of oil makes unconventional sources of
oil retrieval more attractive. For example, oil sands are actually a reserve of bitumen, a
heavier, lower value oil compared to conventional crude. It only became attractive to
production companies when oil prices exceeded about $25/bbl, high enough to cover the
costs of production and upgrading to synthetic crude.
Some economists predict that a substitution effect will spur demand for alternate energy
sources, such as coal or liquefied natural gas. This substitution can only be temporary, as
coal and natural gas are finite resources as well.
Prior to the run-up in fuel prices, many motorists opted for larger, less fuel-efficient sport
utility vehicles and full-sized pickups in the United States, Canada and other countries. This
trend has been reversing due to sustained high prices of fuel. The September 2005 sales
data for all vehicle vendors indicated SUV sales dropped while small cars sales increased.
Hybrid and diesel vehicles are also gaining in popularity.[165]
In 2008, a report by Cambridge Energy Research Associates stated that 2007 had been the
year of peak gasoline usage in the United States, and that record energy levels would cause
an "enduring shift" in energy consumption practices.[166] According to the report, in April
gas consumption had been lower than a year before for the sixth straight month, suggesting
2008 would be the first year US gasoline usage declined in 17 years. The total miles driven
in the US peaked in 2006.[167]
Criticisms
Some do not agree with peak oil, at least as it has been presented by Matthew Simmons.
The president of Royal Dutch Shell's US operations John Hofmeister, while agreeing that
conventional oil production will soon start to decline, has criticized Simmons's analysis for
being "overly focused on a single country: Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter and
OPEC swing producer." He also points to the large reserves at the "US Outer Continental
Shelf, which holds an estimated 100 billion barrels (16×109 m3) of oil and natural gas. As
things stand, however, only 15 percent of those reserves are currently exploitable, a good
part of that off the coasts of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. Hofmeister also
contends that Simmons erred in excluding unconventional sources of oil such as the oil
sands of Canada, where Shell is already active. The Canadian oil sands — a natural
combination of sand, water and oil found largely in Alberta — is believed to contain one
trillion barrels of oil. Another trillion barrels are also said to be trapped in rocks in
Colorado, Utah and Wyoming,[168] but are in the form of oil shale. These particular reserves
Peak oil 117
In Fiction
A novel set in a Peak-Oil crisis is Alex Scarrow's book - Last Light.[174] The book portrays
the collapse of the United Kingdom, as a result of a full-scale terrorist attack against
several important key installations in the Middle-East. It follows the experiences of a family,
a father trapped in Iraq, a mother far away from her children, a daughter and son fending
for themselves, as the complete break-down of law and order causes looting, deaths and
worse.
James Howard Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency[175] and The Geography of
Nowhere[176] , fictionalized his predictions of post-oil civilization into a novel entitled World
Made by Hand[177] [178] The book portrays the efforts of Robert Earle, a former software
executive elected mayor of a small town in New York State, who faces the struggle of
rebuilding a civil society amid arguing factions.
The Mad Max movies are based in a dystopian Australia, in which (Mad Max 2: The Road
Warrior explains) the general social collapse has occurred because of a global energy
shortage, particularly of oil.
Peak oil 118
See also
• Category:Peak oil
Prediction Economics
• Backstop resources • Bioeconomics
• Global strategic petroleum reserves • 2007–2008 world food price crisis
• Hirsch report • Economic crisis of 2008
• Hubbert Linearization • Energy Accounting
• Malthusian catastrophe • Energy security
• Oil depletion • Econophysics
• Oil Storm, a docudrama about a future oil-shortage • Food security
crisis. • Gross domestic product per barrel
• Olduvai theory • Kuznets curve
• → What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire - • Limits to Growth
documentary film • Low-carbon economy
• World energy resources and consumption • Oil crises
Technology • Oil price increases since 2003
• Energy conservation
• Energy efficiency
Further information
Books
• Colin J. Campbell,
• Campbell Colin J (2004). The Essence of Oil & Gas Depletion. Multi-Science Publishing.
ISBN 0-906522-19-6.
• Campbell Colin J (2004). The Coming Oil Crisis. Multi-Science Publishing. ISBN
0-906522-11-0.
• Campbell Colin J (2005). Oil Crisis. Multi-Science Publishing. ISBN 0-906522-39-0.
• Kenneth S. Deffeyes,
• Deffeyes Kenneth S (2002). Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage.
Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09086-6.
• Deffeyes Kenneth S (2005). Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert's Peak. Hill and Wang.
ISBN 0-8090-2956-1.
• Eberhart Mark (2007). Feeding the Fire: The Lost History and Uncertain Future of
Mankind's Energy Addiction. Harmony. ISBN 978-0307237446.
• Goodstein David (2005). Out of Gas: The End of the Age Of Oil. WW Norton. ISBN
0-393-05857-3.
Peak oil 119
• → Richard Heinberg,
• → Heinberg Richard (2003). The Party's Over: Oil, War, and the Fate of Industrial
Societies. New Society Publishers. ISBN 0-86571-482-7.
• → Heinberg Richard (2004). Power Down: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon
World. New Society Publishers. ISBN 0-86571-510-6.
• → Heinberg Richard (2006). The Oil Depletion Protocol: A Plan to Avert Oil Wars,
Terrorism and Economic Collapse. New Society Publishers. ISBN 0-86571-563-7.
• Huber Peter (2005). The Bottomless Well. Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-03116-1.
• Kleveman Lutz C (2004). The New Great Game: Blood and Oil in Central Asia. Atlantic
Monthly Press. ISBN 0-87113-906-5.
• Kunstler James H (2005). The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of the Oil Age, Climate
Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes. Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN
0-87113-888-3.
• Leggett Jeremy K (2005). The Empty Tank: Oil, Gas, Hot Air, and the Coming Financial
Catastrophe. Random House. ISBN 1-4000-6527-5.
• Leggett Jeremy K (2005). Half Gone: Oil, Gas, Hot Air and the Global Energy Crisis.
Portobello Books. ISBN 1-8462-7004-9.
• Leggett Jeremy K (2001). The Carbon War: Global Warming and the End of the Oil Era.
Routledge. ISBN 0415931029.
• Lovins Amory et al. (2005). Winning the Oil Endgame: Innovation for Profit, Jobs and
Security. Rocky Mountain Institute. ISBN 1-881071-10-3.
• Pfeiffer Dale Allen (2004). The End of the Oil Age. Lulu Press. ISBN 1-4116-0629-9.
• Newman Sheila (2008). The Final Energy Crisis (2nd ed.). Pluto Press. ISBN
978-0-7453-2717-4. OCLC 228370383 [179].
• Leonardo Maugeri (2006). The Age of Oil: The Mythology, History, and Future of the
World's Most Controversial Resource. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0275990087.
• Rashid, Ahmed,
• Rashid Ahmed (2001). Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia.
Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-08902-3.
• Rashid Ahmed (2003). Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia. Yale University
Press. ISBN 0-300-09345-4.
• Rifkin Jeremy (2003). The Hydrogen Economy: After Oil, Clean Energy From a
Fuel-Cell-Driven Global Hydrogen Web [180]. New York: J.P. Tarcher. ISBN
0-7456-3042-1. http:/ / www. emagazine. com/ view/ ?171.
• Roberts Paul (2004). The End of Oil. On the Edge of a Perilous New World. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 9780618239771.
• Ruppert Michael C (2005). Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at
the End of the Age of Oil. New Society. ISBN 978-0865715400.
• Simmons Matthew R (2005). Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the
World Economy. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-73876-X.
• Shah Sonia (2004). Crude, The Story of Oil. Seven Stories Press. ISBN 1-58322-625-7.
• Simon Julian L (1998). The Ultimate Resource. Princeton University Press. ISBN
0-691-00381-5.
• Smil Vaclav (2005). Energy at the Crossroads: Global Perspectives and Uncertainties.
MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-19492-9.
• Stansberry Mark A, Reimbold Jason (2008). The Braking Point. Hawk Publishing. ISBN
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[199]
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Video Documentary
• PetroApocalypse Now? (2008)
• Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash (2006)
• The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream (2004)
• The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (2006)
• → What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire (2007)
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Peak oil 126
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Peak oil 129
External links
Web sites
• Association for the Study of Peak Oil International (http:/ / www. peakoil. net/ )
• ASPO-USA (http:/ / www. aspo-usa. org/ )
• Eating Fossil Fuels (http:/ / www. fromthewilderness. com/ free/ ww3/ 100303_eating_oil.
html) FromTheWilderness.com
• Energy Bulletin (http:/ / www. energybulletin. net/ ) Peak Oil related articles
• Global Oil Watch (http:/ / www. globaloilwatch. com/ ) - Extensive peak oil library
• Energy Export Databrowser (http:/ / mazamascience. com/ OilExport/ ) - A visual review
of production and consumption trends for individual nations; data from the 2009 BP
Statistical Review.
• Peak Oil For Dummies (http:/ / www. peakoilfordummies. com/ ) - concise quotes from
renowned politicians, oil executives, and analysts
• Petroleum Data (http:/ / www. eia. doe. gov/ oil_gas/ petroleum/ info_glance/ petroleum.
html) U.S. Energy Information Agency
• The Oil Age (http:/ / www. oilcareer. com/ the-oil-age-poster-2. htm) - poster showing
petroleum data in relation to peak oil
Peak oil 130
• Peak Oil Crisis News (http:/ / peak-oil-crisis. org/ ) - Automatically updated news from
several news websites plus a real time crude price
• Pro and Con arguments to the question "Is global oil production at (or past) its peak?"
(http:/ / alternativeenergy. procon. org/ viewanswers. asp?questionID=001257)
Online videos
• " EnergyChallenge TV - Peak Oil Video and Audio (http:/ / www. energychallenge. tv/ )".
ASPO-USA. 2007-02-12. http:/ / www. energychallenge. tv/ .
• " Rep. Prof. Roscoe Bartlett's to U.S. House of Representatives (http:/ / www.
energybulletin. net/ 5080. html)". CSPAN. 2005-04-05. http:/ / www. energybulletin. net/
5080. html.
• " Video interview with Richard Heinberg (http:/ / tv. oneworld. net/ article/ view/
152547)". OneWorldTV. http:/ / tv. oneworld. net/ article/ view/ 152547.
• WhatIsPeakOil.com (http:/ / www. whatispeakoil. com/ ) - A collection of 30 online videos
related to Peak Oil, including 4 notable full length documentaries
Overpopulation
Overpopulation is a condition
where an organism's numbers
exceed the carrying capacity
of its habitat. In common
parlance, the term usually
refers to the relationship
between the human population
and its environment, the
Earth.[1]
Steve Jones, head of the biology department at University College London, has said,
"Humans are 10,000 times more common than we should be, according to the rules of the
animal kingdom, and we have agriculture to thank for that. Without farming, the world
population would probably have reached half a million by now." [3]
Some countries have managed to increase their carrying capacity by using technologies
such as modern agriculture, desalination, and nuclear power.
Overpopulation 132
Population growth
History
In order to better present the
subject of overpopulation, it may
be useful to first review the
current population of the world in
the context of human population
from the dawn of civilization to
date. Civilization began roughly
10,000 years ago, coinciding with:
Projections to 2050
[11]
United Nations reports, such as World Population Prospects state:
• World population is currently growing by approximately 74 million people per year. If
current fertility rates continued, in 2050 the total world population would be 11 billion,
with 169 million people added each year. However, global fertility rates have been falling
for decades, and the updated United Nations figures project that the world population
will reach 9.2 billion around 2050.[12] [13] This is the medium variant figure which
assumes a decrease in average fertility from the present level of 2.5 down to 2.
• Almost all growth will take place in the less developed regions, where today’s 5.3 billion
population of underdeveloped countries is expected to increase to 7.8 billion in 2050. By
contrast, the population of the more developed regions will remain mostly unchanged, at
1.2 billion. The world's population is expected to rise by 40% to 9.1 billion. An exception
is the United States population, which is expected to increase 44% from 305 million in
2008 to 439 million in 2050.[14]
• In 2000-2005, the average world fertility was 2.65 children per woman, about half the
level in 1950-1955 (5 children per woman). In the medium variant, global fertility is
projected to decline further to 2.05 children per woman.
• During 2005-2050, nine countries are expected to account for half of the world’s
projected population increase: India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Bangladesh, Uganda, United States of America, Ethiopia, and China, listed
according to the size of their contribution to population growth.
• Global life expectancy at birth, which is estimated to have risen from 46 years in
1950-1955 to 65 years in 2000-2005, is expected to keep rising to reach 75 years in
2045-2050. In the more developed regions, the projected increase is from 75 years today
to 82 years by mid-century. Among the least developed countries, where life expectancy
today is just under 50 years, it is expected to be 66 years in 2045-2050.
• The population of 51 countries or areas, including Germany, Italy, Japan and most of the
successor States of the former Soviet Union, is expected to be lower in 2050 than in
2005.
• During 2005-2050, the net number of international migrants to more developed regions
is projected to be 98 million. Because deaths are projected to exceed births in the more
developed regions by 73 million during 2005-2050, population growth in those regions
will largely be due to international migration.
• In 2000-2005, net migration in 28 countries either prevented population decline or
doubled at least the contribution of natural increase (births minus deaths) to population
growth. These countries include Austria, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Italy,
Portugal, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates and United
Kingdom.[15]
• Birth rates are now falling in a small percentage of developing countries, while the actual
populations in many developed countries would fall without immigration.[16]
• By 2050 (Medium variant), India will have almost 1.7 billion people, China 1.4 billion,
United States 400 million, Indonesia 297 million, Pakistan 292 million, Nigeria 289
million, Bangladesh 254 million, Brazil 254 million, Democratic Republic of the Congo
187 million, Ethiopia 183 million, Philippines 141 million, Mexico 132 million, Egypt 121
million, Vietnam 120 million, Russia 108 million, Japan 103 million, Iran 100 million,
Overpopulation 134
Demographic transition
The theory of demographic
transition, while unproven to apply
to all world regions, holds that,
after the standard of living and life
expectancy increase, family sizes
and birth rates decline. Factors
cited include such social factors as
later ages of marriage, the
growing desire of many women in
such settings to seek careers
outside child rearing and domestic
work, and the decreased need of
children in industrialized settings.
The latter factor stems from the
fact that children perform a great
deal of work in small-scale
agricultural societies, and work
United Nation's population projections by location.
less in industrial ones; it has been
cited to explain the decline in birth
rates in industrializing regions.
Carrying capacity
Scientific estimates of the carrying capacity of Earth range between one and two billion
people, depending on the values used in calculations.[20]
In a study titled Food, Land, Population and the U.S. Economy, David Pimentel, professor of
ecology and agriculture at Cornell University, and Mario Giampietro, senior researcher at
the US National Research Institute on Food and Nutrition (INRAN), estimate the maximum
U.S. population for a → sustainable economy at 200 million. To achieve a sustainable
economy and avert disaster, the United States must reduce its population by at least
one-third, and world population will have to be reduced by two-thirds, says the study.[21]
Steve Jones, head of the biology department at University College London, has said,
"Humans are 10,000 times more common than we should be, according to the rules of the
animal kingdom, and we have agriculture to thank for that. Without farming, the world
population would probably have reached half a million by now." [22]
Some groups (for example, the World Wide Fund for Nature[23] [24] and the Global Footprint
Network[25] ) have stated that the carrying capacity for the human population has been
exceeded as measured using the ecological footprint. In 2006, WWF's "Living Planet" report
stated that in order for all humans to live with a high degree of luxury (European
standards), we would be spending three times more than what the planet can supply.[26]
But critics question the simplifications and statistical methods used in calculating
ecological footprints. Some point out that a more refined method of assessing ecological
footprint is to designate sustainable versus non-sustainable categories of consumption.[27]
[28]
Resources
David Pimentel,[29] Professor Emeritus at Cornell University, has stated that "With the
imbalance growing between population numbers and vital life sustaining resources, humans
must actively conserve cropland, freshwater, energy, and biological resources. There is a
need to develop renewable energy resources. Humans everywhere must understand that
rapid population growth damages the Earth’s resources and diminishes human
well-being."[30] [31]
These reflect the comments also of the United States Geological Survey in their paper The
Future of Planet Earth: Scientific Challenges in the Coming Century [32]. "As the global
population continues to grow...people will place greater and greater demands on the
resources of our planet, including mineral and energy resources, open space, water, and
Overpopulation 136
plant and animal resources." "Earth's natural wealth: an audit" by New Scientist magazine
states that many of the minerals that we use for a variety of products are in danger of
running out in the near future. "[no close quote follows.] A handful of geologists around the
world have calculated the costs of new technologies in terms of the materials they use and
the implications of their spreading to the developing world. All agree that the planet's
booming population and rising standards of living are set to put unprecedented demands on
the materials that only Earth itself can provide. Limitations on how much of these materials
is available could even mean that some technologies are not worth pursuing long term....
"Virgin stocks of several metals appear inadequate to sustain the modern 'developed world'
quality of life for all of Earth's people under contemporary technology".[33]
On the other hand, some writers, such as Julian Simon and Bjorn Lomborg believe that
resources exist for further population growth. However, critics warn, this will be at a high
cost to the Earth: "the technological optimists are probably correct in claiming that overall
world food production can be increased substantially over the next few decades...[however]
the environmental cost of what Paul R. and Anne H. Ehrlich describe as 'turning the Earth
into a giant human feedlot' could be severe. A large expansion of agriculture to provide
growing populations with improved diets is likely to lead to further deforestation, loss of
species, soil erosion, and pollution from pesticides and fertilizer runoff as farming
intensifies and new land is brought into production."[34] Since we are intimately dependent
upon the living systems of the Earth,[35] [36] [37] scientists have questioned the wisdom of
further expansion.[38]
According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a four-year research effort by 1,360 of
the world’s leading scientists commissioned to measure the actual value of natural
resources to humans and the world, "The structure of the world’s ecosystems changed more
rapidly in the second half of the twentieth century than at any time in recorded human
history, and virtually all of Earth’s ecosystems have now been significantly transformed
through human actions."[39] "Ecosystem services, particularly food production, timber and
fisheries, are important for employment and economic activity. Intensive use of ecosystems
often produces the greatest short-term advantage, but excessive and unsustainable use can
lead to losses in the long term. A country could cut its forests and deplete its fisheries, and
this would show only as a positive gain to GDP, despite the loss of capital assets. If the full
economic value of ecosystems were taken into account in decision-making, their
degradation could be significantly slowed down or even reversed."[40] [41] The MA blames
habitat loss and fragmentation for the continuing disappearance of species.
Another study by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) called the Global
Environment Outlook [42] which involved 1,400 scientists and took five years to prepare
comes to similar conclusions. It "found that human consumption had far outstripped
available resources. Each person on Earth now requires a third more land to supply his or
her needs than the planet can supply." It faults a failure to "respond to or recognise the
magnitude of the challenges facing the people and the environment of the planet... 'The
systematic destruction of the Earth's natural and nature-based resources has reached a
point where the economic viability of economies is being challenged - and where the bill we
hand to our children may prove impossible to pay'... The report's authors say its objective is
'not to present a dark and gloomy scenario, but an urgent call to action'. It warns that
tackling the problems may affect the vested interests of powerful groups, and that the
environment must be moved to the core of decision-making... '[43]
Overpopulation 137
Additionally, other issues involving quality of life - would most people want to live in a
world of billions more people - and the basic right of other species to exist in their native
environments come into play.
Although all resources, whether mineral or other, are limited on the planet, there is a
degree of self-correction whenever a scarcity or high-demand for a particular kind is
experienced. For example in 1990 known reserves of many natural resources were higher,
and their prices lower, than in 1970, despite higher demand and higher consumption.
Whenever a price spike would occur, the market tended to correct itself whether by
substituting an equivalent resource or switching to a new technology.[44]
Fresh water
Fresh water supplies, on which agriculture depends, are running low worldwide.[45] [46]
This water crisis is only expected to worsen as the population increases. Lester R. Brown of
the Earth Policy Institute argues that declining water supplies will have future disastrous
consequences for agriculture.[47]
Fresh water can also be obtained from salt water by desalination. For example, Malta
derives two thirds of its freshwater by desalination. A number of nuclear powered
desalination plants exist,[48] and some argue that there are billions of years of nuclear fuel
available.[49] But the high costs of desalination, especially for poor countries, make
impractical the transport of large amounts of desalinated seawater to interiors of large
countries.[50] However, while desalinizing 1,000 gallons of water can cost as much as $3,
the same amount of bottled water costs $7,945. [51]
One study found that "one needs to lift the water by 2000 m, or transport it over more than
1600 km to get transport costs equal to the desalination costs. Desalinated water is
expensive in places that are both somewhat far from the sea and somewhat high, such as
Riyadh and Harare. In other places, the dominant cost is desalination, not transport. This
leads to somewhat lower costs in places like Beijing, Bangkok, Zaragoza, Phoenix, and, of
course, coastal cities like Tripoli." Thus while the study is generally positive about the
technology for affluent areas that are proximate to oceans, it concludes that "Desalinated
water may be a solution for some water-stress regions, but not for places that are poor,
deep in the interior of a continent, or at high elevation. Unfortunately, that includes some of
the places with biggest water problems."[52]
Israel is now desalinating water for a cost of 53 cents per cubic meter,[53] Singapore at 49
cents per cubic meter.[54] In the United States, the cost is 81 cents per cubic meter ($3.06
for 1,000 gallons). [55]
Another problem of desalination is the "lethal byproduct of saline brine that is a major
cause of marine pollution when dumped back into the oceans at high temperatures."[56]
The world's largest desalination plant is the Jebel Ali Desalination Plant (Phase 2) in the
United Arab Emirates, which can produce 300 million cubic meters of water per year,[57] or
about 2500 gallons per second. The largest desalination plant in the US is the one at Tampa
Bay, Florida, which began desalinizing 25 million gallons (95000 m³) of water per day in
December 2007.[58] A January 17, 2008, article in the Wall Street Journal states,
"Worldwide, 13,080 desalination plants produce more than 12 billion gallons of water a day,
according to the International Desalination Association." [59] After being desalinized at
Jubail, Saudi Arabia, water is pumped 200 miles (320 km) inland though a pipeline to the
capital city of Riyadh. [60]
Overpopulation 138
Food
Some argue there is enough food to support the world population,[61] [62]
but other sources
dispute this, particularly if sustainability is taken into account.[63]
More than 100 countries now import wheat and 40 countries import rice. Egypt and Iran
rely on imports for 40% of their grain supply. Algeria, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan
import 70% or more. Yemen and Israel import more than 90%. And just 6 countries - the
US, Canada, France, Australia, Argentina and Thailand - supply 90% of grain exports. The
US alone supplies almost half of world grain exports.[64] [65]
A 2001 United Nations report says population growth is "the main force driving increases in
agricultural demand" but "most recent expert assessments are cautiously optimistic about
the ability of global food production to keep up with demand for the foreseeable future (that
is to say, until approximately 2030 or 2050)", assuming declining population growth
rates.[66]
Global perspective
The number of people who are overweight has surpassed the number who are
undernourished. In a 2006 news story, MSNBC reported, "There are an estimated 800
million undernourished people and more than a billion considered overweight
worldwide."[70]
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations states in its report The State
of Food Insecurity in the World 2006, that while the number of undernourished people in
the developing countries has declined by about three million, a smaller proportion of the
populations of developing countries is undernourished today than in 1990–92: 17% against
20%. Furthermore, FAO’s projections suggest that the proportion of hungry people in
developing countries could be halved from 1990-92 levels to 10% by 2015. The FAO also
states "We have emphasized first and foremost that reducing hunger is no longer a question
of means in the hands of the global community. The world is richer today than it was ten
years ago. There is more food available and still more could be produced without excessive
Overpopulation 139
upward pressure on prices. The knowledge and resources to reduce hunger are there. What
is lacking is sufficient political will to mobilize those resources to the benefit of the hungry."
[71]PDF
As of 2008, the price of grain has increased due to more farming used in biofuels,[72] world
oil prices at over $100 a barrel,[73] global population growth,[74] climate change,[75] loss of
agricultural land to residential and industrial development,[76] [77] and growing consumer
demand in China and India[78] [79] Food riots have recently taken place in many countries
across the world.[80] [81] [82] An epidemic of stem rust on wheat caused by race Ug99 is
currently spreading across Africa and into Asia and is causing major concern. A virulent
wheat disease could destroy most of the world’s main wheat crops, leaving millions to
starve. The fungus has spread from Africa to Iran, and may already be in Afghanistan and
Pakistan.[83] [84] [85]
Africa
In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation and population growth continue, the
continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to UNU's
Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.[86]
Hunger and malnutrition kill nearly 6 million children a year, and more people are
malnourished in sub-Saharan Africa this decade than in the 1990s, according to a report
released by the Food and Agriculture Organization. In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of
malnourished people grew to 203.5 million people in 2000-02 from 170.4 million 10 years
earlier says The State of Food Insecurity in the World report.
According to the BBC, the famine in Zimbabwe was caused by government seizure of
farmland.[87] However drought has also played a major role.[88] Drought in southern Africa
now threatens 13 million people with famine, 6 million of whom live in Zimbabwe.[89] The
current food shortages are projected to worsen. [89] Prior to this combination of drought
and seizure of farmland, Zimbabwe exported so much food that it was called "the
breadbasket of southern Africa", so other countries were also harmed by these farm
seizures.[87] People who study the Zimbabwean famine claim that there are normally more
[89] [90] [91]
than enough natural resources to feed the people. Some claim that the dams and
rivers in Zimbabwe are full, and that the famine has nothing to do with drought.[92]
Although it is undoubtedly true that bad governance has exacerbated the famine, the article
notes that "Four weeks without rain at the critical germination phase has led to the failure
of [the villagers] small crops. There will be no harvest again until next June."
Prior to President Robert Mugabe's seizure of the farmland in Zimbabwe, the farmers had
been using irrigation to deal with drought, but during the seizures of the farmland, much of
the irrigation equipment was vandalized and looted.[93] [94] A 2006 BBC article about the
seizure of farmland states, "Critics say the reforms have devastated the economy and led to
massive hunger. Much of the formerly white-owned land is no longer being productively
used - either because the beneficiaries have no experience of farming or they lack finance
and tools. Many farms were wrecked when they were invaded by government
supporters."[95]
Compared to Zimbabwe's population density of 33 people per square kilometre, Israel has
302 people per square kilometre.[96] Although Israel is a desert country with frequent
drought and very high population density, it does not have famine. One possible reason for
this is that its government encourages farmers to use modern agriculture and irrigation to
Overpopulation 140
grow huge amounts of food.[97] [98] Another possible reason is that Israel is a net importer
of food.[99] It must also be noted that the high productivity of modern agriculture depends
on the unsustainable use of fossil fuels to produce fertilizer and pesticide and to drive
farming machinery.[100]
Asia
In China, only 8% of children are underweight.[101] According to a 2004 article from the
BBC, China, the world's most populous country, suffers from an obesity epidemic.[102] More
recent data indicate China's grain production peaked in the mid 1990s, due to
overextraction of groundwater in the North China plain.[103]
Nearly half of India's children are malnourished, according to recent government data.
Japan may face a food crisis that could reduce daily diets to the austere meals of the 1950s,
believes a senior government adviser.[104]
America
According to a 2007 article from the BBC, scientists at Columbia University have theorized
that in the future, densely populated cities such as Mexico City, Los Angeles, and New York
City, which are the largest in North America, may use vertical farming to grow food on each
floor of 30-story skyscrapers.[105]
Land
World Resources Institute states that "Agricultural conversion to croplands and managed
pastures has affected some 3.3 billion [hectares] — roughly 26 percent of the land area. All
totaled, agriculture has displaced one-third of temperate and tropical forests and
one-quarter of natural grasslands."[115] [116] Energy development may also require large
areas; hydroelectric dams are one example. Usable land may become less useful through
salinization, deforestation, desertification, erosion, and urban sprawl. Global warming may
cause flooding of many of the most productive agricultural areas[117] . Thus, available
useful land may become a limiting factor. By most estimates, at least half of cultivable land
is already being farmed, and there are concerns that the remaining reserves are greatly
overestimated.[118]
High crop yield vegetables like potatoes and lettuce use less space on inedible plant parts,
like stalks, husks, vines, and inedible leaves. New varieties of selectively bred and hybrid
plants have larger edible parts (fruit, vegetable, grain) and smaller inedible parts; however,
many of the gains of agricultural technology are now historic, and new advances are more
difficult to achieve. With new technologies, it is possible to grow crops on some marginal
land under certain conditions. Aquaculture could theoretically increase available area.
Hydroponics and food from bacteria and fungi, like quorn, may allow the growing of food
without having to consider land quality, climate, or even available sunlight, although such a
process may be very energy-intensive. Some argue that not all arable land will remain
productive if used for agriculture because some marginal land can only be made to produce
food by unsustainable practices like slash-and-burn agriculture. Even with the modern
techniques of agriculture, the sustainability of production is in question.
Some countries, such as the United Arab Emirates and particularly the Emirate of Dubai
have constructed large artificial islands, or have created large dam and dike systems, like
the Netherlands, which reclaim land from the sea to increase their total land area.[119]
Overpopulation 142
Some scientists have said that in the future, densely populated cities will use vertical
farming to grow food inside skyscrapers.[105]
The space taken by a humans themselves is not a problem. A number of thinkers who deny
that overpopulation is a problem have noted that the whole world population could live on
land with the area of Texas. The resources that are likely to run out first are good cropland,
timber and fresh water.
Energy
Population optimists have also been criticized for failing to account for future shortages in
fossil fuels, currently used for fertilizer and transportation for modern agriculture. (See
Hubbert peak and Future energy development.) They counter that there will be enough
fossil fuels until suitable replacement technologies have been developed, for example
hydrogen in a hydrogen economy.[120] [121]
In his 1992 book Earth in the Balance, Al Gore wrote, "... it ought to be possible to establish
a coordinated global program to accomplish the strategic goal of completely eliminating the
internal combustion engine over, say, a twenty-five-year period..."[122] Plug-in electric cars
such as the Tesla Roadster suggest that Gore's prediction will come true. Earth has enough
uranium to provide humans with all of their electricity needs until the sun blows up in 5
billion years, assuming that we develop large-scale breeder reactors.[49]
There has also been increasing development in extracting renewable energy, such as solar,
wind, and tidal energy. If used on a wide scale, these could theoretically fulfill most, if not
all, of the energy needs currently being filled by non-renewable resources. Most renewable
energy forms rely on an oil-based economy to produce, i.e. you cannot make a wind turbine
without the oil-run machinery to begin with, making the whole process moot. Some of these
renewable resources also have ecological footprints, although they may be different or
smaller than some non-renewable resources.
Overpopulation 143
Fertilizer
Modern agriculture uses large amounts of fertilizer. Since much of this fertilizer is made
from petroleum, the problem of → peak oil is of concern. According to articles in Discover
Magazine (in 2003 and a 2006), it is possible to use the process of thermal
depolymerization to manufacture fertilizer out of garbage, sewage, and agricultural
waste.[123] [124]
Environment
Overpopulation has substantially adversely impacted the environment of Earth starting at
least as early as the 20th century.[2] There are also economic consequences of this
environmental degradation in the form of ecosystem services attrition.[131] Beyond the
scientifically verifiable harm to the environment, some assert the moral right of other
species to simply exist rather than become extinct. Says environmental author Jeremy
Rifkin, "our burgeoning population and urban way of life have been purchased at the
expense of vast ecosystems and habitats. ... It's no accident that as we celebrate the
urbanization of the world, we are quickly approaching another historic watershed: the
disappearance of the wild."[132]
Says Peter Raven, former President of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science (AAAS) in their seminal work AAAS Atlas of Population & Environment [133],
"Where do we stand in our efforts to achieve a sustainable world? Clearly, the past half
century has been a traumatic one, as the collective impact of human numbers, affluence
(consumption per individual) and our choices of technology continue to exploit rapidly an
increasing proportion of the world's resources at an unsustainable rate. ... During a
remarkably short period of time, we have lost a quarter of the world's topsoil and a fifth of
its agricultural land, altered the composition of the atmosphere profoundly, and destroyed a
major proportion of our forests and other natural habitats without replacing them. Worst of
all, we have driven the rate of biological extinction, the permanent loss of species, up
several hundred times beyond its historical levels, and are threatened with the loss of a
majority of all species by the end of the 21st century."
Overpopulation 145
A 2001 United Nations report has postulated that, although human activity can be blamed
for much of the environmental degradation in the last century, overpopulation is not a
major cause, but rising per-capita production and consumption and the use of particular
technologies used in such production are more likely major factors. Further, even in
countries which have both large population growth and major ecological problems, it is not
necessarily true that curbing the population growth will make a major contribution towards
resolving all environmental problems.[134] However, as developing countries with high
populations become more industrialized, pollution and consumption will invariably increase.
Cities
In 1800 only 3% of the world's population lived in cities. By the 20th century's close, 47%
did so. In 1950, there were 83 cities with populations exceeding one million; but by 2007,
this had risen to 468 agglomerations of more than one million.[135] If the trend continues,
the world's urban population will double every 38 years, say researchers. The UN forecasts
that today's urban population of 3.2 billion will rise to nearly 5 billion by 2030, when three
out of five people will live in cities.[136]
The increase will be most dramatic in the poorest and least-urbanised continents, Asia and
Africa. Projections indicate that most urban growth over the next 25 years will be in
developing countries.[137] One billion people, one-sixth of the world's population, or
one-third of urban population, now live in shanty towns,[138] which are seen as "breeding
grounds" for social problems such as crime, drug addiction, alcoholism, poverty and
unemployment. In many poor countries, slums exhibit high rates of disease due to
unsanitary conditions, malnutrition, and lack of basic health care.[139]
In 2000, there were 18 megacities – conurbations such as Tokyo, Mexico City, Mumbai
(Bombay), São Paulo and New York City – that have populations in excess of 10 million
inhabitants. Greater Tokyo already has 35 million, more than the entire population of
Canada.[140]
By 2025, according to the Far Eastern Economic Review, Asia alone will have at least 10
hypercities, those with 20 million or more, including Jakarta (24.9 million people), Dhaka
(25 million), Karachi (26.5 million), Shanghai (27 million) and Mumbai (33 million).[141]
Lagos has grown from 300,000 in 1950 to an estimated 15 million today, and the Nigerian
government estimates that city will have expanded to 25 million residents by 2015.[142]
Chinese experts forecast that Chinese cities will contain 800 million people by 2020.[143]
Despite the increase in population density within cities (and the emergence of megacities),
UN Habitat states in its reports that urbanization may be the best compromise in the face
of global population growth.[144] Cities concentrate human activity within limited areas,
limiting the breadth of environmental damage. [145] But this mitigating influence can only
be achieved if urban planning is significantly improved[146] and city services are properly
maintained.
Overpopulation 146
Effects of overpopulation
Some problems associated with or exacerbated by human overpopulation:
• Inadequate fresh water[126] for drinking water use as well as sewage treatment and
effluent discharge. Some countries, like Saudi Arabia, use energy-expensive desalination
to solve the problem of water shortages.[148] [149]
• Depletion of natural resources, especially fossil fuels[150]
• Increased levels of air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination and noise
pollution. Once a country has industrialized and become wealthy, a combination of
government regulation and technological innovation causes pollution to decline
substantially, even as the population continues to grow.[151]
• Deforestation and loss of ecosystems[152] that sustain global atmospheric oxygen and
carbon dioxide balance; about eight million hectares of forest are lost each year.[153]
• Changes in atmospheric composition and consequent global warming[154] [155]
• Irreversible loss of arable land and increases in desertification[156] Deforestation and
desertification can be reversed by adopting property rights, and this policy is successful
even while the human population continues to grow.[157]
• Mass species extinctions.[158] from reduced habitat in tropical forests due to
slash-and-burn techniques that sometimes are practiced by shifting cultivators, especially
in countries with rapidly expanding rural populations; present extinction rates may be as
high as 140,000 species lost per year.[159] As of 2007, the IUCN Red List lists a total of
698 animal species having gone extinct during recorded human history.[160]
• High infant and child mortality.[161] High rates of infant mortality are caused by
poverty. Rich countries with high population densities have low rates of infant mortality.
[162]
• Increased chance of the emergence of new epidemics and pandemics[163] For many
environmental and social reasons, including overcrowded living conditions, malnutrition
and inadequate, inaccessible, or non-existent health care, the poor are more likely to be
exposed to infectious diseases.[164]
• Starvation, malnutrition[125] or poor diet with ill health and diet-deficiency diseases
(e.g. rickets). However, rich countries with high population densities do not have
famine.[165]
• Poverty coupled with inflation in some regions and a resulting low level of capital
formation. Poverty and inflation are aggravated by bad government and bad economic
policies. Many countries with high population densities have eliminated absolute poverty
and keep their inflation rates very low.[166]
Overpopulation 147
Mitigation measures
While the current world trends are not indicative of any realistic solution to human
overpopulation during the 21st century, there are several mitigation measures that have or
can be applied to reduce the adverse impacts of overpopulation.
Birth regulations
Overpopulation is related to issue of birth control; some nations, like the People's Republic
of China, use strict measures to reduce birth rates. Religious and ideological opposition to
birth control has been cited as a factor contributing to overpopulation and poverty.[176]
Some leaders and environmentalists (such as Ted Turner) have suggested that there is an
urgent need to strictly implement a China-like one-child policy globally by the United
Nations, because this would help control and reduce population gradually and most
successfully as is evidenced by the success and resultant economic-growth of China due to
reduction of poverty in recent years.[177] [178] Because such a policy would be uniformly and
unanimously implemented globally and would be implemented by a reputable central-global
organization (United Nations), it would face little political and social opposition from
individual countries.
Indira Gandhi, late Prime Minister of India, implemented a forced sterilization programme
in the 1970s. Officially, men with two children or more had to submit to sterilization, but
many unmarried young men, political opponents and ignorant men were also believed to
have been sterilized. This program is still remembered and criticized in India, and is
blamed for creating a wrong public aversion to family planning, which hampered
Government programmes for decades.[179]
Urban designer Michael E. Arth has proposed a "choice-based, marketable birth license
plan" he calls "birth credits."[180] Birth credits would allow any woman to have as many
children as she wants, as long as she buys a license for any children beyond an average
allotment that would result in zero population growth (ZPG). If that allotment was
Overpopulation 148
determined to be one child, for example, then the first child would be free, and the market
would determine what the license fee for each additional child would cost. Extra credits
would expire after a certain time, so these credits could not be hoarded by speculators.
Another advantage of the scheme is that the affluent would not buy them because they
already limit their family size by choice, as evidenced by an average of 1.1 children per
European woman. The actual cost of the credits would only be a fraction of the actual cost
of having and raising a child, so the credits would serve more as a wake-up call to women
who might otherwise produce children without seriously considering the long term
consequences to themselves or society.[181]
Extraterrestrial settlement
In the 1970s, Gerard O'Neill suggested building space habitats that could support 30,000
times the carrying capacity of Earth using just the asteroid belt and that the solar system as
[185]
a whole could sustain current population growth rates for a thousand years. Marshall
Savage (1992, 1994) has projected a human population of five quintillion throughout the
solar system by 3000, with the majority in the asteroid belt.[186] Arthur C. Clarke, a fervent
supporter of Savage, argued that by 2057 there will be humans on the Moon, Mars, Europa,
Ganymede, Titan and in orbit around Venus, Neptune and Pluto.[187] Freeman Dyson (1999)
favours the Kuiper belt as the future home of humanity, suggesting this could happen
within a few centuries.[188] In Mining the Sky, John S. Lewis suggests that the resources of
the solar system could support 10 quadrillion (10^16) people.
K. Eric Drexler, famous inventor of the futuristic concept of molecular nanotechnology, has
suggested in Engines of Creation that colonizing space will mean breaking the Malthusian
limits to growth for the human species.
Many authors (eg. Carl Sagan, Arthur C. Clarke,[189] Isaac Asimov[190] ) have argued that
shipping the excess population into space is no solution to human overpopulation, and that
"the population battle must be fought or won here on Earth". (Clarke, 1999) The problem
for these authors is not the lack of resources in space (as shown in books such as Mining
the Sky[191] ), but the physical impracticality of shipping vast numbers of people into space
to "solve" overpopulation on Earth. However, Gerard O'Neill's calculations show that Earth
Overpopulation 149
could offload all new population growth with a launch services industry about the same size
as the current airline industry in O'Neill, Gerard K. (1981). 2081: A Hopeful View of the
Human Future. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-44751-3..
See also
• Birth Credits
• Eugenics
• Human migration
• List of famines
• List of most highly-populated countries
• Medieval demography
• Over-consumption
• Overpopulation in companion animals
• Agriculture and population limits
• Population ageing
• Population control
• Rientrodolce, an Italian interest group which lobbies against overpopulation
• Risks to civilization, humans and planet Earth
• → Sustainability
• Tragedy of the commons
Further reading
• Virginia Abernethy, professor (emerita) of psychiatry and anthropology, Population
Politics, (1993)
• Albert Bartlett, emeritus professor of physics, Arithmetic, Population, and Energy: The
Forgotten Fundamentals of the Energy Crisis, (1978)
• Joel E. Cohen, Chair, Laboratory of Populations at the Rockefeller University, How Many
People Can the Earth Support? (1996)
• Barry Commoner, American biologist and college professor Making Peace with the Planet
(1990)
• Herman Daly, professor at the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland,
College Park Ecological Economics and the Ecology of Economics (1999)
• Paul R. Ehrlich, Bing Professor of Population Studies, The Population Bomb, (1968) The
Population Explosion, (1990) The Population Bomb, (1995) reprint
• Garrett Hardin, 1941 Stanford University - Ph.D. Microbiology, Living Within Limits,
(1995) reprint
Overpopulation 150
• Steven LeBlanc, Constant battles: the myth of the peaceful, noble savage, (2003) ISBN
0312310897 argues that local overpopulation has been the major cause of warfare since
paleolithic times.
• F. L. Lucas, The Greatest Problem (1960); an early wake-up call on over-population, by a
distinguished Cambridge academic
• Andrew Mason, Professor, head of the University of Hawaii's population studies program,
Population change and economic development in East Asia: Challenges met,
opportunities seized (2001)
• Donella Meadows, lead author Ph.D. in biophysics from Harvard, Jorgen Randers,
professor of policy analysis at the Norwegian School of Management, Dennis Meadows,
director of the Institute for Policy and Social Science Research Limits to Growth: The
30-Year Update (Paperback) (2004)
• → Thomas Malthus, English demographer and political economist, Essay on the Principle
of Population, (1798) [194]
• Julian Lincoln Simon, professor of Business Administration The Ultimate Resource 2,
(1998)"
• Ben J. Wattenberg, senior fellow at the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute,
The Birth Dearth (1989) ??? Fewer: How the New Demography of Depopulation Will
Shape Our Future, (2005)
• → Daniel Quinn, author The Story of B, pp 304–305 (1996)
External links
[195]
• United Nations world population site. Projections and historical information.
• UN Online databases with selectable variants, either basic [196] or detailed [197]
information.
• "Bursting at the seams", Jeffrey Sachs's lectures on overpopulation [198]
• AAAS Atlas of Population and Environment [133]
• U.S. Population Reaches 300 Million, Heading for 400 Million -- No Cause for Celebration
[199]
• Rosling, Hans (25 January 2009). "What stops population growth? [217]". Gapminder.
http:/ / www. gapminder. org/ videos/ what-stops-population-growth/ . Retrieved on
2009-07-06.
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[29] Cornell University Entomology - David Pimentel (http:/ / www. entomology. cornell. edu/ IthacaCampus/
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Overpopulation 152
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[39] 1. How have ecosystems changed? (http:/ / www. greenfacts. org/ en/ ecosystems/ millennium-assessment-3/
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[40] Ecosystem Change: Scientific Facts on Ecosystem Change (http:/ / www. greenfacts. org/ en/ ecosystems/ #3)
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Mass surveillance
Mass surveillance is the
pervasive surveillance of an entire
population, or a substantial
fraction thereof.
Modern governments today
commonly perform mass
surveillance of their citizens,
explaining that they believe that it
is necessary to protect them from
dangerous groups such as
terrorists, criminals, or political
subversives and to maintain social
control.
State enforced
Privacy International's 2007 survey, covering 47 countries, indicated that there had been
an increase in surveillance and a decline in the performance of privacy safeguards,
compared to the previous year. Balancing these factors, eight countries were rated as being
'endemic surveillance societies'. Of these eight, China, Malaysia and Russia scored lowest,
followed jointly by Singapore and the United Kingdom, then jointly by Taiwan, Thailand and
the United States. The best ranking was given to Greece, which was judged to have
'adequate safeguards against abuse'.[1]
Many countries throughout the world have already been adding thousands of surveillance
cameras to their urban, suburban and even rural areas.[2] [3] For example, the American
Civil Liberties Union have directly stated that "we are fast approaching a genuine
surveillance society in the United States - a dark future where our every move, our every
transaction, our every communication is recorded, compiled, and stored away, ready to be
examined and used against us by the authorities whenever they want."[4]
Mass surveillance 158
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is seen as a pioneer of mass
surveillance. At the end of 2006 it was described by the
Surveillance Studies Network as being 'the most
surveilled country' among the industrialized Western
states.[5]
On 6 February 2009 a report by the House of Lords
Constitution Committee, Surveillance: Citizens and the
State,[6] warned that increasing use of surveillance by
the government and private companies is a serious A bank of seven Closed-circuit
television cameras monitoring people
threat to freedoms and constitutional rights, stating
exiting Birmingham New Street
that "The expansion in the use of surveillance Station, a major British railway station.
represents one of the most significant changes in the
life of the nation since the end of the Second World War. Mass surveillance has the
potential to erode privacy. As privacy is an essential pre-requisite to the exercise of
individual freedom, its erosion weakens the constitutional foundations on which democracy
and good governance have traditionally been based in this country."[7]
Public perception
A YouGov poll published on December 4, 2006, indicated that 79% of those interviewed
agreed that Britain has become a 'surveillance society’ (51% were unhappy with this).[3] In
2004 the Information Commissioner, talking about the proposed British national identity
database gave a warning of this, stating, "My anxiety is that we don't sleepwalk into a
surveillance society."[8] Other databases causing him concern were the National Child
Database (ContactPoint), the Office for National Statistics' Citizen Information Project, and
the NHS National Programme for IT.
CCTV networks
In 2002[9] it was estimated[10] that the United Kingdom was monitored by over 4.2 million
CCTV cameras, some with a facial recognition capacity, with practically all town centres
under surveillance. Serious concerns have been raised that the facial biometric information
which will be stored on a central database through the national identity card scheme could
be linked to facial recognition systems and state-owned CCTV cameras to identify
individuals anywhere in the UK, or even to compile a database of citizens' movements
without their knowledge or consent. Currently, in the City of Westminster, microphones are
being fitted next to CCTV cameras. Westminster council claims that they are simply part of
an initiative against urban noise, and will not "be used to snoop", but comments from a
council spokesman appear to imply that they have been deliberately designed to capture an
audio stream alongside the video stream, rather than simply reporting noise levels.[11]
Mass surveillance 159
Public transport
In London, the Oyster card payment system can track the movement of individual people
through the public transport system, although an anonymous option is available, while the
London congestion charge uses computer imaging to track car number plates.
Communication
In 2008 plans were being made to collect data on all phone calls, emails, chatroom
discussions and web-browsing habits as part of the Government's Interception
Modernisation Programme, thought likely to require the insertion of 'thousands' of black
box probes into the country’s computer and telephone networks.[12] The proposals were
expected to be included in the Communications Data Bill. The "giant database" would
include telephone numbers dialed, the websites visited and addresses to which e-mails are
sent "but not the content of e-mails or telephone conversations."[13] Chris Huhne, Home
affairs spokesman said: "The government's Orwellian plans for a vast database of our
private communications are deeply worrying."[14]
Since October 2007 telecommunication companies have been required to keep records of
phone calls and text messages for twelve months under the Data Retention Directive[15]
Though all telecoms firms already keep data for a period, the regulations are designed to
ensure a uniform approach across the industry.[16] This enables the Government and other
selected authorities within the UK such as Police and Councils amongst others to monitor
all phone calls made from a UK landline or Mobile upon request.
In 2002 the UK government announced plans [17] to extend the Regulation of Investigatory
Powers Act(RIPA), so that at least 28 government departments would be given powers to
browse citizens' web, email, telephone and fax records, without a warrant and without a
subject's knowledge. Public and security authorities made a total of 440,000 requests to
monitor people's phone and internet use [18] in 2005-2006.
In the period 11 April to 31 December 2006 the UK gov issued 253,557 requests for
communication data, which as defined by the RIPA includes who you phoned, when they
phoned you, how long they phoned you for, subscriber information and associated
addresses.[19]
Mass surveillance 160
Vehicle tracking
Overseas travel
In February 2009 it emerged that the government is planning a database to track and store
records of all international travel into and out of the UK. The database will retain record of
names, addresses, telephone numbers, seat reservations, travel itineraries and credit card
details, which will be kept for 'no more than 10 years'.[24]
Protests
Forward Intelligence Teams conduct mass surveillance of political and environmental
protestors and of journalists . The information they gather is then stored on the crimint
database.[25]
Mass surveillance 161
United States
Internet Communications
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has an ongoing lawsuit (Hepting v. AT&T) against the
telecom giant AT&T for its assistance of the U.S. government in monitoring the
communications of millions of American citizens. It has managed thusfar to keep the
proceedings open. Recently the documents, exposed by a whistleblower who previously
worked for AT&T, showing schematics of the massive data mining system were made
public.[30] [31]
The FBI developed the computer programs "Magic Lantern" and CIPAV, which they can
remotely install on a computer system, in order to monitor a person's computer activity. [32]
In 1999 two models of mandatory data retention were suggested for the US: What IP
address was assigned to a customer at a specific time. In the second model, "which is closer
to what Europe adopted", telephone numbers dialed, contents of Web pages visited, and
recipients of e-mail messages must be retained by the ISP for an unspecified amount of
time.[33] [34]
The Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the Exploitation of Today's Youth (SAFETY) Act of
2009 also known as H.R. 1076 and S.436 would require providers of "electronic
communication or remote computing services" to "retain for a period of at least two years
all records or other information pertaining to the identity of a user of a temporarily
assigned network address the service assigns to that user."[35]
Mass surveillance 162
Telephones
In early 2006, USA Today reported that several major telephone companies were
cooperating illegally with the National Security Agency to monitor the phone records of
U.S. citizens, and storing them in a large database known as the NSA call database. This
report came on the heels of allegations that the U.S. government had been conducting
electronic surveillance of domestic telephone calls without warrants.[36]
Law enforcement and intelligence services in the United States possess technology to
remotely activate the microphones in cell phones in order to listen to conversations that
take place nearby the person who holds the phone.[37] [38]
U.S. federal agents regularly use mobile phones to collect location data. The geographical
location of a mobile phone (and thus the person carrying it) can be determined easily
(whether it is being used or not), using a technique known multilateration to calculate the
differences in time for a signal to travel from the cell phone to each of several cell towers
near the owner of the phone. [39] [40]
Surveillance Cameras
Traffic cameras, which were meant to help enforce traffic laws at intersections, have also
sparked some controversy, due to their use by law enforcement agencies for purposes
unrelated to traffic violations.[41]
The Department of Homeland Security is funding networks of surveillance cameras in cities
and towns as part of its efforts to combat terrorism.[42] In February 2009, Cambridge, MA
rejected the cameras due to privacy concerns.[43]
Data Mining
The NSA has been gathering information on financial records, internet surfing habits, and
monitoring e-mails. They have also performed extensive surveillance on social networks
such as Myspace.[44]
The FBI collected nearly all hotel, airline, rental car, gift shop, and casino records in Las
Vegas during the last two weeks of 2003. The FBI requested all electronic data of hundreds
of thousands of people based on a very general lead for the Las Vegas New Year's
celebration. The Senior VP of The Mirage went on record with PBS' Frontline describing
the first time they were requested to help in the mass collection of personal information.[45]
European Union
The legislative body of the European Union passed the Data Retention Directive on
2005-12-15. It requires telecommunication operators to implement mass surveillance of the
general public through retention of metadata on telecommunications and to keep the
collected data at the disposal of various governmental bodies for substantially long times.
Access to this information is not required to be limited to investigation of serious crimes,
nor is a warrant required for access.
Mass surveillance 163
Russia
The SORM (and SORM-2) laws enable complete monitoring of any communication,
electronic or traditional, by eight state agencies, without warrant.
East Germany
Before the Digital Revolution, one of the world's biggest mass surveillance operations was
carried out by the Stasi, the secret police of the former East Germany. By the time the state
collapsed in 1989, the Stasi had built up an estimated civilian network of 300,000
informants (approximately one in fifty of the population), who monitored even minute hints
of political dissent among other citizens. Many West Germans visiting friends and family in
East Germany were also subject to Stasi spying, as well as many high-ranking West German
politicians and persons in the public eye.
Most East German citizens were well aware that their government was spying on them,
which led to a culture of mistrust: touchy political issues were only discussed in the comfort
of their own four walls and only with the closest of friends and family members, while
widely maintaining a façade of unquestioning followership in public.
Iran
Iran's crackdown on dissidents and protesters in the aftermath of the June 2009 election
has been said to have been facilitated by surveillance technologies including some provided
by Western European companies. Chip Pitts at www.CSRLaw.org has conducted a good
analysis of the issues involved, noting the parallels to surveillance happening in the United
States and in Western countries.
See also
• Communications Assistance For Law Enforcement Act • NSA call database
• National security
External links
• BBC: Is business the real Big Brother? [49]
[50]
• The UK House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee's report into ID cards
• Bigger databases...could also mean more unwelcome intervention [51]
• Telegraph Online report: Council plans to listen in on street life [52]
• Minnesota CriMNet Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
databases [53]
• Edward Higgs The Development of Central State Surveillance of the Citizen in England,
1500 - 2000 [54]
Mass surveillance 166
References
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[4] " Surveillance Society (http:/ / www. aclu. org/ privacy/ spying/ surveillancesocietyclock2. html)". American
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[5] BBC News - Britain is 'surveillance society' (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ uk/ 6108496. stm), 2 November
2006
[6] Constitution Committee Reports (http:/ / www. publications. parliament. uk/ pa/ ld/ ldconst. htm), House of
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[7] " Lords say surveillance society erodes foundations of UK (http:/ / www. theregister. co. uk/ 2009/ 02/ 06/
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[8] BBC News - Watchdog's Big Brother UK warning (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ uk_politics/ 3568468. stm),
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[9] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Mass_surveillance
[10] McCahill, M. and Norris, C. 2002. Urbaneye: CCTV in London (http:/ / www. urbaneye. net/ results/ ue_wp6.
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[11] The Telegraph - Council plans to listen in on street life (http:/ / www. telegraph. co. uk/ news/ main.
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article4882622. ece)". The Sunday Times. October 5, 2008. . Retrieved on 2009-02-08.
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October 15, 2008. . Retrieved on 2008-10-17. "Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "The
government's Orwellian plans for a vast database of our private communications are deeply worrying." "I hope
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[16] " UK phone records to be kept for a year (http:/ / www. theregister. co. uk/ 2007/ 07/ 27/
data_retention_law_passed/ )". . Retrieved on 2007-10-04.
[17] http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ sci/ tech/ 2038036. stm
[18] http:/ / www. out-law. com/ page-7788
[19] " UK gov issued 250k phone tap licences in nine months (http:/ / www. theregister. co. uk/ 2008/ 01/ 29/
interception_communications_commissioner/ )". .
[20] " Shops secretly track customers via mobile phone (http:/ / technology. timesonline. co. uk/ tol/ news/
tech_and_web/ article3945496. ece)". .
[21] http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ commentisfree/ henryporter/ 2009/ apr/ 24/ database-state-surveillance Henry
Porter The Guardian Blog: Paying billions for our database state
[22] http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ uk/ 6170070. stm
[23] http:/ / www. tes. co. uk/ 2262058
[24] " The government is compiling a database to track and store the international travel records of millions of
Britons. (http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ uk/ feedarticle/ 8347931)". The Guardian (The Press Association).
2009-02-08. . Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
[25] Paul Lewis; Marc Vallée (07 March 2009). " Revealed: police databank on thousands of protesters (http:/ /
www. guardian. co. uk/ uk/ 2009/ mar/ 06/ police-surveillance-protesters-journalists-climate-kingsnorth)". The
Guardian (London): p. 1-2. . Retrieved on 10 March 2009. "Police are targeting thousands of political
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[26] " CALEA Archive – Electronic Frontier Foundation (http:/ / w2. eff. org/ Privacy/ Surveillance/ CALEA/
?f=archive. html)" (in English). Electronic Frontier Foundation (website). . Retrieved on 2009-03-14.
[27] " CALEA: The Perils of Wiretapping the Internet (http:/ / www. eff. org/ issues/ calea)" (in English). Electronic
Frontier Foundation (website). . Retrieved on 2009-03-14.
[28] " CALEA: Frequently Asked Questions (http:/ / www. eff. org/ pages/ calea-faq)" (in English). Electronic
Frontier Foundation (website). . Retrieved on 2009-03-14.
Mass surveillance 167
[29] McCullagh, Declan (January 30, 2007). " FBI turns to broad new wiretap method (http:/ / news. zdnet. com/
2100-9595_22-151059. html)" (in English). ZDNet News. . Retrieved on 2009-03-13.
[30] Unsealed Klein exhibits | Electronic Frontier Foundation (http:/ / eff. org/ legal/ cases/ att/
SER_klein_exhibits. pdf)
[31] Press Releases: June, 2007 | Electronic Frontier Foundation (http:/ / www. eff. org/ news/ archives/ 2007_06.
php)
[32] " FBI's Secret Spyware Tracks Down Teen Who Made Bomb Threats (http:/ / www. wired. com/ politics/ law/
news/ 2007/ 07/ fbi_spyware)". Wired Magazine. 2007-07-18. .
[33] " ISP snooping gaining support (http:/ / news. cnet. com/ ISP-snooping-gaining-support/
2100-1028_3-6061187. html)". CNET. April 14, 2006. . Retrieved on 2009-03-17.
[34] " FBI, politicos renew push for ISP data retention laws (http:/ / news. cnet. com/ 8301-13578_3-9926803-38.
html)". CNET. April 14, 2006. . Retrieved on 2009-03-17. "Based on the statements at Wednesday's hearing and
previous calls for new laws in this area, the scope of a mandatory data retention law remains fuzzy. It could
mean forcing companies to store data for two years about what Internet addresses are assigned to which
customers (Comcast said in 2006 that it would be retaining those records for six months)."
[35] " Proposed Child Pornography Laws Raise Data Retention Concerns (http:/ / www. crn. com/ networking/
214502232)". ChannelWeb. February 20, 2009. . Retrieved on 2009-03-17.
[36] " USATODAY.com - NSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls (http:/ / www. usatoday. com/ news/
washington/ 2006-05-10-nsa_x. htm)". .
[37] McCullagh, Declan; Anne Broache (December 1, 2006). " FBI taps cell phone mic as eavesdropping tool
(http:/ / news. cnet. com/ FBI-taps-cell-phone-mic-as-eavesdropping-tool/ 2100-1029_3-6140191. html)" (in
English). CNet News. . Retrieved on 2009-03-14.
[38] Odell, Mark (August 1, 2005). " Use of mobile helped police keep tabs on suspect (http:/ / news. ft. com/ cms/
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[40] Miller, Joshua (March 14, 2009). " Cell Phone Tracking Can Locate Terrorists - But Only Where It's Legal
(http:/ / www. foxnews. com/ story/ 0,2933,509211,00. html)" (in English). FOX News. . Retrieved on
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driving/ articles/ 42961/ article. html)". .
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[43] " Cambridge rejects surveillance cameras (http:/ / www. boston. com/ news/ local/ breaking_news/ 2009/ 02/
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[44] Is the NSA reading your MySpace profile? | Tech news blog - CNET News.com (http:/ / news. com. com/
2061-10789_3-6082047. html)
[45] FRONTLINE: spying on the home front: transcript | PBS (http:/ / www. pbs. org/ wgbh/ pages/ frontline/
homefront/ etc/ script. html)
[46] " City Is Rebuffed on the Release of ’04 Records - New York Times (http:/ / www. nytimes. com/ 2007/ 08/ 07/
nyregion/ 07police. html?ref=nationalspecial3)". .
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[49] http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ business/ 5015826. stm
[50] http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ nol/ shared/ bsp/ hi/ pdfs/ 29_07_04_idcards. pdf
[51] http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ online/ insideit/ story/ 0,13270,1245613,00. html
[52] http:/ / www. telegraph. co. uk/ news/ main. jhtml?xml=/ news/ 2005/ 05/ 04/ nmic04. xml& sSheet=/ news/
2005/ 05/ 04/ ixhome. html
[53] http:/ / www. crimnet. state. mn. us/
[54] http:/ / www3. interscience. wiley. com/ journal/ 119027415/ abstract
Biometrics 168
Biometrics
Biometrics refers to methods for uniquely
recognizing humans based upon one or
more intrinsic physical or behavioral traits.
In information technology, in particular,
biometrics is used as a form of identity
access management and access control. It
is also used to identify individuals in groups
that are under surveillance.
Introduction
It is possible to understand if a
human characteristic can be
used for biometrics in terms of
the following parameters:[2]
• Universality – each person
should have the
characteristic.
• Uniqueness – is how well
the biometric separates
individuals from another.
• Permanence – measures
how well a biometric resists
The basic block diagram of a biometric system
aging.
• Collectability – ease of acquisition for measurement.
• Performance – accuracy, speed, and robustness of technology used.
• Acceptability – degree of approval of a technology.
• Circumvention – ease of use of a substitute.
A biometric system can provide the following two functions:[3]
Biometrics 169
Performance
The following are used as performance metrics for biometric systems:[4]
• false accept rate or false match rate (FAR or FMR) – the probability that the system
incorreclty matches the input pattern to a non-matching template in the database. It
measures the percent of invalid inputs which are incorreclty accepted.
• false reject rate or false non-match rate (FRR or FNMR) – the probability that the
system fails to detects a match between the input pattern and a matching template in the
database. It measures the percent of valid inputs which are incorrectly rejected.
• receiver operating characteristic or relative operating characteristic (ROC) – The
ROC plot is a visual charactization of the trade-off between the FAR and the FRR. In
general, the matching algorithm performs a decision based on a threshold which
determines how close to a template the input needs to be for it to be considred a match.
If the threshold is reduced, there will be less false non-matches but more false accepts.
Correspondingly, a higher threshold will reduce the FAR but increase the FRR. A
common variation is the Detection error trade-off (DET), which is obtained using normal
deviate scales on both axes. This more linear graph illuminates the differences for higher
performances (rarer errors).
• equal error rate or crossover error rate (EER or CER) – the rate at which both
accept and reject errors are equal. The value of the ERR can be easily obtained from the
Biometrics 170
ROC curve. The ERR is a quick way to compare the accuarcy of devices with differnt ROC
curves. In general, the device with the lowest ERR is most accurate. Obtained from the
ROC plot by taking the point where FAR and FRR have the same value. The lower the
EER, the more accurate the system is considered to be.
• failure to enroll rate (FTE or FER) – the rate at which attempts to create a template
from an input is unsuccessful. This is most commonly caused by low quality inputs.
• failure to capture rate (FTC) – Within automatic systems, the probability that the
system fails to detect a biometric input when presented correctly.
• template capacity – the maximum number of sets of data which can be stored in the
system..
As the sensitivity of the biometric device increaes, the FAR decreases but the FRR
increases.
Discrimination
There are concerns whether our personal information taken through biometric methods can
be misused, e.g. by the government to determine unwanted traits in humans for global
population control. Also, the data obtained using biometrics can be used in ways the
individual doesn't assent to.
Cancelable biometrics
One advantage of passwords over biometrics is that they can be re-issued. If a token or a
password is lost or stolen, it can be cancelled and replaced by a newer version. This is not
naturally available in biometrics. If someone’s face is compromised from a database, they
cannot cancel or reissue it. Cancelable biometrics is a way in which to incorporate
protection and the replacement features into biometrics. It was first proposed by Ratha et
al.[6]
Several methods for generating cancelable biometrics have been proposed. Essentially,
cancelable biometrics perform a distortion of the biometric image or features before
matching. The variability in the distortion parameters provides the cancelable nature of the
scheme. Some of the proposed techniques operate using their own recognition engines,
such as Teoh et al.[7] and Savvides et al.,[8] whereas other methods, such as Dabbah et al.,[9]
take the advantage of the advancement of the well-established biometric research for their
recognition front-end to conduct recognition. Although this increases the restrictions on the
protection system, it makes the cancellable templates more accessible for available
biometric technologies.
Biometrics 171
United States
The United States government has become a strong advocate of biometrics with the
increase in fear of terrorism since September 11, 2001.
The FBI is currently spending $1 billion to create a new biometric database, which will
store DNA, fingerprints, and other biometric data. The computers running the database will
be contained in an underground facility about the size of a football field.[10]
Both the Department of Homeland Security and DARPA are heavily funding research into
facial recognition systems.[11] The Information Processing Technology Office, ran a
program known as Human Identification at a Distance which developed technologies that
are capable of identifying a person at up to 500 ft by their facial features.
Bush issued a presidential directive (NSPD 59, HSPD 24)[12] in 2008 which requires
increased capability for sharing and interoperability in "collection, storage, use, analysis,
and sharing of biometric and associated biographic and contextual information of
individuals" among the departments and agencies of the executive branch of the U.S.
federal government.[12] [13]
Starting in 2005, US passports with facial (image-based) biometric data were scheduled to
be produced. Privacy activists in many countries have criticized the technology's use for the
potential harm to civil liberties, privacy, and the risk of identity theft. Currently, there is
some apprehension in the United States (and the European Union) that the information can
be "skimmed" and identify people's citizenship remotely for criminal intent, such as
kidnapping.
The US Department of Defense (DoD) Common Access Card, is an ID card issued to all US
Service personnel and contractors on US Military sites. This card contains biometric data
and digitized photographs. It also has laser-etched photographs and holograms to add
security and reduce the risk of falsification. There have been over 10 million of these cards
issued.
According to Jim Wayman, director of the National Biometric Test Center at San Jose State
University, Walt Disney World is the nation's largest single commercial application of
biometrics.[14] However, the US-VISIT program will very soon surpass Walt Disney World
for biometrics deployment.
Germany
The biometrics market in Germany will experience enormous growth until 2009. “The
market size will increase from approximately 12 million € (2004) to 377 million €” (2009).
“The federal government will be a major contributor to this development”.[15] In particular,
the biometric procedures of fingerprint and facial recognition can profit from the
government project.[15] In May 2005 the German Upper House of Parliament approved the
implementation of the ePass, a passport issued to all German citizens which contain
biometric technology. The ePass has been in circulation since November 2005, and contains
a chip that holds a digital photograph and one fingerprint from each hand, usually of the
index fingers, though others may be used if these fingers are missing or have extremely
distorted prints. “A third biometric identifier – iris scans – could be added at a later
stage”.[16] An increase in the prevalence of biometric technology in Germany is an effort to
Biometrics 172
not only keep citizens safe within German borders but also to comply with the current US
deadline for visa-waiver countries to introduce biometric passports.[16] In addition to
producing biometric passports for German citizens, the German government has put in
place new requirements for visitors to apply for visas within the country. “Only applicants
for long-term visas, which allow more than three months' residence, will be affected by the
planned biometric registration program. The new work visas will also include
fingerprinting, iris scanning, and digital photos”.[17]
Germany is also one of the first countries to implement biometric technology at the Olympic
Games to protect German athletes. “The Olympic Games is always a diplomatically tense
affair and previous events have been rocked by terrorist attacks - most notably when
Germany last held the Games in Munich in 1972 and 11 Israeli athletes were killed”.[18]
Biometric technology was first used at the Olympic Summer Games in Athens, Greece in
2004. “On registering with the scheme, accredited visitors will receive an ID card
containing their fingerprint biometrics data that will enable them to access the 'German
House'. Accredited visitors will include athletes, coaching staff, team management and
members of the media”.[18]
As a protest against the increasing use of biometric data, the influential hacker group
Chaos Computer Club published a fingerprint of German Minister of the Interior Wolfgang
Schäuble in the March 2008 edition of its magazine Datenschleuder. The magazine also
included the fingerprint on a film that readers could use to fool fingerprint readers.[19]
Brazil
Since the beginning of the 20th century, Brazilian citizens have had user ID cards. The
decision by the Brazilian government to adopt fingerprint-based biometrics was
spearheaded by Dr. Felix Pacheco at Rio de Janeiro, at that time capital of the Federative
Republic. Dr. Pacheco was a friend of Dr. Juan Vucetich, who invented one of the most
complete tenprint classification systems in existence. The Vucetich system was adopted not
only in Brazil, but also by most of the other South American countries. The oldest and most
traditional ID Institute in Brazil (Instituto de Identificação Félix Pacheco) was integrated at
DETRAN[20] (Brazilian equivalent to DMV) into the civil and criminal AFIS system in 1999.
Each state in Brazil is allowed to print its own ID card, but the layout and data are the same
for all of them. The ID cards printed in Rio de Janeiro are fully digitized using a 2D bar code
with information which can be matched against its owner off-line. The 2D bar code encodes
a color photo, a signature, two fingerprints, and other citizen data. This technology was
developed in 2000 in order to enhance the safety of the Brazilian ID cards.
By the end of 2005, the Brazilian government started the development of its new passport.
The new documents started to be released by the beginning of 2007, in Brasilia. The new
passport included several security features, like Laser perforation, UV hidden symbols,
security layer over variable data and etc. Brazilian citizens will have their signature, photo,
and 10 rolled fingerprints collected during passport requests. All of the data is planned to
be stored in ICAO E-passport standard. This allows for contactless electronic reading of the
passport content and Citizens ID verification since fingerprint templates and token facial
images will be available for automatic recognition.
Biometrics 173
Iraq
Biometrics are being used extensively in Iraq to catalogue as many Iraqis as possible
providing Iraqis with a verifiable identification card, immune to forgery. During account
creation, the collected biometrics information is logged into a central database which then
allows a user profile to be created. Even if an Iraqi has lost their ID card, their
identification can be found and verified by using their unique biometric information.
Additional information can also be added to each account record, such as individual
personal history. This can help American forces determine whether someone has been
causing trouble in the past. One major system in use in Iraq is called BISA.[21] This system
uses a smartcard and a user's biometrics (fingerpint, iris, and face photos) to ensure they
are authorized access to a base or facility.[22] Another is called BAT for Biometric
Automated Toolset.[23]
Japan
Several banks in Japan have adopted either palm vein authentication or finger vein
authentication technology on their ATMs. Palm vein authentication technology which was
developed by Fujitsu, among other companies, proved to have a false acceptance rate of
0.01177% and a false rejection rate of 4.23%. Finger vein authentication technology,
developed by Hitachi, has a false acceptance rate of 0.0100% and a false rejection rate of
1.26%.[24] Finger vein authentication technology has so far been adopted by banks such as
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group and Japan Post Bank. Palm vein
authentication technology has been adopted by banks such as the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi
UFJ.[25]
United Kingdom
Fingerprint scanners used in some schools to facilitate the subtraction of funds from an
account financed by parents for the payment of school dinners. By using such a system
nutritional reports can be produced for parents to surveil a child's intake. This has raised
questions from liberty groups as taking away the liberty of choice from the youth of society.
Other concerns arise from the possibility of data leaking from the providers of school meals
to interest groups that provide health services such as the NHS and insurance groups that
may end up having a detrimental effect on the ability of individuals to enjoy equality of
access to services.
Australia
Visitors intending to visit Australia may soon have to submit to biometric authentication as
part of the Smartgate system, linking individuals to their visas and passports. Biometric
data are already collected from some visa applicants by Immigration. Australia is the first
country to introduce a Biometrics Privacy Code, which is established and administered by
the Biometrics Institute. The Biometrics Institute Privacy Code Biometrics Institute [26]
forms part of Australian privacy legislation. The Code includes privacy standards that are at
least equivalent to the Australian National Privacy Principles (NPPs) in the Privacy Act and
also incorporates higher standards of privacy protection in relation to certain acts and
practices. Only members of the Biometrics Institute are eligible to subscribe to this Code.
Biometrics Institute membership, and thus subscription to this Code, is voluntary.
Biometrics 174
Canada
Canada have begun research into the use of biometric technology in the area of border
security and immigration. Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Canada Border
Services Agency will probably be the first government institutions to fully implement the
technology in Canada.
See also
• Access control
• AFIS
• Biometric passport
• Biometrics in schools
• British biometric national identity card
• Facial recognition system
• Fingerprint recognition
• Government databases
• Iris recognition
• Retinal scan
• Speaker recognition
• Surveillance
Biometrics 175
Further reading
• White Paper - Identification Flats: A Revolution in Fingerprint Biometrics [28]. Published
by Aware, Inc., March 2009.
• [29]. SecuGen Fingerprint Readers Now Work with Tutis Biometric Logon Software to
Authenticate Users to Active Directory
• NBSP Biometric Technology Application Manual [30]. Published by the National Biometric
Security Project (NBSP), the BTAM is a comprehensive reference manual on biometric
technology applications.
• “Fingerprints Pay For School Lunch.” (2001). Retrieved 2008-03-02. [31]
• Yun, Yau Wei. The ‘123’ of Biometric Technology, 2003. Retrieved from on November 21,
2005 from the World Wide Web: [32]
• Biometric Digest newsletter. Published monthly with weekly updates. 64 issues per year.
Primary source of news & information, vendors, case studies, calendar of events for
expositions & conferences, financial reports, names in the news and more.[33]
• “Biometrics in Australia.” (2006). Retrieved 2006-06-11. [34]
• “Biometrics Institute Australia Conference”. (2006). Retrieved 2006-06-11. [35]
• “Biometrics an emerging Technology: Market Report Australia”(2005) Retrieved
2006-06-11. [36]
• “Germany clears biometric passports plan.” (2005). Globe and Mail.com Insider Edition.
Retrieved 2006-06-11. [37]
• “Germany to phase-in biometric passports from November 2005”. (2005). E-Government
News. Retrieved 2006-06-11. [38]
• Oezcan, V. (2003). “Germany Weighs Biometric Registration Options for Visa Applicants”,
Humboldt University Berlin. Retrieved 2006-06-11. [39]
• Sturgeon, W. (2004). “Biometrics used to keep German Olympians safe...but what are
they testing - moustache or mullet?” Security Strategy Sillicon.com Retrieved
2006-06-11.[40]
• “The Biometrics Market in Germany 2004-2009: Anti-terrorism Laws Drive Growth”
(2004). Soreon Research. Retrieved 2006-06-11 [41]
References
[1] http:/ / www. cilab. upf. edu/ biosecure1/ public_docs_deli/ BioSecure_Deliverable_D10-2-3_b3. pdf
[2] Jain, A. K.; Ross, Arun; Prabhakar, Salil (January 2004), " An introduction to biometric recognition (http:/ / dx.
doi. org/ 10. 1109/ TCSVT. 2003. 818349)", IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology
14th (1): 4–20, doi: 10.1109/TCSVT.2003.818349 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1109/ TCSVT. 2003. 818349)
[3] Jain, A. K.; Ross, A.; Pankanti, S. (June 2006), " Biometrics: A Tool for Information Security (http:/ / dx. doi. org/
10. 1109/ TIFS. 2006. 873653)", IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security 1st (2), doi:
10.1109/TIFS.2006.873653 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1109/ TIFS. 2006. 873653)
[4] " "CHARACTERISTICS OF BIOMETRIC SYSTEMS" (http:/ / www. ccert. edu. cn/ education/ cissp/ hism/
039-041. html)". Cernet. .
[5] BBC News: Malaysia car thieves steal finger (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ asia-pacific/ 4396831. stm)
Another report, giving more credence to the story: (http:/ / www. assaabloyfuturelab. com/ FutureLab/
Templates/ Page2Cols____266. aspx)
[6] N. K. Ratha, J. H. Connell, and R. M. Bolle, "Enhancing security and privacy in biometrics-based authentication
systems," IBM systems Journal, vol. 40, pp. 614-634, 2001.
[7] A. B. J. Teoh, A. Goh, and D. C. L. Ngo, "Random Multispace Quantization as an Analytic Mechanism for
BioHashing of Biometric and Random Identity Inputs," Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, IEEE
Transactions on, vol. 28, pp. 1892-1901, 2006.
[8] M. Savvides, B. V. K. V. Kumar, and P. K. Khosla, ""Corefaces"- Robust Shift Invariant PCA based Correlation
Filter for Illumination Tolerant Face Recognition," presented at IEEE Computer Society Conference on
Biometrics 176
Societal collapse
Societal collapse broadly includes both quite abrupt societal failures typified by the
Biblical story of the Tower of Babel, the Mayan Civilization collapse and others of the type,
as well as more extended grinding declines of former superpowers like the Roman empire.
The great irony expressed by these and others like them is that civilizations that seem
ideally designed to creatively solve problems find themselves doing so self-destructively.
What distinguishes these more dramatic failures of human societies, seeming to deserve the
term "collapse", from less dramatic long term decline is not widely agreed on. The subject
also then generally includes any other long term decline of a culture, its civil institutions or
other major characteristics of it as a society or a civilization, generally permanent.
The coupled breakdown of economic, cultural and social institutions with ecological
relationships is perhaps the most common feature of collapse. The most accessible and
thorough discussions of the subject are the review of the scientific anthropology literature
by J.A. Tainter and the popular but thorough book of the same title by Jared Diamond.
Although a societal collapse is generally an endpoint for that form of administering the
social and economic life of a culture, it can be as another kind of change of administration
of the same culture. Russian culture would seem to have outlived both the society of the
Czars and the society of the Soviet Union, for example. Frequently the phenomenon is also
a process of decentralization of authority after a 'classic' period of centralized social order,
perhaps replaced by competing centers as the central authority weakens.
Societal collapse is certainly not a benign social process, but remnants may linger long
after the high culture of the society vanishes. As when the black plague contributed to
breaking the hold of European feudal society on its underclass in the 1400s, societal failure
may also result in a degree of empowerment for the lower levels of a former climax society,
who escape from the burden of onerous taxes and control by exploitative elites.
The common factors appearing to contribute to societal collapse are economic,
environmental, social and cultural, but they manifest combined effects like a whole system
out of balance. In many cases a natural disaster (e.g. tsunami, earthquake, massive fire or
climate change) may seem to be an immediate cause, but, other cases of civilizations in
similar situations that were resilient and survived the same kind of insult make such causes
not sufficient.
That is the very sharp reasoning method used by Joseph Tainter, and how he combed the
evidence to weed out the insufficient causes in his thesis that societies essentially
exhausted their own designs, and were unable to adapt to natural diminishing returns for
what they knew as their method of survival. It matches closely Toynbee's idea that "they
find problems they can't solve".
The diversity of forms of societies correspond to diversity in their failures too. In other
instances significant inequity may combine with lack of loyalty to a central power structure
and result in an oppressed lower class to rise up and taking power from a smaller wealthy
elite. If there is a general "antidote" to collapse it would seem to be societal cohesion,
diversity, and adaptability.
Societal collapse 178
Polynesian islands. In less extreme cases, populations are reduced until a demographic
balance is re-established between human societies and the depleted natural environment.
A classic example is the case of Ancient Rome which had a population of about 1.5 million
during the reign of Trajan in the early 2nd century AD, but had only 15,000 inhabitants
by the 9th century.
“ First the Dominant Minority attempts to hold by force - against all right and reason - a ”
position of inherited privilege which it has ceased to merit; and then the Proletariat repays
injustice with resentment, fear with hate, and violence with violence when it executes its acts
of secession. Yet the whole movement ends in positive acts of creation - and this on the part
of all the actors in the tragedy of disintegration. The Dominant Minority creates a universal
state, the Internal Proletariat a universal church, and the External Proletariat a bevy of
barbarian war-bands.
He argues that, as civilizations decay, they form an "Internal Proletariat" and an "External
Proletariat." The Internal proletariat is held in subjugation by the dominant minority inside
the civilization, and grows bitter; the external proletariat exists outside the civilization in
poverty and chaos, and grows envious. He argues that as civilizations decay, there is a
"schism in the body social," whereby:
• abandon and self-control together replace creativity, and
• truancy and martyrdom together replace discipleship by the creative minority.
Societal collapse 182
He argues that in this environment, people resort to archaism (idealization of the past),
futurism (idealization of the future), detachment (removal of oneself from the realities of a
decaying world), and transcendence (meeting the challenges of the decaying civilization
with new insight, as a Prophet). He argues that those who Transcend during a period of
social decay give birth to a new Church with new and stronger spiritual insights, around
which a subsequent civilization may begin to form after the old has died.
Toynbee's use of the word 'church' refers to the collective spiritual bond of a common
worship, or the same unity found in some kind of social order.
Foreign invasions
The decline of the Roman Empire is one of the events traditionally marking the end of
Classical Antiquity and the beginning of the European Middle Ages. Throughout the fifth
century, the Empire's territories in western Europe and northwestern Africa, including
Italy, fell to various invading or indigenous peoples in what is sometimes called the
Barbarian invasions, although the eastern half still survived with borders essentially intact
for several centuries (until the Arab expansion).
North Africa's populous and flourishing civilization collapsed after exhausting its resources
in internal fighting and suffering devastation from the invasion of the Bedouin tribes of
Banu Sulaym and Banu Hilal.[5] Ibn Khaldun noted that the lands ravaged by Banu Hilal
invaders had become completely arid desert.[6]
In the brutal pillaging that followed Mongol invasions, the invaders decimated the
populations of China, Russia, the Middle East, and Islamic Central Asia. Later Mongol
leaders, such as Timur, though he himself became a Muslim, destroyed many cities,
slaughtered thousands of people and did irreparable damage to the ancient irrigation
systems of Mesopotamia. These invasions transformed a civil society to a nomadic one.[7]
Encounters between European explorers and populations in the rest of the world often
introduced local epidemics of extraordinary virulence. Smallpox ravaged Mexico in the
1520s, killing 150,000 in Tenochtitlán alone, including the emperor, and Peru in the 1530s,
aiding the European conquerors.[8] Some believe that the death of up to 95% of the Native
American population of the New World was caused by Old World diseases.[9]
• Maya
• Munhumutapa Empire
• Olmec
By Incorporation/Absorption
• Sumer
• Ancient Egypt
• Babylonia
• Ancient Levant
• Classical Greece
• Eastern Roman Empire (Medieval Greek) of the Byzantines
• Modern North East Asian civilisations, Hindu and Mughal India
• Qin, Song, Mongol and Qing China
• Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, ending with the Meiji Restoration
• Aztecs and Incas
See also
• Classic Maya collapse • Late 2000s recession
Further reading
• → Diamond, Jared M. (2005). Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New
York: Viking Books. ISBN 0-14-303655-6.
• Homer-Dixon, Thomas. (2006). The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the
Renewal of Civilization. Washington DC: Island Press.
• Tainter, Joseph A. (1990). The Collapse of Complex Societies (1st paperback ed.).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-38673-X.
• Toynbee, Arnold J. (1934-1961). A Study of History, Volumes I-XII. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
• Wright, Ronald. (2004). A Short History of Progress. New York: Carroll & Graf
Publishers. ISBN 0-7867-1547-2.
References
[1] Homer-Dixon, Thomas (2007), "The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity and the Renewal of Civilization"
(Knopf, Canada)
[2] Hall, Charles 2009 "What is the Minimum EROI that a Sustainable Society Must Have" ENERGIES (http:/ /
www. mdpi. com/ 1996-1073/ 2/ 1/ 25)
[3] Population crises and cycles in history (http:/ / home. vicnet. net. au/ ~ozideas/ poprus. htm), A review of the
book Population Crises and Population cycles by Claire Russell and W M S Russell.
[4] Tainter, Joseph (1990), The Collapse of Complex Societies (Cambridge University Press) pp. 59-60.
[5] The Great Mosque of Tlemcen (http:/ / www. muslimheritage. com/ topics/ default. cfm?ArticleID=461),
MuslimHeritage.com
[6] Populations Crises and Population Cycles (http:/ / www. galtoninstitute. org. uk/ Newsletters/ GINL9603/
PopCrises3. htm), Claire Russell and W.M.S. Russell
[7] Ibn Battuta's Trip: Part Three - Persia and Iraq (1326 - 1327) (http:/ / www. sfusd. k12. ca. us/ schwww/
sch618/ Ibn_Battuta/ Battuta's_Trip_Three. html)
[8] Smallpox: Eradicating the Scourge (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ history/ british/ empire_seapower/ smallpox_01.
shtml)
[9] The Story Of... Smallpox – and other Deadly Eurasian Germs (http:/ / www. pbs. org/ gunsgermssteel/
variables/ smallpox. html)
Monkeywrenching 185
Monkeywrenching
1. REDIRECT ecotage
Philosophy of technology
The philosophy of technology is a philosophical field dedicated to studying the nature of
technology and its social effects.
History
Considered under the rubric of the Greek term techne (art, or craft knowledge), the
philosophy of technology goes to the very roots of Western philosophy.
• In his Republic, Plato sees techne as the basis for the philosophers' proper rule in the
city.
• In the Nicomachean Ethics (Book 6), Aristotle describes techne as one of the four ways
that we can know about the world.
• The Stoics argued that virtue is a kind of techne based upon a proper understanding of
the universe.
Contemporary philosophy
Contemporary philosophers with an interest in technology include Jean Baudrillard, Albert
Borgmann, Andrew Feenberg, Langdon Winner, Donna Haraway, Avital Ronell, Don Ihde,
Paul Levinson, Carl Mitcham, Leo Marx, Gilbert Simondon, → Jacques Ellul and Bernard
Stiegler.
While a number of important individual works were published in the second half of the
twentieth century, Paul Durbin has identified two books published at the turn of the century
as marking the development of the philosophy of technology as an academic subdiscipline
with canonical texts [1] ; these were Technology and the Good Life (2000), edited by Eric
Higgs, Andrew Light, and David Strong and American Philosophy of Technology (2001) by
Philosophy of technology 186
Hans Achterhuis.
See also
• Artificial
• Critique of technology
• Ethics of technology
• History of technology
• Industrial sociology
• Philosophy of engineering
• Technological evolution
• Theories of technology
• Naturoid
Further reading
• Joseph Agassi (1985). Technology: Philosophical and Social Aspects, Episteme,
Dordrecht: Kluwer, , ISBN 90-277-2044-4.
• Hans Achterhuis American Philosophy of Technology (2001). Indiana University Press.
ISBN 978-0-253-33903-4
• Jan Kyrre Berg-Olsen and Evan Selinger. (2006). Philosophy of Technology: 5 Questions.
New York: Automatic Press / VIP, [2]
• Borgmann, Albert. (1984). Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life.
University of Chicago Press.
• → Ellul, Jacques. (1964). The Technological Society. Vintage Books.
• Feenberg, Andrew. (1999). Questioning Technology. Routledge Press.
• Heidegger, Martin. (1977). The Question Concerning Technology. Harper and Row.
• Hickman, Larry. (1992). John Dewey's Pragmatic Technology. Indiana University Press.
• Eric Higgs, Andrew Light and David Strong. (2000). Technology and the Good Life
Chicago University Press.
Philosophy of technology 187
• David M. Kaplan, ed. (2004). Readings in the Philosophy of Technology. Rowman &
Littlefield.
• Manuel de Landa War in the Age of Intelligent Machines. (1991). Zone Books. ISBN
978-0942-29975-5.
• Levinson, Paul. (1988). Mind at Large: Knowing in the Technological Age. JAI Press.
• Lyotard, Jean-Francois. (1984). The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge.
University of Minnesota Press.
• McLuhan, Marshall.
• The Gutenberg Galaxy. (1962). Mentor.
• Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. (1964). McGraw Hill.
• Mitcham, Carl. (1994). Thinking Through Technology. University of Chicago Press.
• Nye, David. (2006). Technology Matters. The MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-64067-1
• Scharff, Robert C. and Val Dusek eds. (2003). Philosophy of Technology. The
Technological Condition. An Anthology. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-0-631-22219-4
• Seemann, Kurt. (2003) Basic Principles in Holistic Technology Education. Journal of
Technology Education [3], V14.No.2.
• Simondon, Gilbert.
• Du mode d'existence des objets techniques. (1958). ()
• L'individu et sa genèse physico-biologique (l'individuation à la lumière des notions de
forme et d'information), (1964). Paris PUF ()
• Stiegler, Bernard, (1998). Technics and Time, 1: The Fault of Epimetheus. Stanford
University Press.
• Winner, Langdon. (1977). Autonomous Technology. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0262-23078-0
• Leila Green (2001) Technoculture, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest pp 1–20.
External links
Journals
• Ends and Means [4]
• NetFuture - Technology and Human Responsibility [5]
• Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology [6]
Websites
• Philosophy of Technology [7] entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy by Maarten
Franssen, Gert-Jan Lokhorst, Ibo van de Poel
• Society for Philosophy and Technology [8]
• Essays on the Philosophy of Technology [9] compiled by Frank Edler
Philosophy of technology 188
References
[1] Techné Vol 7 No 1 (http:/ / scholar. lib. vt. edu/ ejournals/ SPT/ v7n1/ intro. html)
[2] http:/ / www. philosophytechnology. com
[3] http:/ / scholar. lib. vt. edu/ ejournals/ JTE/ v14n2/ seemann. html
[4] http:/ / www. abdn. ac. uk/ philosophy/ endsandmeans/
[5] http:/ / www. netfuture. org/
[6] http:/ / scholar. lib. vt. edu/ ejournals/ SPT/
[7] http:/ / plato. stanford. edu/ entries/ technology
[8] http:/ / www. spt. org/
[9] http:/ / commhum. mccneb. edu/ philos/ techessay. htm
Modern examples
There are an extraordinary number of examples how science and technology has helped us
that can be seen in society today. One great example is the mobile phone. Ever since the
invention of the telephone society was in need of a more portable device that they could use
to talk to people. This high demand for a new product led to the invention of the mobile
phone, which did, and still does, greatly influence society and the way people live their
lives. Now many people are accessible to talk to whoever they want no matter where any of
the two people are. All these little changes in mobile phones, like Internet access, are
further examples of the cycle of co-production. Society's need for being able to call on
people and be available everywhere resulted in the research and development of mobile
phones. They in turn influenced the way we live our lives. As the populace relies more and
more on mobile phones, additional features were requested. This is also true with today's
modern media player.
Society also determined the changes that were made to the previous generation media
player that the manufactures developed. Take for example, today's media players. At the
beginning, cassettes were being used to store data. However, that method was large and
cumbersome so the manufactures developed compact disks, which were smaller and could
hold more data. Later, compact disks were again too large and did not hold enough data
that forced today's manufactures to create MP3 players which are small and holds large
amount of data. Today's society determined the course of events that many manufactures
took to improving their products so today's consumers will purchase their products.
Technology and society 189
Funding
Consequently, the sources of funding for large technological efforts have dramatically
narrowed, since few have ready access to the collective labor of a whole society, or even a
large part. It is conventional to divide up funding sources into governmental (involving
whole, or nearly whole, social enterprises) and private (involving more limited, but
generally more sharply focused) business or individual enterprises.
Private funding
Research and development is one of the biggest areas of investments made by corporations
toward new and innovative technology.
Many foundations and other nonprofit organizations contribute to the development of
technology. In the OECD, about two-thirds of research and development in scientific and
technical fields is carried out by industry, and 20 percent and 10 percent respectively by
universities and government. But in poorer countries such as Portugal and Mexico the
industry contribution is significantly less. The U.S. government spends more than other
countries on military research and development, although the proportion has fallen from
about 30 percent in the 1980s to less than 100 percent.[1]
Values
• Mechanistic world view: Viewing the universe as a collection of parts, (like a machine),
that can be individually analyzed and understood (McGinn 1991). This is a form of
reductionism that is rare nowadays. However, the "neo-mechanistic world view" holds
that nothing in the universe cannot be understood by the human intellect. Also, while all
things are greater than the sum of their parts (e.g., even if we consider nothing more
than the information involved in their combination), in principle, even this excess must
eventually be understood by human intelligence. That is, no divine or vital principle or
essence is involved.
• Efficiency: A value, originally applied only to machines, but now applied to all aspects of
society, so that each element is expected to attain a higher and higher percentage of its
maximal possible performance, output, or ability. (McGinn 1991)
• Social progress: The belief that there is such a thing as social progress, and that, in the
main, it is beneficent. Before the Industrial Revolution, and the subsequent explosion of
technology, almost all societies believed in a cyclical theory of social movement and,
indeed, of all history and the universe. This was, obviously, based on the cyclicity of the
seasons, and an agricultural economy's and society's strong ties to that cyclicity. Since
much of the world is closer to their agricultural roots, they are still much more amenable
to cyclicity than progress in history. This may be seen, for example, in Prabhat rainjan
sarkar's modern social cycles theory [2]. For a more westernized version of social
cyclicity, see Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069 (Paperback) by
Neil Howe and William Strauss; Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (September 30, 1992);
ISBN 0-688-11912-3, and subsequent books by these authors.
Technology and society 192
International
Technology enables greater knowledge of international issues, values, and cultures. Due
mostly to mass transportation and mass media, the world seems to be a much smaller
place, due to the following, among others:
• Globalization of ideas
• Embeddedness of values
• Population growth and control
• Others
Ethics
Winston (2003) provides an excellent summary of the ethical implications of technological
development and deployment. He states there are four major ethical implications:
• Challenges traditional ethical norms. Because technology impacts relationships among
individuals, it challenges how individuals deal with each other, even in ethical ways. One
example of this is challenging the definition of "human life" as embodied by debates in
the areas of abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, etc., which all involve modern
technological developments.
• Creates an aggregation of effects. One of the greatest problems with technology is that
its detrimental effects are often small, but cumulative. Such is the case with the pollution
from the burning of fossil fuels in automobiles. Each individual automobile creates a very
small, almost negligible, amount of pollution, however the cumulative effect could
possibly contribute to the global warming effect. Other examples include accumulations
of chemical pollutants in the human body, urbanization effects on the environment, etc.
• Changes the distribution of
justice. In essence, those
with technology tend to
have higher access to
justice systems. Or, justice
is not distributed equally to
those with technology
versus those without.
• Provides great power. Not
only does technology
A Lancaster dropping bundles of 4lb stick incendiaries (left), 30lb
amplify the ability, and incendiaries and a "cookie" (right)
hence the strength, of
humans, it also provides a great strategic advantage to the human(s) who hold the
greatest amount of technology. Consider the strategic advantage gained by having
greater technological innovations in the military, pharmaceuticals, computers, etc. For
example, Bill Gates has considerable influence (even outside of the computer industry) in
the course of human affairs due to his successful implementation of computer
technology.
Technology and society 193
Lifestyle
In many ways, technology simplifies life.
• The rise of a leisure class
• A more informed society,which can make quicker responses to events and trends
• Sets the stage for more complex learning tasks
• Increases multi-tasking (although this may not be simplifying)
• Global networking
• Creates denser social circles
• Cheaper prices
• Greater specialization in jobs
In other ways, technology complicates life.
• Pollution is a serious problem in a technologically advanced society (from acid rain to
Chernobyl and Bhopal)
• The increase in transportation technology has brought congestion in some areas
• Technicism (although this may not be complicating)
• New forms of danger existing as a consequence of new forms of technology, such as the
first generation of nuclear reactors
• New forms of entertainment, such as video games and internet access could have
possible social effects on areas such as academic performance
• Increased probability of some diseases and disorders, such as obesity
• Social separation of singular human interaction. Technology has increased the need to
talk to more people faster.
• Structural unemployment
• Anthropocentric climate change
Environment
Technology provides an understanding, and an appreciation for the world around us.
Most modern technological processes produce unwanted byproducts in addition to the
desired products, which is known as industrial waste and pollution. While most material
waste is re-used in the industrial process, many forms are released into the environment,
with negative environmental side effects, such as pollution and lack of sustainability.
Different social and political systems establish different balances between the value they
place on additional goods versus the disvalues of waste products and pollution. Some
technologies are designed specifically with the environment in mind, but most are designed
first for economic or ergonomic effects. Historically, the value of a clean environment and
more efficient productive processes has been the result of an increase in the wealth of
society, because once people are able to provide for their basic needs, they are able to
Technology and society 194
Choice
Society also controls technology through the choices it makes. These choices not only
include consumer demands; they also include:
• the channels of distribution, how do products go from raw materials to consumption to
disposal;
• the cultural beliefs regarding style, freedom of choice, consumerism, materialism, etc.;
• the economic values we place on the environment, individual wealth, government control,
capitalism, etc.
According to Williams and Edge (1996), the construction and shaping of technology
includes the concept of choice (and not necessarily conscious choice). Choice is inherent in
both the design of individual artifacts and systems, and in the making of those artifacts and
systems.
The idea here is that a single technology may not emerge from the unfolding of a
predetermined logic or a single determinant, technology could be a garden of forking paths,
with different paths potentially leading to different technological outcomes. This is a
position that has been developed in detail by Judy Wajcman Therefore, choices could have
differing implications for society and for particular social groups.hh
Autonomous technology
In one line of thought, technology develops autonomously, in other words, technology
seems to feed on itself, moving forward with a force irresistible by humans. To these
individuals, technology is "inherently dynamic and self-augmenting." (McGinn 1991, p. 73)
→ Jacques Ellul is one proponent of the irresistibleness of technology to humans. He
espouses the idea that humanity cannot resist the temptation of expanding our knowledge
and our technological abilities. However, he does not believe that this seeming autonomy of
Technology and society 195
technology is inherent. But the perceived autonomy is due to the fact that humans do not
adequately consider the responsibility that is inherent in technological processes.
Another proponent of these ideas is Langdon Winner who believes that technological
evolution is essentially beyond the control of individuals or society.
Government
Individuals rely on governmental assistance to control the side effects and negative
consequences of technology.
• Supposed independence of government. An assumption commonly made about the
government is that their governance role is neutral or independent. However some argue
that governing is a political process, so government will be influenced by political winds
of influence. In addition, because government provides much of the funding for
technological research and development, it has a vested interest in certain outcomes.
Other point out that the world's biggest ecological disasters, such as the Aral Sea,
Chernobyl, and Lake Karachay have been caused by government projects, which are not
accountable to consumers.
• Liability. One means for controlling technology is to place responsibility for the harm
with the agent causing the harm. Government can allow more or less legal liability to fall
to the organizations or individuals responsible for damages.
• Legislation. A source of controversy is the role of industry versus that of government in
maintaining a clean environment. While it is generally agreed that industry needs to be
held responsible when pollution harms other people, there is disagreement over whether
this should be prevented by legislation or civil courts, and whether ecological systems as
such should be protected from harm by governments.
Recently the social shaping of technology has had new influence in the fields of e-science
and e-social science in the United Kingdom, which has made centers focusing on the social
shaping of science and technology a central part of their funding programs.
See also
• → Appropriate technology
• E-Social Science
• Golden hammer
• History of science and technology
• Technological evolution
• Deindustrialization
• High technology
• Humanities policy
• Innovation
• Internet
• Knowledge economy
• → Lewis Mumford
• List of emerging technologies
• → Anarcho-primitivism
• Science and technology studies
• Social shaping of technology
• Myth of Progress
Technology and society 196
• Technology assessment
• Theories of technology
• Timeline of historic inventions
• Technological convergence
• Technology Tree
• List of "ologies"
• Technological superpowers
References
^ ^^ ^^^
• McGinn, Robert E. (1991). Science, Technology, and Society. Englewood Cliffs,
N.J.: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-794736-4.
• ^ Williams, Robin; Edge, David (1996). "What is the Social Shaping of Technology? (The
Introduction to paper "The Social Shaping of Technology".) [3]". Research Policy 25. http:/
/ www. rcss. ed. ac. uk/ technology/ SSTRP. html. Retrieved on August 10 2006.
^ ^^
• Winston, Morton (2003). "Children of invention". in in Morton Winston and Ralph
Edelbach (eds.),. Society, Ethics, and Technology (2nd ed. ed.). Belmont, Calif.:
Thomson/Wadsworth. ISBN 0-534-58540-X.
Bibliography
• Adas, Michael (1989). Machines as the Measure of Men: Science, Technology, and
Ideologies of Western Dominance. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-2303-1.
• Noble, David F. (1984). Forces of Production: A Social History of Industrial Automation.
New York: Knopf. ISBN 0-394-51262-6.
• Smil, Vaclav (1994). Energy in World History. Boulder: Westview Press. pp. pp. 259-267.
ISBN 0-8133-1901-3. Cited at Technology Chronology [4] (accessed September 11, 2005).
• Introduction to Social Macrodynamics: Compact Macromodels of the World System
Growth by Andrey Korotayev, Artemy Malkov, and Daria Khaltourina. ISBN
5-484-00414-4 [5]
External links
[6]
• STS Wiki
• Engines of Our Ingenuity [7], site for a radio program that tells the story of how our
culture is formed by human creativity.
• Examples for Innovation and New Technologies [8]
• Law, technology and other musings [9]
Technology and society 197
References
[1] http:/ / www. oecd. org/ dataoecd/ 49/ 45/ 24236156. pdf
[2] http:/ / www. metafuture. org/ sarkar/ prabhat. htm
[3] http:/ / www. rcss. ed. ac. uk/ technology/ SSTRP. html
[4] http:/ / www. thenagain. info/ webchron/ Technology/ Technology. html
[5] http:/ / urss. ru/ cgi-bin/ db. pl?cp=& lang=en& blang=en& list=14& page=Book& id=34250
[6] http:/ / en. stswiki. org/ wiki/ Main_Page
[7] http:/ / www. uh. edu/ engines/ engines. htm
[8] http:/ / www. promot. org/ index. html
[9] http:/ / www. vicasting. com/ contents. aspx/ pid/ 4013/
Appropriate technology
Appropriate technology (AT) is
technology that is designed with
special consideration to the
environmental, ethical, cultural,
social and economical aspects of
the community it is intended for.
With these goals in mind, AT
typically requires fewer resources,
is easier to maintain, has a lower
overall cost and less of an impact
on the environment compared to
industrialized practices.[1]
The term is usually used to The Universal Nut Sheller in use in Uganda, an example of
describe simple technologies appropriate technology
Appropriate
technology founders
In the modern world appropriate technology is supposed to commence from Mohandas
Gandhi who advocated small, local, mostly village-based technology to help India's villages
become self reliant and thus aid in the freedom struggle against British and wealthy
Indians. Gandhi's philosophies on technology were contrary to the belief that technological
development was inherently synonymous with progress. He believed the powers of
technology should be produced and used artfully and the benefits should be close to the
individual and widely produced and distributed in a decentralised fashion. Gandhi claimed
that his favorite technologies were the sewing machine, because it was invented out of love,
and the bicycle, because it kept one's feet close to the ground. He felt that the paradigm of
technology should not be one that disenfranchises people and be used in the pursuit of
violence, rather, it should be used in a way that empowers people broadly. Integrated with
the movement for self-rule, which was based on local economies, Gandhi championed the
spinning wheel, or charka, employed in the khadi movement in the 1920s, which produced
cloth locally in an act of civil disobedience of the imperial system, causing the British
monopoly on textiles to collapse. However, in the movement for Swaraj, or home rule,
Gandhi believed in a total revolution of production, saying that "It is not about getting rid of
the tiger and keeping the tiger's nature". Having said "it is better for a machine to be idle
than a man to be idle", Gandhi rejected the factory model of industrialisation, which valued
production over the worker. He raised money to offer a reward for someone to invent a
spinning wheel that could employ people in the same way, while producing more thread.
E. F. Schumacher who was very strongly influenced by Gandhi's philosophy took his village
development further and coined "intermediate technology" in early 1970s. It is
Schumacher's book Small is Beautiful that really started the appropriate technology
movement.
Appropriate technology 199
Intermediate technology
Coined by E. F. Schumacher, the term intermediate technology is similar to appropriate
technology. It refers specifically to tools and technology that are significantly more
effective and expensive than traditional methods, but still an order of magnitude (one tenth)
cheaper than developed world technology. Proponents argue that such items can be easily
purchased and used by poor people, and according to proponents can lead to greater
productivity while minimizing social dislocation. Much intermediate technology can also be
built and serviced using locally available materials and knowledge. This intermediate
technology is conducive to decentralization, compatible with the laws of ecology, gentle in
its use of scarce resources, and designed to serve the human person instead of making him
the servant of machines.
Sewage sludge is collected not by hand, but through a sludge processing plant that
automatically heats the matter and conveys it into fertiliser pellets (hereby removing
possible contamination by chemical detergents, ...)[12] This approach allows to eliminate
seawater pollution by conveying the water directly to the sea without treatment (a practice
which is still common in developing countries, despite environmental regulation). Sludge
plants are useful in areas that have already set-up a sewage-system, but not in areas
without such a system, as composting toilets are more efficient and do not require sewage
pipes (which break over time).
After collection, the obtained materials often need to be melted and recasted in forgeries
and/or may require bending, cutting, folding, ... in a workshop. Plastics are a special case
that are too melted in a workshop, using small, purpose-build hand-operated melting
containers. Metalworking tools that can be used to cut, fold, ... the metal are the OpenLathe
and Multimachine. Also, some CNC metalworking tools [13] can be appropriate.
In some cases, melting and recasting is not required, as some parts can be simply cut and
used as is in different devices. An example is the passive solar collector build from old
refridgerator tubing [14].
City construction
In order to increase the efficiency of a great number of city services (efficient water
provisioning, efficient electricity provisioning, easy traffic flow, water drainage, decreased
spread of disease with epidemics, ...), the city itself must first be built correctly. Having the
city designed using a grid plan brings the benefits all in a single go. As in the developing
world, a lot of cities are hugely expanding and new ones are being built. Looking into the
cities design in advance is a must for every developing nation.
Building construction
• Adobe (including the variation called Super Adobe),
• Rammed earth,
• Compressed earth block,
• Dutch brick,
• Cob
• and/or other green building materials could be considered appropriate earth building
technology for much of the developing world, as they make use of materials which are
widely available locally and are thus relatively inexpensive.
The local context must be considered as, for example, mudbrick may not be durable in a
high rainfall area (although a large roof overhang and cement stabilisation can be used to
correct for this), and, if the materials are not readily available, the method may be
inappropriate. Other forms of natural building may be considered appropriate technology,
though in many cases the emphasis is on sustainability/self-sufficiency rather than
affordability or suitability. As such, many buildings are also built to function as an
autonomous building (eg earthships, ...). One example of an organisation that applies
appropriate earthbuilding techniques would be Builders Without Borders.
The building structure must also be considered. Cost/effectiveness is an important issue in
projects based around appropriate technology, and one of the most efficient designs herein
is the Public housing approach. This approach lets everyone have their own
sleeping/recreation space, yet incorporate communal spaces eg. mess halls, Latrines, public
Appropriate technology 202
showers, ...
In addition, to decrease costs of operation (heating, cooling, ...) techniques as Earth
sheltering, Trombe walls, ... are often incorporated.
Organizations as Architecture for Humanity also follows principles consistent with
appropriate technology, aiming to serve the needs of poor and disaster-affected people.
Energy
The term soft energy technology was coined by Amory Lovins
to describe "appropriate" renewable energy.[15]
"Appropriate" energy technologies are especially suitable for
isolated and/or small scale energy needs. However, high
capital cost must be taken into account.
Electricity can be provided from:
• PV solar panels (which are expensive initially, but simple),
and (large) Concentrating solar power plants. PV solar
panels made from Low-cost photovoltaic cells or PV-cells
which have first been concentrated by a Luminescent solar
concentrator-panel are also a good option. Especially
companies as Solfocus [16] make appropriate technology
CSP plants which can be made from waste plastics
polluting the surroundings (see above). In certain cases, a
dish stirling setup could be appropriate (by using low-cost Small scale (DIY) generation
Stirling engines as the Thermomechanical generator); system
primarily as they have greater efficiency, reducing the size
required for the plant. However, repair of these more efficient CSP setups is more
difficult than with regular CLFR, solar power towers or parabolic troughs.
• thermodynamic solar panels
• wind power (home do-it yourself turbines and larger-scale)
• micro hydro, and pico hydro[17]
• human-powered handwheel generators[18]
• other zero emission generation methods
Some intermediate technologies (causing still some degree of pollution) include:
• Biobutanol,
• nuclear power,
• biodiesel,
• and straight vegetable oil can be appropriate, direct biofuels in areas where vegetable oil
is readily available and cheaper than fossil fuels.
• Anaerobic digestion power plants
• Biogas is another potential source of energy, particularly where there is an abundant
supply of waste organic matter. A generator (running on biofuels) can be run more
efficiently if combined with batteries and an inverter; this adds significantly to capital
cost but reduces running cost, and can potentially make this a much cheaper option than
the solar, wind and micro-hydro options.
• Feces (eg cow dung, human, etc) can also be used. For example DEKA's DEKA's Project
Slingshot stirling electricity generator works this energy source to make electricity.
Appropriate technology 203
• Biochar is another similar energy source which can be obtained through charring of
certain types of organic material (eg hazelnut shells, bamboo, chicken manure, ...) in a
pyrolysis unit.[19] A similar energy source is terra preta nova.
Electricity distribution could be improved so to make use of a more structured electricity
line arrangement and universal AC power plugs and sockets (eg the CEE 7/7 plug). In
addition, a universal system of electricity provisioning (eg universal voltage, frequency,
ampère; eg 230V with 50 Hz), as well as perhaps a better mains power system (eg through
the use of special systems as perfected single wire earth returns; eg Tunesia's
MALT-system; which features low costs and easy placement)[20] [21]
Electricity storage (which is required for autonomous energy systems) can be provided
through appropriate technology solutions as deep-cycle and car-batteries (intermediate
technology), long duration flywheels, electrochemical capacitors, compressed air energy
[22]
storage (CAES), liquid nitrogen and pumped hydro. Thanks to Daniel Nocera, low-cost
hydrogen storage now also possible as a mid to short-term storage solution. [23] Many
solutions for the developing world are sold as a single package, containing a (micro)
electricity generation power plant and energy storage. Such packages are called Remote
Area Power Supply
• Handpumps and treadle pumps may provide better quality water with less travel time
than surface water sources, and are generally more appropriate to developing world
contexts than motor-driven pumps. This is because handpumps are far cheaper than
electrical wells (which are mostly dug deep, requiring specialised equipment).
Handpumps and treadle pumps are however only an option in areas where the water
(called an aquifer) is located at a relatively shallow depth (e.g. 10 m). For deeper aquifers
(up to 15 m), submersible pumps placed inside a well) need to be used. A disadvantage
Appropriate technology 204
with handpumps is the required maintenance; if left unused, they soon fail. Treadle
pumps for household irrigation are now being distributed on a widespread basis in
developing countries. The principle of Village Level Operation and Maintenance is
important with handpumps, but may be difficult in application.
• Condensation bags and condensation pits can be an appropriate technology to get water,
yet yields are low and are (for the amount of water obtained), labour intensive. Still, it
may be a good (very cheap) solution for certain desperate communities.
• The hippo water roller allows more water to be carried, with less effort and could thus be
a good alternative for ethnic communities who do not wish to give up water gathering
from remote locations.
• The roundabout playpump, developed and used in southern Africa, harnesses the energy
of children at play to pump water.
In addition, small-scale (or larger scale) water treatment is another possibility, which
simply purifies already available water (eg from surface water as streams/rivers, instead of
gathering it from groundsources or precipitation). Small-scale water treatment is reaching
increasing fractions of the population in low-income countries, particularly in South and
Southeast Asia, in the form of water treatment kiosks (also known as water refill stations or
packaged water producers). While quality control and quality assurance in such locations
may be variable, sophisticated technology (such as multi-stage particle filtration, UV
irradiation, ozonation, and membrane filtration) is applied with increasing frequency. Such
microenterprises are able to vend water at extremely low prices, with increasing
government regulation. Initial assessments of vended water quality are encouraging.
Transportation
Human powered-vehicles include the bicycle, which provides
general-purpose, human-powered transportation at a lower
cost of ownership than motorized vehicles, with many gains
over simply walking, and the whirlwind wheelchair, which
provides mobility for disabled people who cannot afford the
expensive wheelchairs used in developed countries. animal
powered vehicles/transport may also be another appropriate
technology. Certain zero-emissions vehicles may be
considered appropriate transportation technology, including
compressed air cars, liquid nitrogen and hydrogen-powered
vehicles. Also, vehicles with internal combustion engines
may be converted to hydrogen or oxyhydrogen combustion.
Bicycles can also be applied to commercial transport of A man uses a bicycle to cargo
goods to and from remote areas. An example of this is goods in Ouagadougou, Burkina
Faso (2007)
Karaba, a free-trade coffee co-op in Rwanda, which uses 400
modified bicycles to carry hundreds of pounds of coffee
beans for processing.[26] Other projects for developing countries include the redesign of
cycle rickshaws to convert them to electric power.[27]
Appropriate technology 205
Sanitation
As of 2006, waterborne diseases are estimated to cause 1.8
million deaths each year, marking the importance of proper
sanitation systems. It is clear that the developing world is
heavily lacking in proper public sanitation and that solutions
as sewerages (or alternatively small-scale treatment
systems) need to be provided.[28]
Lighting
• White LEDs and a source of renewable energy (such as
solar cells) are used by the Light Up the World Foundation
to provide lighting to poor people in remote areas, and
provide significant benefits compared to the kerosene
lamps which they replace. Certain other companies as
Powerplus also have LED-flashlights with imbedded solar
cells [29].[30]
• The Safe bottle lamp is a safer kerosene lamp designed in Sri Lanka. Lamps as these
allow relative long, mobile, lighting. The safety comes from a secure screw-on metal lid,
and two flat sides which prevent it from rolling if knocked over. An alternative to fuel or
oil-based lanterns is the Uday lantern, developed by Philips as part of its Lighting Africa
[32]
project (sponsored by the World Bank Group).
• The Faraday flashlight is a led flashlight which operates on a capacitor. Recharging can
be done by manual winching or by shaking, hereby avoiding the need of any
supplementary electrical system.
• HID-lamps finally can be used for lighting operations where regular LED-lighting or other
lamps will not suffice. Examples are car headlights. Due to their high efficiency, they are
quite environmental, yet costly, and they still require polluting materials in their
production process.
Food production
Food production has often been included in autonomous building/community projects to
provide security. Skilled, intensive gardening can support an adult from as little as 15
square meters of land. Some proven intensive, low-effort food-production systems include
urban gardening (indoors and outdoors). Indoor cultivation may be set-up using
hydroponics with Grow lights, while outdoor cultivation may be done using permaculture,
forest gardening, no-till farming, Do Nothing Farming, etc. In order to better control the
irrigation outdoors, special irrigation systems may be created as well (although this
increases costs, and may again open the door to cultivating non-indigenous plants;
something which is best avoided). One such system for the developing world is discussed
here [33].
Crop production tools are best kept simple (reduces operating difficulty, cost, replacement
difficulties and pollution, when compared to motorized equipment). Tools can include
scythes,[34] animal-pulled plows[35] (although no-till farming should be preferred),[36]
dibbers, wheeled augers[37] [38] (for planting large trees), kirpis, hoes, ...
Greenhouses are also sometimes included (see Earthship Biotincture). Sometimes they are
also fitted with irrigation systems, and/or heat sink-systems which can respectively irrigate
the plants or help to store energy from the sun and redistribute it at night (when the
greenhouse starts to cool down).
Food preparation
According to proponents, Appropriate Technologies can greatly reduce the labor required
to prepare food, compared to traditional methods, while being much simpler and cheaper
than the processing used in Western countries. This reflects E.F. Schumacher's concept of
"intermediate technology," i.e. technology which is significantly more effective and
expensive than traditional methods, but still an order of magnitude (10 times) cheaper than
developed world technology. Key examples are:
• the Malian peanut sheller
• the fonio husking machine
• the screenless hammer mill
• the ISF corn mill [33]
• the ISF rice huller [33]
Appropriate technology 207
• all other types of electrical or hand-operated kitchen equipment (grinders, cutters, ...)
Special multifunctional kitchen robots that are able to perform several functions (eg
grinding, cutting, and even vacuum cleaning and polishing !) are able to reduce costs
even more. Examples of these devices were eg the (now dicontinued) Piccolo household
appliance from Hammelmann Werke (previously based in Bad Kissingen.) It was
equipped with a flexible axis, allowing a variety of aids to be screwed on.[39] [40]
Cooking
• Solar cookers are appropriate to some settings,
depending on climate and cooking style. They are
emission-less and very low-cost. Hybrid variants also
exist that incorporate a second heating source such
as electrical heating or wood-based.
• Hot plates are 100% electrical, fairly low cost
(around 20€) and are mobile. They do however
require an electrical system to be present in the area
of operation.
• Smokeless and wood conserving stoves promise
greater efficiency and less smoke, resulting in In Ghana, Zouzugu villagers use solar
cookers for preparing their meals
savings in time and labor, reduced deforestation, and
significant health benefits. The stoves however still
make use of wood. However, briquette makers can now turn organic waste into fuel,
saving money and/or collection time, and preserving forests.
• Rocket stoves and certain other woodstoves (eg Philips Woodstove[41] ) improve fuel
efficiency, and reduce harmful indoor air pollution.
Refrigeration
• Solar, special Einstein refrigerators and thermal mass refrigerators reduce the amount of
electricity required. Also, solar and special Einstein refrigerators do not use haloalkanes
(which play a key role in ozone depletion), but use heat pumps or mirrors instead. Solar
refrigerators have been build for developing nations by Sopology.[42] [43]
• The pot-in-pot refrigerator is an African invention which keeps things cool without
electricity. It provides a way to keep food and produce fresh for much longer than would
otherwise be possible. This can be a great benefit to the families who use the device. For
example, it is claimed that girls who had to regularly sell fresh produce in the market can
now go to school instead, as there is less urgency to sell the produce before it loses
freshness.[44]
Appropriate technology 208
Health care
According to the Global Health Council, rather than the use of professionally schooled
doctors, the training of villagers to remedy most maladies in towns in the developing world
is most appropriate.[45] Trained villagers are able to eliminate 80% of the health problems.
Small (low-cost) hospitals -based on the model of the Jamkhed hospital- can remedy another
15%, while only 5% will need to go to a larger (more expensive) hospital.
• Before being able to determine the cause of the disease or malady, accurate diagnosis is
required. This may be done manual (trough observation, inquiries) and by specialised
tools. These include e.g. the
1. Akubio disease detector [46]
2. Low-cost self-diagnosis tool [47]
[48]
3. Low-cost cardiac/diabetes detector
• Herbalist medicines (eg tincures, tisanes, decoctions, ...) are appropriate medicines, as
they can be freely made at home and are almost as effective as their chemical
counterparts. A previous program that made use of herbal medicine was the Barefoot
doctor program.
• A phase-change incubator, developed in the late 1990s, is a low cost way for health
workers to incubate microbial samples.
• Birth control is also seen as an appropriate technology, especially now, because of
increasing population numbers (overpopulating certain areas), increasing food prices and
Appropriate technology 209
poverty. It has been proposed to a certain degree by PATH (program for appropriate
technology in health).[49] [50]
• Jaipur leg was developed by Dr. P. K. Sethi and Masterji Ram Chander in 1968 as an
inexpensive prosthetic leg for victims of landmine explosions.
• Natural cleaning products can be used for personal hygiene and cleaning of clothing and
eating utensils; in order to decrease illnesses/maladies. (as they eliminate a great amount
of pathogens)
Note that many Appropriate Technologies benefit public health, in particular by providing
sanitation and safe drinking water. Refrigeration may also provide a health benefit. (These
are discussed in the following paragraphs.) This was too found at the Comprehensive Rural
Health Project[51] and the Women Health Volunteers projects in countries as Iran, Iraq and
Nepal. [52]
• Rural electrical grids can be wired with "optical phase cable", in which one or more of
the steel armor wires are replaced with steel tubes containing fiber optics.[53]
• Satellite Internet access can provide high speed connectivity to remote locations,
however these are significantly more expensive than wire-based or terrestrial wireless
systems. Wimax and forms of packet radio can also be used. Depending on the speed and
latency of these networks they may be capable of relaying VoIP traffic, negating the need
for separate telephony services. Finally, the Internet Radio Linking Project provides
potential for blending older (cheap) local radio broadcasting with the increased range of
the internet.
• satellite-based telephone systems can also be used, as either fixed installations or
portable handsets and can be integrated into a PABX or local IP-based network.
See also
• Alternative technology
• Alternative propulsion
• Appropedia
• Community-based economics
• Cradle to Cradle
• Critique of technology
• Lifehacking
• Myth of Progress
• DIY culture
• Source reduction
• Zero emission
• Eco-village
• List of environment topics
• Social entrepreneurship
• Green syndicalism
• Deindustrialization
• Permaculture
• Practical Action (charity based in the UK)
• Small is Beautiful
• Synthetic biology
• → Technology and society
Appropriate technology 211
External links
• Appropedia - The Sustainability Wiki - World Wide Wiki of Sustainable Technology.
• International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering (IJSLE) [55] - Peer-reviewed,
semi-annual online journal, covering appropriate and sustainable technologies and
related areas.
• GrAT - Center for Appropriate Technology [56] - GrAT is a scientific association for
research and development of Appropriate Technology in Vienna, Austria.
• [57] - An environmental education center with a focus on living with appropriate
technologies.
References
[1] " Appropriate Technology Sourcebook: Introduction (http:/ / www. villageearth. org/ pages/
Appropriate_Technology/ ATSourcebook/ Introduction. php)" VillageEarth.org. Accessed on 5 July 2008.
[2] Schneider, Keith. "Majoring in Renewable Energy." (http:/ / www. nytimes. com/ 2008/ 03/ 26/ business/
businessspecial2/ 26degree. html?scp=2& sq="appropriate+ technology"& st=nyt) 26 March 2008.
[3] http:/ / www. indiaenvironmentportal. org. in/ node/ 5799
[4] [see http:/ / www. indiaenvironmentportal. org. in/ node/ 5799 and http:/ / www. auroville. org/ thecity/
architecture/ two_at_once. htm BV Doshi as AT founder]
[5] Reyes, W., S. Unakul, M. Acheson. Research in the Development of Appropriate Technology for the
Improvement of Environmental Health at the Village Level (http:/ / repository. searo. who. int/ handle/
123456789/ 6018). World Health Organization. 8 April 1978. p 13.
[6] Joshua M. Pearce, " Teaching Physics Using Appropriate Technology Projects (http:/ / scitation. aip. org/
getabs/ servlet/ GetabsServlet?prog=normal& id=PHTEAH000045000003000164000001& idtype=cvips&
gifs=yes)", The Physics Teacher, 45, pp. 164-167, 2007. pdf
[7] Faulkner, A. O. and M. L. Albertson. "Tandem use of Hard and Soft Technology: an Evolving Model for Third
World Village Development" International Journal of Applied Engineering Education. Vol. 2, No. 2 pp 127-137,
1986.
[8] Schumacher, E. F.; Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered: 25 Years Later...With Commentaries.
Hartley & Marks Publishers ISBN 0-88179-169-5
[9] Appropriate and Sustainable Technology (http:/ / www. edc-cu. org/ R& D. htm)
[10] [www.edc-cu.org/R&D.htm AST definition and technologies]
[11] Recycling plastics in the developing world (http:/ / www. isf-iai. be/ index. php?id=17& L=2)
[12] Sewage sludge to fertiliser plant (http:/ / tucsongreentimes. com/ wordpress/ ?p=484)
[13] http:/ / www. berezin. com/ jeff/ 2008/ 03/ cnc-part-1-unboxing-and-connecting. html
[14] http:/ / www. instructables. com/ id/ Solar-Thermal-Water-Heater-For-Less-Than-Five-Doll/
[15] Soft energy paths: toward a durable peace. San Francisco: Friends of the Earth International ; Cambridge,
Mass: Ballinger Pub. Co., 1977
[16] http:/ / www. solfocus. com/ en/ technology/
[17] Micro hydro in the fight against poverty (http:/ / www. tve. org/ ho/ doc. cfm?aid=1636& lang=English)
[18] Human powered handwheel generators example (http:/ / www. tinytechindia. com/ handwheelgenerator. htm)
[19] Biochar burner/stirling engine setup (http:/ / www. biomassauthority. com/ a/ precer-bioracer-biomass-car/ )
[20] SWER-mains electricty system advantages (http:/ / www. ruralpower. org/ )
[21] Description of Tunesia's MALT-system (http:/ / practicalaction. org/ practicalanswers/ product_info.
php?products_id=293)
[22] Appropriate energy storage by Troy McBride (http:/ / users. etown. edu/ m/ mcbridet/ Research/
McBrideIRESNov2007Presentation trim. ppt)
[23] Daniel Nocera's Low-cost Hydrogen Energy Storage System (http:/ / web. mit. edu/ newsoffice/ 2008/
oxygen-0731. html)
[24] Energy Saving through Motor Control (http:/ / www. elektor. com/ magazines/ 2008/ january/
energy-saving-through-motor-control. 321729. lynkx)
[25] Motor app gains efficiency with electronic control (http:/ / www2. electronicproducts. com/
Motor_app_gains_efficiency_with_electronic_control-article-FAJH_Energy_Nov2008-html. aspx)
[26] Sherwood Stranieri (2008-07-24). " Coffee Cargo Bikes in Rwanda (http:/ / usingbicycles. blogspot. com/
2008/ 07/ video-hauling-coffee-in-rwanda. html)". Using Bicycles. .
Appropriate technology 212
[27] Electric cycle rickshaws as a sustainable transport systems for developing countries (http:/ / www. ias. ac. in/
currsci/ sep252002/ 703. pdf)
[28] "Safe Water System," (http:/ / www. cdc. gov/ safewater/ publications_pages/ fact_sheets/ WW4. pdf) US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Fact Sheet, June 2006.]
[29] http:/ / www. powerplus. nl/ contents/ media/ l_solar_light_rond. JPG
[30] Powerplus Stingray (http:/ / www. powerplus. nl/ )
[31] http:/ / cleantech. com/ news/ 2582/ ge-shows-how-to-roll-out-oleds
[32] Uday lamp and lighting africa project description (http:/ / www. ledsmagazine. com/ news/ 5/ 7/ 10)
[33] http:/ / www. isf-iai. be/ index. php?id=17& L=2
[34] The scythe, an intermediate technology (http:/ / www. villageearth. org/ pages/ Appropriate_Technology/
ATSourcebook/ Agriculturaltools. php)
[35] http:/ / www. isf-iai. be/ index. php?id=17& L=2 plows
[36] AT Plows (http:/ / www. villageearth. org/ pages/ Appropriate_Technology/ ATSourcebook/ Agriculturaltools.
php)
[37] Pflanzfuchs wheeled auger (http:/ / users. skynet. be/ sb021277/ Pages/ Nederlands/ Pflanzfuchs/ PF. html)
[38] 3-point hitch augers for tractors (http:/ / www. rotomec. com/ english/ products/ mole/ mole. html)
[39] Piccolo Hilft der Hausfrau (http:/ / www. antiqbook. de/ boox/ domdey/ 4332. shtml)
[40] Electro As Piccolo (http:/ / www. liveauctioneers. com/ item/ 2421132)
[41] Philips woodstove (http:/ / www. research. philips. com/ newscenter/ archive/ 2006/ 060227-woodstove. html)
[42] Solar refrigerators for developing world (http:/ / news. cnet. com/ Hawaiian-firm-shrinks-solar-thermal-power/
2100-11392_3-6207877. html)
[43] Optimized Einstein Fridge (http:/ / www. greenoptimistic. com/ 2008/ 09/ 21/ einstein-fridge/ )
[44] "Development of a low-cost cooler to preserve perishable foods in countries with arid climates" (http:/ / www.
itdg. org/ html/ agro_processing/ docs29/ FC29_34. pdf), ITDG Food Chain Journal, 29 November 2001.
[45] Use of villagers rather than doctors (http:/ / ngm. nationalgeographic. com/ 2008/ 12/ community-doctors/
rosenberg-text/ 2)
[46] http:/ / www. mtbeurope. info/ news/ 2006/ 610035. htm
[47] http:/ / www. idsa. org/ IDEA_Awards/ gallery/ 2008/ award_details. asp?ID=35918307
[48] http:/ / research. microsoft. com/ en-us/ collaboration/ papers/ hyderabad. pdf
[49] PATH proposing birth control as appropriate technology (http:/ / www. physiciansforlife. org/ content/ view/
367/ 36/ )
[50] PATH working on devices for birth control (http:/ / thewelltimedperiod. blogspot. com/ 2007/ 03/
barrier-birth-control-methods. html)
[51] NGM Necessary angels (http:/ / ngm. nationalgeographic. com/ 2008/ 12/ community-doctors/ follow-up-text)
[52] Women Health Volunteers (http:/ / www. fmreview. org/ FMRpdfs/ FMR19/ FMR1921. pdf)
[53] Northern Economics Inc. and Electric Power Systems Inc. April 2001. "Screening Report for Alaska Rural
Energy Plan." (http:/ / www. dced. state. ak. us/ dca/ AEIS/ PDF_Files/ AIDEA_Energy_Screening. pdf) (Report
published on government website). Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development,
via dced.state.ak.us. Retrieved on 2007-09-16.
[54] http:/ / kiva. org
[55] http:/ / www. engr. psu. edu/ IJSLE/ index. htm
[56] http:/ / www. grat. at
[57] http:/ / www. aprovecho. net
Philosophy of science 213
Philosophy of science
Demarcation
Karl Popper contended that the central question in the philosophy of science was
distinguishing science from non-science.[1] Early attempts by the logical positivists
grounded science in observation while non-science (e.g. metaphysics) was
non-observational and hence nonsense.[2] Popper claimed that the central feature of science
was that science aims at falsifiable claims (i.e. claims that can be proven false, at least in
principle).[3] No single unified account of the difference between science and non-science
has been widely accepted by philosophers, and some regard the problem as unsolvable or
uninteresting.[4]
This problem has taken center stage in the debate regarding evolution and intelligent
design. Many opponents of intelligent design claim that it does not meet the criteria of
science and should thus not be treated on equal footing as evolution.[5] Those who defend
intelligent design either defend the view as meeting the criteria of science or challenge the
coherence of this distinction.[6]
Some antirealists claim that scientific theories aim at being instrumentally useful and
should only be regarded as useful, but not true, descriptions of the world.[8] More radical
antirealists, like Thomas Kuhn and Paul Feyerabend, have argued that scientific theories do
not even succeed at this goal, and that later, more accurate scientific theories are not
[9] [10]
"typically approximately true" as Popper contended.
Realists often point to the success of recent scientific theories as evidence for the truth (or
near truth) of our current theories.[11] [12] [13] [14] [15] Antirealists point to either the history
of science,[16] [17] epistemic morals,[8] the success of false modeling assumptions,[18] or
widely termed postmodern criticisms of objectivity as evidence against scientific
realisms.[19] Some antirealists attempt to explain the success of our theories without
reference to truth[8] [20] while others deny that our current scientific theories are successful
at all.[9] [10]
Scientific explanation
In addition to providing predictions about future events, we often take scientific theories to
offer explanations for those that occur regularly or have already occurred. Philosophers
have investigated the criteria by which a scientific theory can be said to have successfully
explained a phenomenon, as well as what gives a scientific theory explanatory power. One
early and influential theory of scientific explanation was put forward by Carl G. Hempel and
Paul Oppenheim in 1948. Their Deductive-Nomological (D-N) model of explanation says that
a scientific explanation succeeds by subsuming a phenomenon under a general law.[21]
Although ignored for a decade, this view was subjected to substantial criticism, resulting in
several widely believed counter examples to the theory.[22]
In addition to their D-N model, Hempel and Oppenheim offered other statistical models of
explanation which would account for statistical sciences.[21] These theories have received
criticism as well.[22] Salmon attempted to provide an alternative account for some of the
problems with Hempel and Oppenheim's model by developing his statistical relevance
model.[23] [24] In addition to Salmon's model, others have suggested that explanation is
primarily motivated by unifying disparate phenomena or primarily motivated by providing
the causal or mechanical histories leading up to the phenomenon (or phenomena of that
type).[24]
Empirical Verification
Science relies on evidence to validate its theories and models. The predictions implied by
those theories and models should be in agreement with observation. Ultimately,
observations reduce to those made by the unaided human senses: sight, hearing, etc. To be
accepted by most scientists, several disinterested, competent observers (excluding the
blind, etc.) should agree on what is observed. Observations should be repeatable, e.g.,
experiments that generate relevant observations can be (and, if important, usually will be)
done again. Further, predictions should be specific; one should be able to describe a
possible observation that would falsify the theory or model that implied the prediction.
Nevertheless, while the basic concept of empirical verification is simple, in practice, there
are difficulties as described in the following sections.
Induction
It is not possible for scientists to have tested every incidence of an action, and found a
reaction. How is it, then, that they can assert, for example, that Newton's Third Law is in
some sense true? They have, of course, tested many, many actions, and in each one have
been able to find the corresponding reaction. But can we be sure that the next time we test
the Third Law, it will be found to hold true?
One solution to this problem is to rely on the notion of induction. Inductive reasoning
maintains that if a situation holds in all observed cases, then the situation holds in all cases.
So, after completing a series of experiments that support the Third Law, one is justified in
maintaining that the Law holds in all cases.
Explaining why induction commonly works has been somewhat problematic. One cannot
use deduction, the usual process of moving logically from premise to conclusion, because
there is simply no syllogism that will allow such a move. No matter how many times 17th
century biologists observed white swans, and in how many different locations, there is no
deductive path that can lead them to the conclusion that all swans are white. This is just as
well, since, as it turned out, that conclusion would have been wrong. Similarly, it is at least
possible that an observation will be made tomorrow that shows an occasion in which an
action is not accompanied by a reaction; the same is true of any scientific law.
Philosophy of science 216
One answer has been to conceive of a different form of rational argument, one that does not
rely on deduction. Deduction allows one to formulate a specific truth from a general truth:
all crows are black; this is a crow; therefore this is black. Induction somehow allows one to
formulate a general truth from some series of specific observations: this is a crow and it is
black; that is a crow and it is black; therefore all crows are black.
The problem of induction is one of considerable debate and importance in the philosophy of
science: is induction indeed justified, and if so, how?
Theory-dependence of observations
When making observations, scientists peer through telescopes, study images on electronic
screens, record meter readings, and so on. Generally, at a basic level, they can agree on
what they see, e.g., the thermometer shows 37.9 C. But, if these scientists have very
different ideas about the theories that supposedly explain these basic observations, they
can interpret them in very different ways. Ancient "scientists" interpreted the rising of the
Sun in the morning as evidence that the Sun moved. Later scientists deduce that the Earth
is rotating. Or some scientists may conclude that observations confirm some hypothesis;
Philosophy of science 217
skeptical co-workers may suspect that something is wrong with the test equipment.
Observations when interpreted by a scientist's theories are said to be theory-laden.
Observation involves perception as well as a cognitive process. That is, one does not make
an observation passively, but is actively involved in distinguishing the thing being observed
from surrounding sensory data. Therefore, observations depend on some underlying
understanding of the way in which the world functions, and that understanding may
influence what is perceived, noticed, or deemed worthy of consideration. More importantly,
most scientific observation must be done within a theoretical context in order to be useful.
For example, when one observes a measured increase in temperature, that observation is
based on assumptions about the nature of temperature and measurement, as well as
assumptions about how the thermometer that is used to measure the temperature
functions. Such assumptions are necessary in order to obtain scientifically useful
observations (such as, "the temperature increased by two degrees"), but they make the
observations dependent on these assumptions.
Empirical observation is used to determine the acceptability of some hypothesis within a
theory. When someone claims to have made an observation, it is reasonable to ask them to
justify their claim. Such a justification must make reference to the theory – operational
definitions and hypotheses – in which the observation is embedded. That is, the observation
is framed in terms of the theory that also contains the hypothesis it is meant to verify or
falsify (though of course the observation should not be based on an assumption of the truth
or falsity of the hypothesis being tested). This means that the observation cannot serve as
an entirely neutral arbiter between competing hypotheses, but can only arbitrate between
the hypotheses within the context of the underlying theory.
Thomas Kuhn denied that it is ever possible to isolate the hypothesis being tested from the
influence of the theory in which the observations are grounded. He argued that
observations always rely on a specific paradigm, and that it is not possible to evaluate
competing paradigms independently. By "paradigm" he meant, essentially, a logically
consistent "portrait" of the world, one that involves no logical contradictions and that is
consistent with observations that are made from the point of view of this paradigm. More
than one such logically consistent construct can paint a usable likeness of the world, but
there is no common ground from which to pit two against each other, theory against theory.
Neither is a standard by which the other can be judged. Instead, the question is which
"portrait" is judged by some set of people to promise the most in terms of scientific “puzzle
solving”.
For Kuhn, the choice of paradigm was sustained by, but not ultimately determined by,
logical processes. The individual's choice between paradigms involves setting two or more
“portraits" against the world and deciding which likeness is most promising. In the case of
a general acceptance of one paradigm or another, Kuhn believed that it represented the
consensus of the community of scientists. Acceptance or rejection of some paradigm is, he
argued, a social process as much as a logical process. Kuhn's position, however, is not one
of relativism.[25] According to Kuhn, a paradigm shift will occur when a significant number
of observational anomalies in the old paradigm have made the new paradigm more useful.
That is, the choice of a new paradigm is based on observations, even though those
observations are made against the background of the old paradigm. A new paradigm is
chosen because it does a better job of solving scientific problems than the old one.
Philosophy of science 218
That observation is embedded in theory does not mean that observations are irrelevant to
science. Scientific understanding derives from observation, but the acceptance of scientific
statements is dependent on the related theoretical background or paradigm as well as on
observation. Coherentism, skepticism, and foundationalism are alternatives for dealing with
the difficulty of grounding scientific theories in something more than observations. And, of
course, further, redesigned testing may resolve differences of opinion.
Coherentism
Induction attempts to justify scientific statements by reference to other specific scientific
statements. It must avoid the problem of the criterion, in which any justification must in
turn be justified, resulting in an infinite regress. The regress argument has been used to
justify one way out of the infinite regress, foundationalism. Foundationalism claims that
there are some basic statements that do not require justification. Both induction and
falsification are forms of foundationalism in that they rely on basic statements that derive
directly from immediate sensory experience.
The way in which basic statements are derived from observation complicates the problem.
Observation is a cognitive act; that is, it relies on our existing understanding, our set of
beliefs. An observation of a transit of Venus requires a huge range of auxiliary beliefs, such
as those that describe the optics of telescopes, the mechanics of the telescope mount, and
an understanding of celestial mechanics. At first sight, the observation does not appear to
be 'basic'.
Coherentism offers an alternative by claiming that statements can be justified by their
being a part of a coherent system. In the case of science, the system is usually taken to be
the complete set of beliefs of an individual scientist or, more broadly, of the community of
scientists. W. V. Quine argued for a Coherentist approach to science, as does E O Wilson,
though he uses the term consilience (notably in his book of that name). An observation of a
transit of Venus is justified by its being coherent with our beliefs about optics, telescope
mounts and celestial mechanics. Where this observation is at odds with one of these
auxiliary beliefs, an adjustment in the system will be required to remove the contradiction.
Ockham's razor
The practice of scientific inquiry typically involves a number of heuristic principles that
serve as rules of thumb for guiding the work. Prominent among these are the principles of
conceptual economy or theoretical parsimony that are customarily placed under the rubric
of Ockham's razor, named after the 14th century Franciscan friar William of Ockham who is
credited with giving the maxim many pithy expressions, not all of which have yet been
found among his extant works.[26]
Philosophy of science 219
The motto is most commonly cited in the form "entities should not be multiplied beyond
necessity", generally taken to suggest that the simplest explanation tends to be the correct
one. As interpreted in contemporary scientific practice, it advises opting for the simplest
theory among a set of competing theories that have a comparable explanatory power,
discarding assumptions that do not improve the explanation. The "other things being equal"
clause is a critical qualification, which rather severely limits the utility of Ockham's razor in
real practice, as theorists rarely if ever find themselves presented with competent theories
of exactly equal explanatory adequacy.
Among the many difficulties that arise in trying to apply Ockham's razor is the problem of
formalizing and quantifying the "measure of simplicity" that is implied by the task of
deciding which of several theories is the simplest. Although various measures of simplicity
have been brought forward as potential candidates from time to time, it is generally
recognized that there is no such thing as a theory-independent measure of simplicity. In
other words, there appear to be as many different measures of simplicity as there are
theories themselves, and the task of choosing between measures of simplicity appears to be
every bit as problematic as the job of choosing between theories. Moreover, it is extremely
difficult to identify the hypotheses or theories that have "comparable explanatory power",
though it may be readily possible to rule out some of the extremes. Ockham's razor also
does not say that the simplest account is to be preferred regardless of its capacity to
explain outliers, exceptions, or other phenomena in question. The principle of falsifiability
requires that any exception that can be reliably reproduced should invalidate the simplest
theory, and that the next-simplest account which can actually incorporate the exception as
part of the theory should then be preferred to the first. As Albert Einstein puts it, "The
supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as
possible without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of
experience".
measurement of mass is about 10-10, of angles—about 10-9, and of time and length intervals
in many cases reaches the order of 10-13 - 10-15. This made possible to measure, say, the
distance to the Moon with sub-centimeter accuracy (see Lunar laser ranging experiment),
to measure slight movement of tectonic plates using GPS system with sub-millimeter
accuracy, or even to measure as slight variations in the distance between two mirrors
separated by several kilometers as 10-18 m—three orders of magnitude less than the size of
a single atomic nucleus—see LIGO.
Philosophy of physics
Philosophy of physics is the study of the fundamental, philosophical questions underlying
modern physics, the study of matter and energy and how they interact. The main questions
concern the nature of space and time, atoms and atomism. Also the predictions of
cosmology, the results of the interpretation of quantum mechanics, the foundations of
statistical mechanics, causality, determinism, and the nature of physical laws. Classically,
several of these questions were studied as part of metaphysics (for example, those about
causality, determinism, and space and time).
Philosophy of biology
Philosophy of biology deals with epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical issues in the
biological and biomedical sciences. Although philosophers of science and philosophers
generally have long been interested in biology (e.g., Aristotle, Descartes, and even Kant),
philosophy of biology only emerged as an independent field of philosophy in the 1960s and
1970s. Philosophers of science then began paying increasing attention to developments in
biology, from the rise of Neodarwinism in the 1930s and 1940s to the discovery of the
structure of Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in 1953 to more recent advances in genetic
engineering. Other key ideas such as the reduction of all life processes to biochemical
reactions as well as the incorporation of psychology into a broader neuroscience are also
addressed.
Philosophy of mathematics
Philosophy of mathematics is the branch of philosophy that studies the philosophical
assumptions, foundations, and implications of mathematics.
Recurrent themes include:
• What are the sources of mathematical subject matter?
• What is the ontological status of mathematical entities?
• What does it mean to refer to a mathematical object?
• What is the character of a mathematical proposition?
• What is the relation between logic and mathematics?
• What is the role of hermeneutics in mathematics?
• What kinds of inquiry play a role in mathematics?
Philosophy of science 221
Philosophy of chemistry
Philosophy of chemistry considers the methodology and underlying assumptions of the
science of chemistry. It is explored by philosophers, chemists, and philosopher-chemist
teams.
The philosophy of science has centered on physics for the last several centuries, and during
the last century in particular, it has become increasingly concerned with the ultimate
constituents of existence, or what one might call reductionism. Thus, for example,
considerable attention has been devoted to the philosophical implications of special
relativity, general relativity, and quantum mechanics. In recent years, however, more
attention has been given to both the philosophy of biology and chemistry, which both deal
with more intermediate states of existence.
In the philosophy of chemistry, for example, we might ask, given quantum reality at the
microcosmic level, and given the enormous distances between electrons and the atomic
nucleus, how is it that we are unable to put our hands through walls, as physics might
predict? Chemistry provides the answer, and so we then ask what it is that distinguishes
chemistry from physics?
In the philosophy of biology, which is closely related to chemistry, we inquire about what
distinguishes a living thing from a non-living thing at the most elementary level. Can a
living thing be understood in purely mechanistic terms, or is there, as vitalism asserts,
always something beyond mere quantum states?
Issues in philosophy of chemistry may not be as deeply conceptually perplexing as the
quantum mechanical measurement problem in the philosophy of physics, and may not be as
conceptually complex as optimality arguments in evolutionary biology. However interest in
the philosophy of chemistry in part stems from the ability of chemistry to connect the “hard
sciences” such as physics with the “soft sciences” such as biology, which gives it a rather
distinctive role as the central science.
Philosophy of science 222
Philosophy of economics
Philosophy of economics is the branch of philosophy which studies philosophical issues
relating to economics. It can also be defined as the branch of economics which studies its
own foundations and morality.
Philosophy of psychology
Philosophy of psychology refers to issues at the theoretical foundations of modern
psychology. Some of these issues are epistemological concerns about the methodology of
psychological investigation. For example:
• What is the most appropriate methodology for psychology: mentalism, behaviorism, or a
compromise?
• Are self-reports a reliable data gathering method?
• What conclusions can be drawn from null hypothesis tests?
• Can first-person experiences (emotions, desires, beliefs, etc.) be measured objectively?
Other issues in philosophy of psychology are philosophical questions about the nature of
mind, brain, and cognition, and are perhaps more commonly thought of as part of cognitive
science, or philosophy of mind, such as:
• What is a cognitive module?
• Are humans rational creatures?
• What psychological phenomena comes up to the standard required for calling it
knowledge?
• What is innateness?
Philosophy of psychology also closely monitors contemporary work conducted in cognitive
neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, and artificial intelligence, questioning what they
can and cannot explain in psychology.
Philosophy of psychology is a relatively young field, due to the fact that psychology only
became a discipline of its own in the late 1800s. Philosophy of mind, by contrast, has been a
well-established discipline since before psychology was a field of study at all. It is
concerned with questions about the very nature of mind, the qualities of experience, and
particular issues like the debate between dualism and monism.
Also, neurophilosophy has become its own field with the works of Paul and Patricia
Churchland.
Social accountability
Scientific Openness
A very broad issue affecting the neutrality of science concerns the areas over which science
chooses to explore, so what part of the world and man is studied by science. Since the areas
for science to investigate are theoretically infinite, the issue then arises as to what science
should attempt to question or find out.
Philip Kitcher in his "Science, Truth, and Democracy"[27] argues that scientific studies that
attempt to show one segment of the population as being less intelligent, successful or
emotionally backward compared to others have a political feedback effect which further
excludes such groups from access to science. Thus such studies undermine the broad
consensus required for good science by excluding certain people, and so proving
Philosophy of science 223
Researchers in Information science have also made contributions, e.g., the Scientific
Community Metaphor.
See also
• Cudos • Positivism
• Philosophy of engineering
Philosophy of science 225
Philosophers of science
1980-2000
• Patrick Suppes
• Bas van Fraassen
• Nancy Cartwright
• Larry Laudan
• Adolf Grünbaum
• Wesley C. Salmon
• Ronald Giere
• Peter Lipton
• Ian Hacking
• Richard Boyd
• Daniel Dennett
• David Stove
• Roger Penrose
• Wolfgang Stegmüller
• Philip Kitcher
• John Dupré
• Elliott Sober
Philosophy of science 226
Subfields
• Philosophy of biology
• Philosophy of chemistry
• Philosophy of physics
• Philosophy of psychology
• Neurophilosophy
• Philosophy of social sciences
Related topics
• Confirmation • Probability
• Explanation • Simplicity
Further reading
• Agassi, J., (1975), Science in Flux, Reidel, Dordrecht.
• Agassi, J. and Jarvie, I. C. (1987), Rationality: The Critical View, Kluwer, Dordrecht.
• Augros, Robert M., Stanciu, George N., The New Story of Science: mind and the
universe, Lake Bluff, Ill.: Regnery Gateway, c1984. ISBN 0895268337
• Ben-Ari, M. (2005) Just a theory: exploring the nature of science, Prometheus Books,
Amherst, N.Y.
• Bovens, L. and Hartmann, S. (2003), Bayesian Epistemology, Oxford University Press,
Oxford.
• Boyd, R., Gasper, P., and Trout, J.D. (eds., 1991), The Philosophy of Science, Blackwell
Publishers, Cambridge, MA.
• Feyerabend, Paul K. 2005. Science, history of the philosophy of. Oxford Companion to
Philosophy. Oxford.
• Glazebrook, Trish (2000), Heidegger's Philosophy of Science, Fordham University Press.
• Godfrey-Smith, P. (2003) Theory and reality: an introduction to the philosophy of science,
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London
• Gutting, Gary (2004), Continental Philosophy of Science, Blackwell Publishers,
Cambridge, MA.
• Harris, Errol E. (1965), The Foundations of Metaphysics in Science , George Allen and
Unwin, London, Reprinted by Routledge, London (2002).
• Harris, Errol E. (1991), Cosmos and Anthropos, Humanities Press, New Jersey.
Philosophy of science 227
• Ziman, John (2000). Real Science: what it is, and what it means. Cambridge, Uk:
Cambridge University Press.
External links
• The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy [32] - This contains many entries on different
philosophy of science topics.
• An introduction to the Philosophy of Science, aimed at beginners - Paul Newall. [33]
• Essays on concepts in the Philosophy of Science [34] at The Galilean Library.
• Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh [35]
• Tilburg Center for Logic and Philosophy of Science (TiLPS) [36]
References
[1] Thornton, Stephen (2006). " Karl Popper (http:/ / plato. stanford. edu/ entries/ popper/ )". Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. . Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
[2] Uebel, Thomas (2006). " Vienna Circle (http:/ / plato. stanford. edu/ entries/ vienna-circle/ )". Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. . Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
[3] Popper, Karl (1959). The logic of scientific discovery. New York: Basic Books.
[4] Laudan, Larry (1983). "The Demise of the Demarcation Problem". in Adolf Grünbaum, Robert Sonné Cohen,
Larry Laudan. Physics, Philosophy, and Psychoanalysis: Essays in Honor of Adolf Grünbaum. Springer. ISBN
9027715335.
[5] " Nobel Laureates Initiative (http:/ / media. ljworld. com/ pdf/ 2005/ 09/ 15/ nobel_letter. pdf)" (PDF). The Elie
Wiesel Foundation for Humanity. September 9, 2005. . Retrieved on 2007-07-19.
[6] " The Demarcation of Science and Religion (http:/ / www. discovery. org/ scripts/ viewDB/ index.
php?command=view& id=3524)". The History of Science and Religion in the Western Tradition (Garland
Publishing). Discovery Institute. January 1, 2000. . Retrieved on 2007-12-07.
[7] Levin, Michael (1984). "What Kind of Explanation is Truth?". in Jarrett Leplin. Scientific Realism. Berkeley:
University of California Press. pp. 124–1139. ISBN 0520051556.
[8] van Fraassen, Bas (1980). The Scientific Image. Oxford: The Clarendon Press. ISBN 019824424X.
[9] Kuhn, Thomas (1962). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
[10] Feyerabend, Paul (1993). Against Method. London: Verso. ISBN 086091481X.
[11] Popper, Karl (1963). Conjectures and Refutations. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
[12] Smart, J. J. C. (1968). Between Science and Philosophy. New York: Random House.
[13] Putnam, Hillary (1975). Mathematics, Matter and Method (Philosophical Papers, Vol. I). London: Cambridge
University Press.
[14] Putnam, Hillary (1978). Meaning and the Moral Sciences. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
[15] Boyd, Richard (1984). "The Current Status of Scientific Realism". in Jarrett Leplin. Scientific Realism.
Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 41–82. ISBN 0520051556.
[16] Stanford, P. Kyle (2006). Exceeding Our Grasp: Science, History, and the Problem of Unconceived
Alternatives. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195174083.
[17] Laudan, Larry (1981). "A Confutation of Convergent Realism". Philosophy of Science 48: 218–249. doi:
10.1086/288975 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1086/ 288975).
[18] Winsberg, Eric (September 2006). "Models of Success Versus the Success of Models: Reliability without
Truth". Synthese 152: 1–19. doi: 10.1007/s11229-004-5404-6 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1007/
s11229-004-5404-6).
[19] Boyd, Richard (2002). " Scientific Realism (http:/ / plato. stanford. edu/ entries/ scientific-realism/ )". Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. . Retrieved on 2007-12-01.
[20] Stanford, P. Kyle (June 2000). "An Antirealist Explanation of the Success of Science". Philosophy of Science
67: 266–284. doi: 10.1086/392775 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1086/ 392775).
[21] Hempel, Carl G.; Paul Oppenheim (1948). "Studies in the Logic of Explanation". Philosophy of Science 15:
135–175. doi: 10.1086/286983 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1086/ 286983).
[22] Salmon, Merrilee; John Earman, Clark Glymour, James G. Lenno, Peter Machamer, J.E. McGuire, John D.
Norton, Wesley C. Salmon, Kenneth F. Schaffner (1992). Introduction to the Philosophy of Science.
Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0136633455.
[23] Salmon, Wesley (1971). Statistical Explanation and Statistical Relevance. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh
Press.
Philosophy of science 229
[24] Woodward, James (2003). " Scientific Explanation (http:/ / plato. stanford. edu/ entries/ scientific-explanation/
)". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. . Retrieved on 2007-12-07.
[25] T. S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd. ed., Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Pr., 1970, p. 206.
ISBN 0226458040
[26] Ockham's razor, however, was not originally a principle of science but of theology and the issue of parsimony
comes, not from science, but from the vow of poverty that was modeled on the life of Christ. However, the
origins of the idea do not necessarily take away from its overall usefulness.
[27] Kitcher, P. Science, Truth, and Democracy, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001
[28] Paul Feyerabend, Against Method: Outline of an Anarchistic Theory of Knowledge (1975), ISBN
0-391-00381-X, ISBN 0-86091-222-1, ISBN 0-86091-481-X, ISBN 0-86091-646-4, ISBN 0-86091-934-X, ISBN
0-902308-91-2
[29] Kuhn, T. S. (1970). "[Postcript]". The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd. ed.. [Univ. of Chicago Pr]. ISBN
0226458040.
[30] Quine, Willard Van Orman (1980). " Two Dogmas of Empiricism (http:/ / www. ditext. com/ quine/ quine.
html)". From a Logical Point of View. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674323513. .
[31] http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=6rqDqTn-bcoC& printsec=frontcover& source=gbs_summary_r&
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[32] http:/ / plato. stanford. edu
[33] http:/ / www. galilean-library. org/ int6. html
[34] http:/ / www. galilean-library. org/ hps. html
[35] http:/ / www. pitt. edu/ ~pittcntr/
[36] http:/ / www. tilburguniversity. nl/ faculties/ humanities/ tilps/
Transhumanism
Part of Ideology series on TranshumanismTranshumanismIdeologies Abolitionism
(bioethics)AbolitionismDemocratic transhumanismExtropianismBiological
immortality#Technological immortalityImmortalismLibertarian
transhumanismTransgenderismPostgenderismSingularitarianismTechnogaianismRelated
articles Transhumanism in fictionTranshumanist artList of transhumanistsOrganizations
Applied Foresight NetworkAlcor Life Extension FoundationForesight
InstituteHumanity+Immortality InstituteSingularity Institute for Artificial
IntelligenceTranshumanism Portal ·
Transhumanism is an international intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use
of science and technology to improve human mental and physical characteristics and
capacities. The movement regards aspects of the human condition, such as disability,
suffering, disease, aging, and involuntary death as unnecessary and undesirable.
Transhumanists look to biotechnologies and other emerging technologies for these
purposes. Dangers, as well as benefits, are also of concern to the transhumanist
movement.[1]
The term "transhumanism" is symbolized by H+ or h+ and is often used as a synonym for
"human enhancement".[2] Although the first known use of the term dates from 1957, the
contemporary meaning is a product of the 1980s when futurists in the United States began
to organize what has since grown into the transhumanist movement. Transhumanist
thinkers predict that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into
beings with such greatly expanded abilities as to merit the label "posthuman".[1]
Transhumanism is therefore sometimes referred to as "posthumanism" or a form of
transformational activism influenced by posthumanist ideals.[3]
The transhumanist vision of a transformed future humanity has attracted many supporters
and detractors from a wide range of perspectives. Transhumanism has been described by
Transhumanism 230
one critic, Francis Fukuyama, as the world's most dangerous idea,[4] while one proponent,
Ronald Bailey, counters that it is the "movement that epitomizes the most daring,
courageous, imaginative, and idealistic aspirations of humanity".[5]
History
According to philosophers who have studied and
written about the history of transhumanist thought,[1]
transcendentalist impulses have been expressed at
least as far back as in the quest for immortality in the
Epic of Gilgamesh, as well as historical quests for the
Fountain of Youth, Elixir of Life, and other efforts to
stave off aging and death. Transhumanist philosophy,
however, is rooted in Renaissance humanism and the
Enlightenment. For example, Giovanni Pico della
Mirandola called on people to "sculpt their own statue",
and the Marquis de Condorcet speculated about the use
of medical science to indefinitely extend the human life
span, while Benjamin Franklin dreamed of suspended
animation, and after Charles Darwin "it became
increasingly plausible to view the current version of
humanity not as the endpoint of evolution but rather as
a possibly quite early phase."[1] However, Friedrich
Nietzsche is considered by some to be less of an Cover of the first issue of H+
[6]
influence, despite his exaltation of the "overman", due Magazine , a web-based quarterly
to his emphasis on self-actualization rather than publication that focuses on
transhumanism, covering the
technological transformation.[1]
scientific, technological, and cultural
developments that are challenging and
Nikolai Fyodorov, a 19th-century Russian philosopher, overcoming human limitations.
advocated radical life extension, physical immortality
and even resurrection of the dead using scientific methods.[7] In the 20th century, a direct
and influential precursor to transhumanist concepts was geneticist J.B.S. Haldane's 1923
essay Daedalus: Science and the Future, which predicted that great benefits would come
from applications of genetics and other advanced sciences to human biology -- and that
every such advance would first appear to someone as blasphemy or perversion, "indecent
and unnatural". J. D. Bernal speculated about space colonization, bionic implants, and
cognitive enhancement, which have been common transhumanist themes since then.[1]
Biologist Julian Huxley, brother of author Aldous Huxley (a childhood friend of Haldane's),
appears to have been the first to use the actual word "transhumanism". Writing in 1957, he
defined transhumanism as "man remaining man, but transcending himself, by realizing new
possibilities of and for his human nature".[8] This definition differs, albeit not substantially,
from the one commonly in use since the 1980s.
Computer scientist Marvin Minsky wrote on relationships between human and artificial
intelligence beginning in the 1960s.[9] Over the succeeding decades, this field continued to
generate influential thinkers, such as Hans Moravec and Raymond Kurzweil, who oscillated
between the technical arena and futuristic speculations in the transhumanist vein.[10] [11]
The coalescence of an identifiable transhumanist movement began in the last decades of
Transhumanism 231
the 20th century. In 1966, FM-2030 (formerly F.M. Esfandiary), a futurist who taught "new
concepts of the Human" at the The New School in New York City, began to identify people
who adopt technologies, lifestyles and world views transitional to "posthumanity" as
"transhuman" (short for "transitory human").[12] In 1972, Robert Ettinger contributed to the
[13] [14]
conceptualization of "transhumanity" in his book Man into Superman. FM-2030
published the Upwingers Manifesto in 1973 to stimulate transhumanly conscious
activism.[15]
The first self-described transhumanists met formally in the early 1980s at the University of
California, Los Angeles, which became the main center of transhumanist thought. Here,
FM-2030 lectured on his "Third Way" futurist ideology. At the EZTV Media venue
frequented by transhumanists and other futurists, Natasha Vita-More presented Breaking
Away, her 1980 experimental film with the theme of humans breaking away from their
biological limitations and the Earth's gravity as they head into space.[16] [17] FM-2030 and
Vita-More soon began holding gatherings for transhumanists in Los Angeles, which
included students from FM-2030's courses and audiences from Vita-More's artistic
productions. In 1982, Vita-More authored the Transhumanist Arts Statement,[18] and, six
years later, produced the cable TV show TransCentury Update on transhumanity, a
program which reached over 100,000 viewers.
In 1986, Eric Drexler published Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of
Nanotechnology,[19] which discussed the prospects for nanotechnology and molecular
assemblers, and founded the Foresight Institute. As the first non-profit organization to
research, advocate for, and perform cryonics, the Southern California offices of the Alcor
Life Extension Foundation became a center for futurists. In 1988, the first issue of Extropy
Magazine was published by Max More and Tom Morrow. In 1990, More, a strategic
philosopher, created his own particular transhumanist doctrine, which took the form of the
Principles of Extropy,[20] and laid the foundation of modern transhumanism by giving it a
new definition:[21]
Transhumanism is a class of philosophies that seek to guide us towards a posthuman
condition. Transhumanism shares many elements of humanism, including a respect for
reason and science, a commitment to progress, and a valuing of human (or
transhuman) existence in this life. […] Transhumanism differs from humanism in
recognizing and anticipating the radical alterations in the nature and possibilities of
our lives resulting from various sciences and technologies […].
In 1992, More and Morrow founded the Extropy Institute, a catalyst for networking
futurists and brainstorming new memeplexes by organizing a series of conferences and,
more importantly, providing a mailing list, which exposed many to transhumanist views for
the first time during the rise of cyberculture and the cyberdelic counterculture. In 1998,
philosophers Nick Bostrom and David Pearce founded the World Transhumanist Association
(WTA), an international non-governmental organization working toward the recognition of
transhumanism as a legitimate subject of scientific inquiry and public policy.[22] In 1999,
the WTA drafted and adopted The Transhumanist Declaration.[23] The Transhumanist FAQ,
prepared by the WTA, gave two formal definitions for transhumanism:[24]
1. The intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of
fundamentally improving the human condition through applied reason, especially by
developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly
enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities.
Transhumanism 232
2. The study of the ramifications, promises, and potential dangers of technologies that
will enable us to overcome fundamental human limitations, and the related study of the
ethical matters involved in developing and using such technologies.
A number of similar definitions have been collected by Anders Sandberg, an academic and
prominent transhumanist.[25]
In possible contrast with other transhumanist organizations, WTA officials considered that
social forces could undermine their futurist visions and needed to be addressed.[26] A
particular concern is the equal access to human enhancement technologies across classes
and borders.[27] In 2006, a political struggle within the transhumanist movement between
the libertarian right and the liberal left resulted in a more centre-leftward positioning of the
WTA under its former executive director James Hughes.[28] [] In 2006, the board of directors
of the Extropy Institute ceased operations of the organization, stating that its mission was
"essentially completed".[29] This left the World Transhumanist Association as the leading
international transhumanist organization. In 2008, as part of a rebranding effort, the WTA
changed its name to "Humanity+" in order to project a more humane image.[30] Humanity
Plus and Betterhumans publish h+ Magazine, a periodical edited by R. U. Sirius which
disseminates transhumanist news and ideas.[31] [32]
Theory
It is a matter of debate whether transhumanism is a branch of "posthumanism" and how
posthumanism should be conceptualised with regard to transhumanism. The latter is often
referred to as a variant or activist form of posthumanism by its conservative,[4] Christian[33]
and progressive[34] [35] critics, but also by pro-transhumanist scholars who, for example,
characterise it as a subset of "philosophical posthumanism".[3] A common feature of
transhumanism and philosophical posthumanism is the future vision of a new intelligent
species, into which humanity will evolve, which will supplement humanity or supersede it.
Transhumanism stresses the evolutionary perspective, including sometimes the creation of
a highly intelligent animal species by way of cognitive enhancement (i.e. biological
uplift),[26] but clings to a "posthuman future" as the final goal of participant evolution.[36]
Nevertheless, the idea to create intelligent artificial beings, proposed, for example, by
roboticist Hans Moravec, has influenced transhumanism.[10] Moravec's ideas and
transhumanism have also been characterised as a "complacent" or "apocalyptic" variant of
posthumanism and contrasted with "cultural posthumanism" in humanities and the arts.[37]
While such a "cultural posthumanism" would offer resources for rethinking the relations of
humans and increasingly sophisticated machines, transhumanism and similar
posthumanisms are, in this view, not abandoning obsolete concepts of the "autonomous
liberal subject" but are expanding its "prerogatives" into the realm of the posthuman.[38]
Transhumanist self-characterisations as a continuation of humanism and Enlightenment
thinking correspond with this view.
Some secular humanists conceive transhumanism as an offspring of the humanist
freethought movement and argue that transhumanists differ from the humanist mainstream
by having a specific focus on technological approaches to resolving human concerns and on
the issue of mortality.[39] However, other progressives have argued that posthumanism,
whether it be its philosophical or activist forms, amount to a shift away from concerns
about social justice, from the reform of human institutions and from other Enlightenment
preoccupations, toward narcissistic longings for a transcendence of the human body in
Transhumanism 233
quest of more exquisite ways of being.[40] In this view, transhumanism is abandoning the
goals of humanism, the Enlightenment, and progressive politics.
Aims
While many transhumanist theorists and advocates seek to apply reason, science and
technology for the purposes of reducing poverty, disease, disability, and malnutrition
around the globe, transhumanism is distinctive in its particular focus on the applications of
technologies to the improvement of human bodies at the individual level. Many
transhumanists actively assess the potential for future technologies and innovative social
systems to improve the quality of all life, while seeking to make the material reality of the
human condition fulfill the promise of legal and political equality by eliminating congenital
mental and physical barriers.
Transhumanist philosophers argue that there not only exists a perfectionist ethical
imperative for humans to strive for progress and improvement of the human condition but
that it is possible and desirable for humanity to enter a transhuman phase of existence, in
which humans are in control of their own evolution. In such a phase, natural evolution
would be replaced with deliberate change.
Some theorists, such as Raymond Kurzweil, think that the pace of technological innovation
is accelerating and that the next 50 years may yield not only radical technological advances
but possibly a technological singularity, which may fundamentally change the nature of
human beings.[41] Transhumanists who foresee this massive technological change generally
maintain that it is desirable. However, some are also concerned with the possible dangers
of extremely rapid technological change and propose options for ensuring that advanced
technology is used responsibly. For example, Bostrom has written extensively on existential
risks to humanity's future welfare, including risks that could be created by emerging
technologies.[42]
Ethics
Transhumanists engage in interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and evaluating
possibilities for overcoming biological limitations. They draw on futurology and various
fields of ethics such as bioethics, infoethics, nanoethics, neuroethics, roboethics, and
technoethics mainly but not exclusively from a philosophically utilitarian, socially
progressive, politically and economically liberal perspective. Unlike many philosophers,
social critics, and activists who place a moral value on preservation of natural systems,
transhumanists see the very concept of the specifically "natural" as problematically
nebulous at best, and an obstacle to progress at worst.[43] In keeping with this, many
prominent transhumanist advocates refer to transhumanism's critics on the political right
and left jointly as "bioconservatives" or "bioluddites", the latter term alluding to the 19th
century anti-industrialisation social movement that opposed the replacement of human
manual labourers by machines.[44]
Transhumanism 234
Currents
There is a variety of opinion within transhumanist thought. Many of the leading
transhumanist thinkers hold views that are under constant revision and development.[45]
Some distinctive currents of transhumanism are identified and listed here in alphabetical
order:
• Abolitionism, an ethical ideology based upon a perceived obligation to use technology to
eliminate involuntary suffering in all sentient life.[46]
• Democratic transhumanism, a political ideology synthesizing liberal democracy, social
democracy, radical democracy and transhumanism.[47]
• Extropianism, an early school of transhumanist thought characterized by a set of
principles advocating a proactive approach to human evolution.[20]
• Immortalism, a moral ideology based upon the belief that technological immortality is
possible and desirable, and advocating research and development to ensure its
realization.[48]
• Libertarian transhumanism, a political ideology synthesizing libertarianism and
transhumanism.[44]
• Postgenderism, a social philosophy which seeks the voluntary elimination of gender in
the human species through the application of advanced biotechnology and assisted
reproductive technologies.[49]
• Singularitarianism, a moral ideology based upon the belief that a technological
singularity is possible, and advocating deliberate action to effect it and ensure its
safety.[41]
• Technogaianism, an ecological ideology based upon the belief that emerging technologies
can help restore Earth's environment, and that developing safe, clean, alternative
technology should therefore be an important goal of environmentalists.[47]
Spirituality
Although some transhumanists report a strong sense of secular spirituality, they are for the
most part atheists.[22] A minority of transhumanists, however, follow liberal forms of
Eastern philosophical traditions such as Buddhism and Yoga[50] or have merged their
transhumanist ideas with established Western religions such as liberal Christianity[51] or
Mormonism[52] . Despite the prevailing secular attitude, some transhumanists pursue hopes
traditionally espoused by religions, such as "immortality",[48] while several controversial
new religious movements, originating in the late 20th century, have explicitly embraced
transhumanist goals of transforming the human condition by applying technology to the
alteration of the mind and body, such as Raëlism.[53] However, most thinkers associated
with the transhumanist movement focus on the practical goals of using technology to help
achieve longer and healthier lives; while speculating that future understanding of
neurotheology and the application of neurotechnology will enable humans to gain greater
control of altered states of consciousness, which were commonly interpreted as "spiritual
experiences", and thus achieve more profound self-knowledge.[50]
The majority of transhumanists are materialists who do not believe in a transcendent
human soul. Transhumanist personhood theory also argues against the unique identification
of moral actors and subjects with biological humans, judging as speciesist the exclusion of
non-human and part-human animals, and sophisticated machines, from ethical
consideration.[54] Many believe in the compatibility of human minds with computer
Transhumanism 235
hardware, with the theoretical implication that human consciousness may someday be
transferred to alternative media, a speculative technique commonly known as "mind
uploading".[55] One extreme formulation of this idea may be found in Frank Tipler's
proposal of the Omega point. Drawing upon ideas in digitalism, Tipler has advanced the
notion that the collapse of the Universe billions of years hence could create the conditions
for the perpetuation of humanity in a simulated reality within a megacomputer, and thus
achieve a form of "posthuman godhood". Tipler's thought was inspired by the writings of
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a paleontologist and Jesuit theologian who saw an evolutionary
telos in the development of an encompassing noosphere, a global consciousness.[56]
The idea of uploading personality to a non-biological substrate and the underlying
assumptions are criticised by a wide range of scholars, scientists and activists, sometimes
with regard to transhumanism itself, sometimes with regard to thinkers such as Marvin
Minsky or Hans Moravec who are often seen as its originators. Relating the underlying
assumptions, for example, to the legacy of cybernetics, some have argued that this
materialist hope engenders a spiritual monism, a variant of philosophical idealism.[57]
Viewed from a conservative Christian perspective, the idea of mind uploading is asserted to
represent a denigration of the human body characteristic of gnostic belief.[58]
Transhumanism and its presumed intellectual progenitors have also been described as
neo-gnostic by non-Christian and secular commentators.[59] [60]
The first dialogue between transhumanism and faith was the focus of an academic seminar
held at the University of Toronto in 2004.[61] Because it might serve a few of the same
functions that people have traditionally sought in religion, religious and secular critics
maintained that transhumanism is itself a religion or, at the very least, a pseudoreligion.
Religious critics alone faulted the philosophy of transhumanism as offering no eternal
truths nor a relationship with the divine. They commented that a philosophy bereft of these
beliefs leaves humanity adrift in a foggy sea of postmodern cynicism and anomie.
Transhumanists responded that such criticisms reflect a failure to look at the actual content
of the transhumanist philosophy, which far from being cynical, is rooted in optimistic,
idealistic attitudes that trace back to the Enlightenment.[62] Following this dialogue,
William Sims Bainbridge conducted a pilot study, published in the Journal of Evolution and
Technology, suggesting that religious attitudes were negatively correlated with acceptance
of transhumanist ideas, and indicating that individuals with highly religious worldviews
tended to perceive transhumanism as being a direct, competitive (though ultimately futile)
affront to their spiritual beliefs.[63]
Practice
While some transhumanists take an abstract and theoretical approach to the perceived
benefits of emerging technologies, others have offered specific proposals for modifications
to the human body, including heritable ones. Transhumanists are often concerned with
methods of enhancing the human nervous system. Though some propose modification of the
peripheral nervous system, the brain is considered the common denominator of personhood
and is thus a primary focus of transhumanist ambitions.[64]
As proponents of self-improvement and body modification, transhumanists tend to use
existing technologies and techniques that supposedly improve cognitive and physical
performance, while engaging in routines and lifestyles designed to improve health and
longevity.[65] Depending on their age, some transhumanists express concern that they will
Transhumanism 236
not live to reap the benefits of future technologies. However, many have a great interest in
life extension strategies, and in funding research in cryonics in order to make the latter a
viable option of last resort rather than remaining an unproven method.[66] Regional and
global transhumanist networks and communities with a range of objectives exist to provide
support and forums for discussion and collaborative projects.
Technologies of interest
Transhumanists support the emergence and
convergence of technologies such as nanotechnology,
biotechnology, information technology and cognitive
science (NBIC), and hypothetical future technologies
such as simulated reality, artificial intelligence,
superintelligence, mind uploading, and cryonics. They
believe that humans can and should use these
technologies to become more than human.[68] They
therefore support the recognition and/or protection of
cognitive liberty, morphological freedom, and
procreative liberty as civil liberties, so as to guarantee [67]
Technologies , a 2002 report
individuals the choice of using human enhancement exploring the potential for synergy
technologies on themselves and their children.[69] Some among nano-, bio-, info- and
cogno-technologies, has become a
speculate that human enhancement techniques and landmark in near-future technological
other emerging technologies may facilitate more radical speculation.
human enhancement by the midpoint of the 21st
century.[41]
While international discussion of the converging technologies and NBIC concepts includes
strong criticism of their transhumanist orientation and alleged science fictional
character,[71] [72] [73] research on brain and body alteration technologies has accelerated
under the sponsorship of the US Department of Defense, which is interested in the
battlefield advantages they would provide to the "supersoldiers" of the United States and its
allies.[74] There has already been a brain research program to "extend the ability to manage
information" while military scientists are now looking at stretching the human capacity for
combat to a maximum 168 hours without sleep.[75]
Transhumanism 237
The cyberpunk genre, exemplified by William Gibson's Neuromancer (1984) and Bruce
Sterling's Schismatrix (1985), has particularly been concerned with the modification of
human bodies. Other novels dealing with transhumanist themes that have stimulated broad
discussion of these issues include Blood Music (1985) by Greg Bear, The Xenogenesis
Trilogy (1987–1989) by Octavia Butler; The Beggar's Trilogy (1990–94) by Nancy Kress;
much of Greg Egan's work since the early 1990s, such as Permutation City (1994) and
Diaspora (1997); The Bohr Maker (1995) by Linda Nagata; Oryx and Crake (2003) by
Margaret Atwood; The Elementary Particles (Eng. trans. 2001) and The Possibility of an
Island (Eng. trans. 2006) by Michel Houellebecq; and Glasshouse (2005) by Charles Stross.
Many of these works are considered part of the cyberpunk genre or its postcyberpunk
offshoot.
Fictional transhumanist scenarios have also become popular in other media during the late
twentieth and early twenty first centuries. Such treatments are found in comic books
(Captain America, 1941; Transmetropolitan, 1997; The Surrogates, 2006), films (2001: A
Space Odyssey, 1968; Blade Runner, 1982; Gattaca, 1997; Repo! The Genetic Opera, 2008),
television series (the Cybermen of Doctor Who, 1966; The Six Million Dollar Man, 1973; the
Borg of Star Trek: The Next Generation, 1989; manga and anime (Galaxy Express 999,
1978; Appleseed, 1985; Ghost in the Shell, 1989 and Gundam Seed, 2002), computer games
(Metal Gear Solid, 1998; Deus Ex, 2000; Half-Life 2, 2004; and BioShock, 2007), and
role-playing games (Shadowrun, 1989), Transhuman Space, 2002)
In addition to the work of Natasha Vita-More, curator of the Transhumanist Arts & Culture
center, transhumanist themes appear in the visual and performing arts.[76] Carnal Art, a
form of sculpture originated by the French artist Orlan, uses the body as its medium and
plastic surgery as its method.[77] Commentators have pointed to American performer
Michael Jackson as having used technologies such as plastic surgery, skin-lightening drugs
and hyperbaric oxygen therapy over the course of his career, with the effect of
Transhumanism 238
transforming his artistic persona so as to blur identifiers of gender, race and age.[78] The
work of the Australian artist Stelarc centers on the alteration of his body by robotic
prostheses and tissue engineering.[79] Other artists whose work coincided with the
emergence and flourishing of transhumanism and who explored themes related to the
transformation of the body are the Yugoslavian performance artist Marina Abramovic and
the American media artist Matthew Barney. A 2005 show, Becoming Animal, at the
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, presented exhibits by twelve artists whose
work concerns the effects of technology in erasing boundaries between the human and
non-human.
Controversy
Transhumanist thought and research depart significantly from the mainstream and often
directly challenge orthodox theories. The very notion and prospect of human enhancement
and related issues also arouse public controversy.[80] Criticisms of transhumanism and its
proposals take two main forms: those objecting to the likelihood of transhumanist goals
being achieved (practical criticisms); and those objecting to the moral principles or world
view sustaining transhumanist proposals or underlying transhumanism itself (ethical
criticisms). However, these two strains sometimes converge and overlap, particularly when
considering the ethics of changing human biology in the face of incomplete knowledge.
Critics or opponents often see transhumanists' goals as posing threats to human values.
Some also argue that strong advocacy of a transhumanist approach to improving the human
condition might divert attention and resources from social solutions. As most
transhumanists support non-technological changes to society, such as the spread of civil
rights and civil liberties, and most critics of transhumanism support technological advances
in areas such as communications and health care, the difference is often a matter of
emphasis. Sometimes, however, there are strong disagreements about the very principles
involved, with divergent views on humanity, human nature, and the morality of
transhumanist aspirations. At least one public interest organization, the U.S.-based Center
for Genetics and Society, was formed, in 2001, with the specific goal of opposing
transhumanist agendas that involve transgenerational modification of human biology, such
as full-term human cloning and germinal choice technology. The Institute on Biotechnology
and the Human Future of the Chicago-Kent College of Law critically scrutinizes proposed
applications of genetic and nanotechnologies to human biology in an academic setting.
Some of the most widely known critiques of the transhumanist program refer to novels and
fictional films. These works of art, despite presenting imagined worlds rather than
philosophical analyses, are used as touchstones for some of the more formal arguments.
expectations of when dramatic technological breakthroughs will occur because they hope to
be saved from their own deaths by those developments.[82]
Despite his sympathies for transhumanism, in his 2002
book Redesigning Humans: Our Inevitable Genetic
Future, public health professor Gregory Stock is
skeptical of the technical feasibility and mass appeal of
the cyborgization of humanity predicted by Raymond
Kurzweil, Hans Moravec and Kevin Warwick. He
believes that throughout the 21st century, many
humans will find themselves deeply integrated into
systems of machines, but will remain biological.
Primary changes to their own form and character will Some transhumanist thinkers assert
arise not from cyberware but from the direct the pace of technological innovation is
accelerating and that the next 50 years
manipulation of their genetics, metabolism, and
may yield not only radical
biochemistry.[83] technological advances but possibly a
technological singularity
In his 2006 book Future Hype: The Myths of
Technology Change, computer scientist and engineer
Bob Seidensticker argues that today's technological achievements are not unprecedented.
Exposing major myths of technology and examining the history of high tech hype, he aims
to uncover inaccuracies and misunderstandings that may characterise the popular and
transhumanist views of technology, to explain how and why these views have been created,
and to illustrate how technological change in fact proceeds.[84]
Those thinkers who defend the likelihood of massive technological change within a
relatively short timeframe emphasize what they describe as a past pattern of exponential
increases in humanity's technological capacities. This emphasis appears in the work of
popular science writer Damien Broderick, notably his 1997 book, The Spike, which contains
his speculations about a radically changed future. Kurzweil develops this position in much
detail in his 2005 book, The Singularity Is Near. Broderick points out that many of the
seemingly implausible predictions of early science fiction writers have, indeed, come to
pass, among them nuclear power and space travel to the moon. He also claims that there is
a core rationalism to current predictions of very rapid change, asserting that such
observers as Kurzweil have a good track record in predicting the pace of innovation.[85]
Christians already enjoy, however post mortem, what radical transhumanism promises such
as indefinite life extension or the abolition of suffering. In this view, transhumanism is just
another representative of the long line of utopian movements which seek to immanentize
the eschaton i.e. try to create "heaven on earth".[87] [88]
The second category is aimed mainly at "algeny", which
Jeremy Rifkin defined as "the upgrading of existing
organisms and the design of wholly new ones with the
intent of 'perfecting' their performance",[89] and, more
specifically, attempts to pursue transhumanist goals by
way of genetically modifying human embryos in order
to create "designer babies". It emphasizes the issue of
biocomplexity and the unpredictability of attempts to
guide the development of products of biological
The biocomplexity spiral is a depiction
evolution. This argument, elaborated in particular by
of the multileveled complexity of
the biologist Stuart Newman, is based on the organisms in their environments,
recognition that the cloning and germline genetic which is seen by many critics as the
engineering of animals are error-prone and inherently ultimate obstacle to transhumanist
ambition.
disruptive of embryonic development. Accordingly, so it
is argued, it would create unacceptable risks to use
such methods on human embryos. Performing experiments, particularly ones with
permanent biological consequences, on developing humans, would thus be in violation of
accepted principles governing research on human subjects (see the 1964 Declaration of
Helsinki). Moreover, because improvements in experimental outcomes in one species are
not automatically transferable to a new species without further experimentation, there is
claimed to be no ethical route to genetic manipulation of humans at early developmental
stages.[90]
As a practical matter, however, international protocols on human subject research may not
present a legal obstacle to attempts by transhumanists and others to improve their
offspring by germinal choice technology. According to legal scholar Kirsten Rabe
Smolensky, existing laws would protect parents who choose to enhance their child's
genome from future liability arising from adverse outcomes of the procedure.[91]
Religious thinkers allied with transhumanist goals, such as the theologians Ronald
Cole-Turner and Ted Peters, reject the first argument, holding that the doctrine of
"co-creation" provides an obligation to use genetic engineering to improve human
biology.[92] [93]
Transhumanists and other supporters of human genetic engineering do not dismiss the
second argument out of hand, insofar as there is a high degree of uncertainty about the
likely outcomes of genetic modification experiments in humans. However, bioethicist James
Hughes suggests that one possible ethical route to the genetic manipulation of humans at
early developmental stages is the building of computer models of the human genome, the
proteins it specifies, and the tissue engineering he argues that it also codes for. With the
exponential progress in bioinformatics, Hughes believes that a virtual model of genetic
expression in the human body will not be far behind and that it will soon be possible to
accelerate approval of genetic modifications by simulating their effects on virtual
humans.[26] Public health professor Gregory Stock points to artificial chromosomes as an
alleged safer alternative to existing genetic engineering techniques.[83] Transhumanists
Transhumanism 241
therefore argue that parents have a moral responsibility called procreative beneficence to
make use of these methods, if and when they are shown to be reasonably safe and effective,
to have the healthiest children possible. They add that this responsibility is a moral
judgment best left to individual conscience rather than imposed by law, in all but extreme
[26]
cases. In this context, the emphasis on freedom of choice is called procreative liberty.
once the privileges of the few. Moreover, he argues, "the crowning achievement of the
Enlightenment is the principle of tolerance". In fact, he argues, political liberalism is
already the solution to the issue of human and posthuman rights since, in liberal societies,
the law is meant to apply equally to all, no matter how rich or poor, powerful or powerless,
educated or ignorant, enhanced or unenhanced.[5] Other thinkers who are sympathetic to
transhumanist ideas, such as philosopher Russell Blackford, have also objected to the
appeal to tradition, and what they see as alarmism, involved in Brave New World-type
arguments.[104]
Writing in Reason magazine, Ronald Bailey has accused opponents of research involving
the modification of animals as indulging in alarmism when they speculate about the
creation of subhuman creatures with human-like intelligence and brains resembling those
of Homo sapiens. Bailey insists that the aim of conducting research on animals is simply to
produce human health care benefits.[108]
A different response comes from transhumanist personhood theorists who object to what
they characterize as the anthropomorphobia fueling some criticisms of this research, which
science writer Isaac Asimov termed the "Frankenstein complex". They argue that, provided
they are self-aware, human clones, human-animal chimeras and uplifted animals would all
be unique persons deserving of respect, dignity, rights and citizenship. They conclude that
the coming ethical issue is not the creation of so-called monsters but what they
characterize as the "yuck factor" and "human-racism" that would judge and treat these
creations as monstrous.[22] [54]
Transhumanism 245
In his 2003 book Our Final Hour, British Astronomer Royal Martin Rees argues that
advanced science and technology bring as much risk of disaster as opportunity for
progress. However, Rees does not advocate a halt to scientific activity; he calls for tighter
security and perhaps an end to traditional scientific openness.[118] Advocates of the
precautionary principle, such as the Green movement, also favor slow, careful progress or a
halt in potentially dangerous areas. Some precautionists believe that artificial intelligence
and robotics present possibilities of alternative forms of cognition that may threaten human
life.[119] The Terminator franchise's doomsday depiction of the emergence of an A.I. that
becomes a superintelligence - Skynet, a malignant computer network which initiates a
nuclear war in order to exterminate the human species, has been cited by some involved in
this debate.[120]
Transhumanists do not necessarily rule out specific restrictions on emerging technologies
so as to lessen the prospect of existential risk. Generally, however, they counter that
proposals based on the precautionary principle are often unrealistic and sometimes even
counter-productive, as opposed to the technogaian current of transhumanism which they
claim is both realistic and productive. In his television series Connections, science historian
James Burke dissects several views on technological change, including precautionism and
the restriction of open inquiry. Burke questions the practicality of some of these views, but
concludes that maintaining the status quo of inquiry and development poses hazards of its
own, such as a disorienting rate of change and the depletion of our planet's resources. The
common transhumanist position is a pragmatic one where society takes deliberate action to
ensure the early arrival of the benefits of safe, clean, alternative technology rather than
fostering what it considers to be anti-scientific views and technophobia.[121]
One transhumanist solution proposed by Nick Bostrom is differential technological
development, in which attempts would be made to influence the sequence in which
technologies developed. In this approach, planners would strive to retard the development
of possibly harmful technologies and their applications, while accelerating the development
of likely beneficial technologies, especially those that offer protection against the harmful
effects of others.[42]
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[91] Smolensky, Kirsten Rabe (2006). Parental liability for germline genetic enhancement: to be or not to be?
(Public address, Stanford University) (http:/ / ieet. org/ index. php/ IEET/ HETHR_bios/ smolensky/ ). . Retrieved
on 2006-06-18.
[92] Cole-Turner, Ronald (1993). The New Genesis: Theology and the Genetic Revolution. Westminster John Knox
Press. ISBN 0-664-25406-3. OCLC 26402489 (http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 26402489).
[93] Peters, Ted (1997). Playing God?: Genetic Determinism and Human Freedom. Routledge. ISBN
0-415-91522-8. OCLC 35192269 (http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 35192269).
Transhumanism 250
[94] Midgley, Mary (1992). Science as Salvation. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-06271-3. OCLC 181929611 (http:/ /
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[95] Dvorsky, George (2006). Aronofsky's pro-death Fountain (http:/ / sentientdevelopments. blogspot. com/ 2006/
12/ aronofskys-pro-death-fountain. html). . Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
[96] Bordo, Susan (1993). Unbearable Weight: Femininism, Western Culture and the Body. University of
California Press. ISBN 0-520-08883-2. OCLC 27069938 (http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 27069938).
[97] Alexander, Brian (2000). Don't die, stay pretty: introducing the ultrahuman makeover (http:/ / www. wired.
com/ wired/ archive/ 8. 01/ forever. html). . Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
[98] McKibben, Bill (2003). Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age. Times Books. ISBN 0-8050-7096-6.
OCLC 237794777 (http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 237794777).
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[100] Silver, Lee M. (1998). Remaking Eden: Cloning and Beyond in a Brave New World. Harper Perennial. ISBN
0-380-79243-5. OCLC 40094564 (http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 40094564).
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New Republic.
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procedures (http:/ / www. genetics-and-society. org/ newsletter/ archive/ 20. html). . Retrieved on 2006-02-21.
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coming! (http:/ / www. reason. com/ news/ show/ 34926. html). . URL accessed on January 18, 2007
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international treaty prohibiting cloning and inheritable alterations". Am. J. Law & Med. 28: 151.
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transhumanism. org/ index. php/ WTA/ faq21/ 66/ ). . Retrieved on 2006-04-03.
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Marx's theory of alienation 251
Marxist theory
Communism portal
Types
power beyond all doubt. 2) In your enjoyment or use of my product I would have
the direct enjoyment both of being conscious of having satisfied a human need by
my work, that is, of having objectified man’s essential nature, and of having thus
created an object corresponding to the need of another man’s essential nature. ...
Our products would be so many mirrors in which we saw reflected our essential
nature.'" (Comment on James Mill)
Marx attributes four types of alienation in labour under capitalism.[1] These include the
alienation of the worker from his or her ‘species essence’ as a human being rather than a
machine; between workers, since capitalism reduces labour to a commodity to be traded on
the market, rather than a social relationship; of the worker from the product, since this is
appropriated by the capitalist class, and so escapes the worker's control; and from the act
of production itself, such that work comes to be a meaningless activity, offering little or no
intrinsic satisfactions.
Marx also put emphasis on the role of religion in the alienation process, independently from
his famous quote on the opium of the masses. [2]
Simply put and taken directly from George Ritzer's: "Contemporary Sociological Theory and
Its Roots", the four types of alienation of workers from capitalist/owners are: -Activities of
the workers are chosen by the owners, capitalist; who in return pay them. -Ownership of
production/product in hands of capitalist. -Workers are likely to be separated from their
fellow workers. -Workers driven away from their potential and tasks become mindless.
probably wouldn't even get to the point of worrying that much about self-activity. This
doesn't mean, though, that tendencies against alienation only manifest themselves once
other needs are amply met, only that they are of reduced importance. The work of Raya
Dunayevskaya and others in the tradition of Marxist humanism drew attention to
manifestations of the desire for self-activity even among workers struggling for more basic
goals .
Class
In this passage, from The Holy Family, Marx says that capitalists and proletarians are
equally alienated, but experience their alienation in different ways:
The propertied class and the class of the proletariat present the same human
self-estrangement. But the former class feels at ease and strengthened in this
self-estrangement, it recognizes estrangement as its own power and has in it the
semblance of a human existence. The class of the proletariat feels annihilated in
estrangement; it sees in it its own powerlessness and the reality of an inhuman
existence. It is, to use an expression of Hegel, in its abasement the indignation at
that abasement, an indignation to which it is necessarily driven by the
contradiction between its human nature and its condition of life, which is the
outright, resolute and comprehensive negation of that nature. Within this
antithesis the private property-owner is therefore the conservative side, the
proletarian the destructive side. From the former arises the action of preserving
the antithesis, from the latter the action of annihilating it. [4]
Further reading
"I am not interested in dry economic socialism. We are fighting against misery, but we
are also fighting against alienation. One of the fundamental objectives of Marxism is to
remove interest, the factor of individual interest, and gain, from people’s psychological
motivations. Marx was preoccupied both with economic factors and with their
repercussions on the spirit. If communism isn’t interested in this too, it may be a
method of distributing goods, but it will never be a revolutionary way of life."
[5]
— Che Guevara
Alienation is a theme in Marx's writing that runs right throughout his work, from the
Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844, to Capital - especially the unpublished
sections entitled Results of the Immediate Process of Production. An online archive of
almost everything written by Marx can be found at the Marxists Internet Archive [6]- at
which you can search for 'alienation'. Another good way to approach Marx's original writing
is through a good collection - Karl Marx: selected writings (second edition), edited by David
Mclellan clearly indicates sections on alienation in its contents. Key works on alienation
include the Comment on James Mill and The German Ideology. An example of
characterisation of alienation in Marx's later work (which differs strongly in emphasis, if
not in actual content from earlier presentations) can be found in the Grundrisse. Marx's
work can sometimes be daunting - many people would recommend reading a short
introduction (such as one of those indicated below) to the concept first.
Marx's theory of alienation 254
Secondary literature
• Introductory article on alienation [7] - from the Encyclopaedia of the Marxists Internet
Archive.
• Short article on alienation [8] - drawing mainly on the earlier works (from Lewis A. Coser,
Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in Historical and Social Context, 2nd Ed., Fort
Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1977: 50-53.)
• Paul Blackledge Marxism and Ethics [9]
• G.A. Cohen (1977) discusses alienation and fetishism in Ch. VI of Karl Marx's Theory of
History: A Defence.
• Althusser, For Marx, Verso
• Marcuse, Herbert, Reason & Revolution, Beacon
• Part I: Alienation of Karl Marx by Allen W. Wood in the Arguments of the Philosophers
series provides a good introduction to this concept.
• Why Read Marx Today? by Jonathan Wolff provides a simple introduction to the concept.
It is especially clear differentiating the various types of alienation which Marx discusses.
• Marx and human nature: refutation of a legend by Norman Geras, a brief book, contains
much of relevance to alienation by studying the closely related concept of human nature.
• Alienation: Marx's conception of man in capitalist society by Bertell Ollman. Selected
chapters can be read online [10].
• Alienation and Techne in the Thought of Karl Marx, by Kostas Axelos
• Shlomo Avineri, Hegel's Philosophy of Right and Hegel's Theory of the Modern State
• Lukacs' The Young Hegel and Origins of the Concept of Alienation by István Mészáros
• Marx's Theory of Alienation [11] by István Mészáros
• Ludwig Feuerbach [12] at www.marxists.org
• The Evolution of Alienation: Trauma, Promise, and the Millennium, edited by Lauren
Langman and Devorah K. Fishman. Lanham, 2006.
• "Does Alienation Have a Future? Recapturing the Core of Critical Theory," by Harry
Dahms (in Langman and Fishman, The Evolution of Alienation, 2006).
• Alienation in American Society [13] by Fritz Pappenheim, Monthly Review Volume 52,
Number 2
• Karl Marx's Philosophy of Man (1975) by John Plamenatz
• Alienation (1970) by Richard Schacht
• Making Sense of Marx (1994) by Jon Elster
Marx's theory of alienation 255
See also
• Commodity fetishism
• Ludwig Feuerbach's The Essence of Christianity (1841)
• Georg Lukacs's theory of class consciousness and reification
External links
[14]
• Bertell Ollman on Alienation
References
[1] A Dictionary of Sociology, Article: Alienation
[2] Marx on Alienation (http:/ / uregina. ca/ ~gingrich/ s3002. htm)
[3] http:/ / www. marxists. org/ archive/ marx/ works/ 1845/ german-ideology/ ch01d. htm
[4] Chapter 4 of The Holy Family (http:/ / www. marxists. org/ archive/ marx/ works/ 1845/ holy-family/ ch04. htm)-
see under Critical Comment No. 2
[5] The Many Faces of Socialism: Comparative Sociology and Politics, 1983, by Paul Hollander, Transaction Pub,
ISBN: 0887387403, Pg. 224
[6] http:/ / www. marxists. org/ archive/ marx
[7] http:/ / www. marxists. org/ glossary/ terms/ a/ l. htm
[8] http:/ / media. pfeiffer. edu/ lridener/ DSS/ Marx/ ch6. htm
[9] http:/ / www. isj. org. uk/ index. php4?id=486& issue=120
[10] http:/ / www. nyu. edu/ projects/ ollman/ books/ a. php
[11] http:/ / www. marxists. org/ archive/ meszaros/ works/ alien/
[12] http:/ / www. marxists. org/ reference/ archive/ feuerbach/
[13] http:/ / www. monthlyreview. org/ 600papp. htm
[14] http:/ / www. alienationtheory. com
Counter-Enlightenment
"Counter-Enlightenment" is a term used to refer to a movement that arose in the
late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries in opposition to the eighteenth century
Enlightenment. The term is usually associated with Isaiah Berlin, who is often credited with
coining it, perhaps taking up a passing remark of the German philosopher Friedrich
Nietzsche, who used the term Gegenaufklärung at the end of the nineteenth century. It has
not been widely used since. The first known use of the term 'counter-enlightenment' in
English was in 1949. Berlin published widely about the Enlightenment and its enemies and
did much to popularise the concept of a Counter-Enlightenment movement that he
characterised as relativist, anti-rationalist, vitalist and organic,[1] and which he associated
most closely with German Romanticism. Some recent scholarship has challenged this view
for focusing too narrowly on Germany and stopping abruptly in the early nineteenth
century, thereby ignoring the Enlightenment's many subsequent critics, particularly in the
twentieth century. Some scholars reject the use of the term 'the Counter-Enlightenment' on
the grounds that there was no single Enlightenment for its alleged enemies to oppose.
Counter- Enlightenment 256
intellectual and ideological offspring have often been terror and totalitarianism. Richard
Wolin (The Seduction of Unreason 2004) has traced the modern descendants of the
Counter-Enlightenment in postmodernism’s deep suspicion of “universalism,” paralleled by
its endorsement of “identity politics,” and concludes that it has worked against the values
of toleration and mutual recognition, not merely of diversity but of commonality.
In his book "Enemies of the Enlightenment" (2001), historian Darrin McMahon extends the
Counter-Enlightenment both back to pre-Revolutionary France and down to the level of
'Grub Street,' thereby marking a major advance on Berlin's intellectual and Germanocentric
view. McMahon focuses on the early enemies of the Enlightenment in France, unearthing a
long-forgotten 'Grub Street' literature in the late-eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries
aimed at the philosophes. He delves into the obscure and at times unseemly world of the
'low Counter-Enlightenment' that attacked the encyclopedistes and fought an often dirty
battle to prevent the dissemination of Enlightenment ideas in the second half of the
century. A great many of these early opponents of the Enlightenment attacked it for
undermining religion and the social and political order. This later became a major theme of
conservative criticism of the Enlightenment after the French Revolution appeared to
vindicate the warnings of the anti-philosophes in the decades prior to 1789.
In his 1996 article for The American Political Science
Review (Vol. 90, No. 2), Arthur M. Melzer identifies the
origin of the Counter-Enlightenment in the religious
writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, showing Rousseau
as the man who fired the first major shot in the war
between the Enlightenment and its enemies. Graeme
Garrard follows Melzer in his "Rousseau's
Counter-Enlightenment" (2003). This contradicts
Berlin's depiction of Rousseau as a philosophe (albeit
an erratic one) who shared the basic beliefs of his
Enlightenment contemporaries. Also, like McMahon, it
traces the beginning of Counter-Enlightenment thought
back to France and prior to the German 'Sturm und
Drang' movement of the 1770s. Garrard's book
"Counter-Enlightenments" (2006) broadens the term
Graeme Garrard traces the origin of even further, arguing against Berlin that there was no
the Counter-Enlightenment to
single 'movement' called 'The Counter-Enlightenment'.
Rousseau.
Rather, there have been many Counter-Enlightenments,
from the middle of the eighteenth century through to
twentieth century Enlightenment critics among critical theorists, postmodernists and
feminists. The Enlightenment has enemies on all points of the ideological compass, from the
far left to the far right, and all points in between. Each of the Enlightement's enemies
depicted it as they saw it or wanted others to see it, resulting in a vast range of portraits,
many of which are not only different but incompatible.
This argument has been taken a step further by some, like intellectual historian James
Schmidt, who question the idea of 'the Enlightenment' and therefore of the existence of a
movement opposing it. As our conception of 'the Enlightenment' has become more complex
and difficult to maintain, so too has the idea of 'the Counter-Enlightenment'. Advances in
Enlightenment scholarship in the last quarter century have challenged the stereotypical
Counter- Enlightenment 258
much to say for or against the Enlightenment. (The term itself didn't even exist at the time.)
For the most part, they ignored it.
The philosopher Jacques Barzun argues
that Romanticism had its roots in the
Enlightenment. It was not anti-rational, but
balanced rationality against the competing
claims of intuition and the sense of justice.
This view is expressed in Goya's "Sleep of
Reason" (left), in which one of the
nightmarish owls offers the dozing social
critic of Los Caprichos a piece of drawing
chalk: even the rational critic is inspired by
irrational dream-content, under the gaze of
the sharp-eyed lynx [2]. Marshall Brown
makes much the same argument as Barzun
in 'Romanticism and Enlightenment',
questioning the stark opposition between
these two periods.
Enlightened Totalitarianism
It was not until after WWII that 'the Enlightenment' re-emerged as a key organising concept
in social and political thought and the history of ideas. Shadowing it has been a resurgent
Counter-Enlightenment literature blaming the eighteenth century faith in reason for
twentieth century totalitarianism. The locus classicus of this view is Max Horkheimer and
Theodor Adorno's "Dialectic of Enlightenment" (1947), which traces the degeneration of the
general concept of enlightenment from ancient Greece (epitomised by the cunning
'bourgeois' hero Odysseus) to twentieth century fascism. (They say little about soviet
communism, referring to it as a regressive totalitarianism that "clung all too desperately to
the heritage of bourgeois philosophy"[3] ).
While this influential book takes 'enlightenment' as its target, this includes its eighteenth
century form – which we now call 'the Enlightenment' – epitomised by the Marquis de Sade.
Many postmodern writers and some feminists (e.g. Jane Flax) have made similar
arguments, likewise seeing the Enlightenment conception of reason as totalitarian, and as
Counter- Enlightenment 260
not having been enlightened enough since, for Adorno and Horkheimer, though it banishes
myth it falls back into a further myth, that of individualism and formal (or mythic) equality
under instrumental reason.
Michel Foucault, for example, argued that attitudes towards the "insane" during the
late-eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries show that supposedly enlightened notions of
humane treatment were not universally adhered to, but instead, that the Age of Reason had
to construct an image of "Unreason" against which to take an opposing stand. Berlin
himself, although no postmodernist, argues that the Enlightenment's legacy in the
twentieth century has been monism (which he claims favours political authoritarianism),
whereas the legacy of the Counter-Enlightenment has been pluralism (something he
associates with liberalism). These are two of the 'strange reversals' of modern intellectual
history.
See also
• The Enlightenment
• philosophe
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• J. G. Hamann
• Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi
• Joseph de Maistre
• Augustin Barruel
• Memoirs Illustrating the History of Jacobinism
• Chateaubriand
• Novalis
• Friedrich Nietzsche
• Sigmund Freud
• Norbert Elias
• Leo Strauss
Counter- Enlightenment 261
• Max Horkheimer
• Theodor Adorno
• Zeev Sternhell
• Isaiah Berlin
• Michel Foucault
• Charles Taylor
• John Gray
• Alasdair MacIntyre
• Natural philosophy
External links
• Isaiah Berlin,"The Counter-Enlightenment", in Dictionary of the History of Ideas (1973)
[4]
References
• Berlin, Isaiah, "The Counter-Enlightenment" in The Proper Study of Mankind: An
Anthology of Essays, ISBN 0-374-52717-2.
• Berlin, Isaiah, Three Critics of the Enlightenment: Vico, Hamann, Herder, Henry Hardy,
editor, Princeton University Press, 2003
• Garrard, Graeme, Rousseau's Counter-Enlightenment: A Republican Critique of the
Philosophes (2003) ISBN 0-7914-5604-8
• Garrard, Graeme, Counter-Enlightements: From the Eighteenth Century to the Present
(2006) ISBN 0-415-18725-7
• Garrard, Graeme, "Isaiah Berlin's Counter-Enlightenment" in Transactions of the
American Philosophical Society, ed. Joseph Mali and Robert Wokler (2003), ISBN
0-87169-935-4
• Masseau, Didier, Les ennemis des philosophes:. l’antiphilosophie au temps des Lumières,
Paris: Albin Michel, 2000.
• McMahon, Darrin M., Enemies of the Enlightenment: The French Counter-Enlightenment
and the Making of Modernity details the reaction to Voltaire and the Enlightenment in
European intellectual history from 1750 to 1830.
• Norton, Robert E. "The Myth of the Counter-Enlightenment," Journal of the History of
Ideas, 68 (2007): 635-658.
• Schmidt, James, What Enlightenment Project?, Political Theory, 28/6 (2000), pp. 734 - 57.
• Schmidt, James, Inventing the Enlightenment: Anti-Jacobins, British Hegelians and the
Oxford English Dictionary, Journal of the History of Ideas, 64/3 (2003), pp. 421 - 43.
• Wolin, Richard, The Seduction of Unreason: The Intellectual Romance with Fascism from
Nietzsche to Postmodernism (Princeton University Press) 2004, sets out to trace “the
uncanny affinities between the Counter-Enlightenment and postmodernism.”
Counter- Enlightenment 262
References
[1] Aspects noted by Darrin M. McMahon, "The Counter-Enlightenment and the Low-Life of Literature in
Pre-Revolutionary France" Past and Present No. 159 (May 1998:77-112) p. 79 note 7.
[2] http:/ / www. worldandi. com/ newhome/ public/ 2004/ february/ bkpub1. asp
[3] Adorno & Horkeimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 1947, pp.32-33
[4] http:/ / etext. lib. virginia. edu/ cgi-local/ DHI/ dhi. cgi?id=dv2-11
[5] http:/ / www. findarticles. com/ p/ articles/ mi_m2279/ is_n159/ ai_21029551
Conservatism 263
Conservatism
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Politics Portal
Conservatism is a political and social term from the Latin verb conservare meaning to
save or preserve.[1] As the name suggests it usually indicates support for tradition and
traditional values though the meaning has changed in different countries and time periods.
The modern political term conservative was used by French politician Chateaubriand in
1819.[2] In Western politics, the term conservatism often refers to the school of thought
started by Edmund Burke and similar thinkers.[3] Scholar R. J. White wrote: "To put
Conservatism 264
conservatism in a bottle with a label is like trying to liquify the atmosphere […] The
difficulty arises from the nature of the thing. For conservatism is less a political doctrine
than a habit of mind, a mode of feeling, a way of living."[4] Russell Kirk considered
conservatism "the negation of ideology".[5]
Conservative political parties have diverse views; the Liberal Democratic Party in Japan, the
Republican Party in the United States, the Conservative Party in Britain, the Liberal Party
of Australia, and the Bharatiya Janata Party in India are all considered major conservative
parties with varying positions.
Forms of conservatism
Liberal conservatism
Liberal conservatism is a variant of conservatism that combines conservative values and
policies with liberal stances. As these latter two terms have had different meanings over
time and across countries, liberal conservatism also has a wide variety of meanings.
Historically, the term often referred to the combination of economic liberalism, which
champions laissez-faire markets, with the classical conservatism concern for established
tradition, respect for authority and religious values. It contrasted itself with classical
liberalism, which supported freedom for the individual in both the economic and social
spheres.
Over time, the general conservative ideology in many countries adopted economic liberal
arguments, and the term liberal conservatism was replaced with conservatism. This is also
the case in countries where liberal economic ideas have been the tradition, such as the
United States, and are thus considered conservative. In other countries where liberal
conservative movements have entered the political mainstream, such as Italy and Spain, the
terms liberal and conservative may be synonymous. The liberal conservative tradition in the
United States combines the economic individualism of the classical liberals with a Burkean
form of conservatism (which has also become part of the American conservative tradition,
such as in the writings of Russell Kirk).
A secondary meaning for the term liberal conservatism that has developed in Europe is a
combination of more modern conservative (less traditionalist) views with those of social
liberalism. This has developed as an opposition to the more collectivist views of socialism.
Often this involves stressing what are now conservative views of free-market economics and
belief in individual responsibility, with social liberal views on defence of civil rights,
environmentalism and support for a limited welfare state. This philosophy is that of
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. In continental Europe, this is sometimes also
translated into English as social conservatism.
Conservative liberalism
Conservative liberalism is a variant of liberalism that combines liberal values and policies
with conservative stances, or, more simply, the right wing of the liberal movement.[10] [11]
[12]
The roots of conservative liberalism are found at the beginning of the history of
liberalism. Until the two World Wars, in most European countries the political class was
formed by conservative liberals, from Germany to Italy. Conservative liberalism is a more
positive and less radical version of classical liberalism.[13] The events such as World War I
occurring after 1917 brought the more radical version of classical liberalism to a more
conservative (i.e. more moderate) type of liberalism.[14]
Libertarian conservatism
Libertarian conservatism describes certain political ideologies within the United States and
Canada which combines libertarian economic issues with aspects of conservatism. Its five
main branches are Constitutionalism, paleolibertarianism, neolibertarianism, small
government conservatism and Christian libertarianism. They generally differ from
paleoconservatives, in that they are in favor of more personal and economic freedom.[15]
Conservatism 267
Fiscal conservatism
Fiscal conservatism is the economic philosophy of prudence in government spending and
debt. Edmund Burke, in his 'Reflections on the Revolution in France', articulated its
principles:
...[I]t is to the property of the citizen, and not to the demands of the creditor of
the state, that the first and original faith of civil society is pledged. The claim of
the citizen is prior in time, paramount in title, superior in equity. The fortunes of
individuals, whether possessed by acquisition or by descent or in virtue of a
participation in the goods of some community, were no part of the creditor's
security, expressed or implied...[T]he public, whether represented by a monarch
or by a senate, can pledge nothing but the public estate; and it can have no public
estate except in what it derives from a just and proportioned imposition upon the
citizens at large.
In other words, a government does not have the right to run up large debts and then throw
the burden on the taxpayer; the taxpayers' right not to be taxed oppressively takes
precedence even over paying back debts a government may have imprudently undertaken.
Green conservatism
Green conservatism is a term used to refer to conservatives who have incorporated green
concerns into their ideology. The Conservative Party in the United Kingdom under David
Cameron has embraced a green agenda that includes proposals designed to impose a tax on
workplace car parking spaces, a halt to airport growth, a tax on 4x4 vehicles and
restrictions on car advertising.
Cultural conservatism
Cultural conservatism is a philosophy that supports preservation of the heritage of a nation
or culture. The culture in question may be as large as Western culture or Chinese
civilization or as small as that of Tibet. Cultural conservatives try to adapt norms handed
down from the past. The norms may be romantic, like the anti-metric movement that
demands the retention of avoirdupois weights and measures in Britain and opposes their
replacement with the metric system. They may be institutional: in the West this has
included chivalry and feudalism, as well as capitalism, laicité and the rule of law.
In the subset social conservatism, the norms may also be what is viewed as a question of
morality. In some cultures, practices such as homosexuality are seen as immoral. In others,
it is considered immoral for a woman to reveal too much of her body.
Conservatism 268
Cultural conservatives often argue that old institutions have adapted to a particular place
or culture and therefore ought to be preserved. Others argue that a people have a right to
their cultural norms, their own language and traditions.
Religious conservatism
Religious conservatives seek to apply the teachings of particular ideologies to politics,
sometimes by proclaiming the value of those teachings, at other times seeking to have
those teachings influence laws. Religious conservatism may support, or be supported by,
secular customs. In other places or at other times, religious conservatism may find itself at
odds with the culture in which the believers reside. In some cultures, there is conflict
between two or more different groups of religious conservatives, each claiming both that
their view is correct, and that opposing views are wrong.
Because many religions preserve a founding text, or at least a set of well-established
traditions, the possibility of radical religious conservatism arises. These are radical both in
the sense of abolishing the status quo and of a perceived return to the radix or root of a
belief. They are ante conservative in their claim to be preserving the belief in its original or
pristine form. Radical religious conservatism generally sees the status quo as corrupted by
abuses, corruption, or heresy. One example of such a movement was the Radical
Reformation within the Protestant Reformation and the later Restorationists of the 1800s.
Similar phenomena have arisen in practically all the world's religions, in many cases
triggered by the violent cultural collision between the traditional society in question and
the modern Western society that has developed throughout the world over the past 500
years.
Australia
Conservatism in Australia is related to British and American
conservatism in many respects, but has a distinct political tradition.
One scholar argues that Australian conservatism is traditionally
composed of diverse groups and interests that are united more by
opposition to certain political developments than by a distinct
shared ideology.[19] In terms of partisan politics, conservatism has
often been defined as opposition to the Australian Labor Party.
Australian groups that have historically been grouped on the Malcolm Turnbull, the
conservative side include social conservatives, British Empire leader of Liberal Party
nationalists, organizations supporting rural interests, anti-socialist of Australia.
Historically, for the first 70 years after the Federation of Australia, the non-Labor (and
hence implicitly conservative) side of Australian politics was associated with policies of
moderate protectionism in trade, and of support for the welfare state, coupled with
maintenance of Australia's ties to the British Empire. Many scholars have seen the
government of Robert Menzies as exemplifying this trend.[19] However, from the 1980s,
free-market economic policies were increasingly associated with conservatism in Australian
Conservatism 269
politics, following the same trend as the United States under Ronald Reagan and the United
Kingdom under Margaret Thatcher.[19] In contemporary Australian politics, the Liberal
Party of Australia is seen as the main conservative party.
Botswana
Seretse Khama founded the conservative Botswana Democratic Party and it has been the
most popular party in Botswana. According to the Economic Freedom of the World survey,
Botswana is Africa's second most capitalist country.
Canada
Canadian conservatism has always been rooted in a preference for the traditional and
established ways of doing things, even as it has shifted in economic, foreign and social
policy. Like Burke, they rejected the sense of both ideology and revolution, preferring
pragmatism and evolution. It is for that reason that unlike conservatives in the United
States, Canadian conservatives are generally not republicans, preferring the monarchy and
Westminster system of government. (The United States is a federal republic, while Canada
is a constitutional monarchy, a distinction resulting from the American Revolution and its
aftermath.)
Republic of China
In the Republic of China, the conservative Kuomintang (KMT)
(the most popular party) generally supports Chinese
nationalism and Chinese reunification.
Germany
In Germany, conservatism has often been represented by
Christian Democratic parties. They form the bulk of the
European People's Party faction in the European Parliament.
The origin of these parties is usually in Catholic parties of the
late 19th and early 20th centuries, and Catholic social teaching
was their original inspiration. Over the years, conservatism
gradually became their main ideological inspiration, and they
Angela Merkel, the first
generally became less Catholic. The German Christian female chancellor of
Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party Christian Germany.
Social Union (CSU), and the Dutch Christian Democratic Appeal
(CDA) are Protestant-Catholic parties.
India
Conservatism in India is represented by Hindu nationalist parties like the Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP)[20] . BJP advocates conservative social policies, self reliance, robust economic
growth, foreign policy driven by a nationalist agenda, and strong national defense.
Hindutva has a special place in its ideology and the party believes that ancient Hindu
culture and values will make India a more enlightened society. BJP falls more correctly in
the Centre-right definition.
Iran
In Iran, conservatism is represented by parties such as the Combatant Clergy Association
(CCA), which includes the nation’s foremost politicized clerics (including the current
Ayatollah) [21] and is considered to be part of the "Islamic right".[22] The CCA was the
majority party in the fourth and fifth parliaments after the Islamic revolution.[23] It was
founded in 1977 by a group of clerics with intentions to use cultural approaches to
overthrow the Shah.[24] Some conservative Iranian political parties and organizations are
part of the powerful Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran.
Israel
In Israel, Likud is the major centre-right political party. Founded in 1973 as an alliance of
several right-wing and liberal parties, Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major
turning point in the country's political history.[25] Likud supports free market capitalism
and liberalism. Likud, under the guidance of Finance minister Binyamin Netanyahu, pushed
through legislation to reduce value added tax (VAT), income and corporate taxes, as well as
customs duty. The party has instituted free trade (especially with the European Union and
the United States) and has dismantled certain monopolies (e.g. Bezeq and the sea ports). It
has privatized numerous government-owned companies (e.g. El Al and Bank Leumi).
Likud has in the past espoused hawkish policies towards the Palestinians, including
opposition to Palestinian statehood and support of the Jewish settlers in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip. However, it has also been the party which carried out the first peace
agreements with Arab states. For instance, in 1979, Likud Prime Minister, Menachem
Begin, signed the Camp David Accords with Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat, which
returned the Sinai Peninsula (occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967) to Egypt in
Conservatism 271
return for peace between the two countries. Yitzhak Shamir also granted some legitimacy
to the Palestinians by meeting them at the ill-fated Madrid Conference following the
Persian Gulf War in 1991. However, Shamir refused to concede the idea of a Palestinian
state, and as a result was blamed by some (including U.S. Secretary of State James Baker)
for the failure of the summit. Later, as Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu restated
Likud's position of opposing Palestinian statehood, which after the Oslo Accords was largely
accepted by the opposition Labor Party, even though the shape of any such state was not
clear.
The Likud emphasize such nationalist themes as the flag and the victory in Israel's 1948
war with neighbouring Arab states. The Likud advocates teaching values in childhood
education. The Likud endorses press freedom and promotion of private-sector media, which
has grown markedly under governments Likud has led. A Likud government headed by
Ariel Sharon, however, closed the popular right-wing pirate radio station Arutz 7 ("Channel
7). Arutz 7 was popular with the settlement movement and often criticised the government
from a right-wing perspective. However, the Likud is inclined towards the Torah and
expresses support for it within the context of civil Judaism, as a result of its Irgun past,
which aligned itself according to the word of the Tanakh.
Japan
Japan's conservative Liberal Democratic Party - which
has dominated elections for half a century - traditionally
identified itself with a number of general goals such as
rapid, export-based economic growth and close
cooperation with the United States in foreign and
defense policies, as well as several newer issues, such
as administrative reform. Administrative reform
encompassed several themes: simplification and
Junichiro Koizumi, a leader of the
streamlining of government bureaucracy; privatization
right-wing Liberal Democratic Party
of stateowned enterprises; and adoption of measures, (LDP) who won the largest party
including tax reform, needed to prepare for the strain majority ever in modern Japanese
on the economy posed by an aging society. history.
Nepal
The Nepali politics can be viewed as a very interesting clash of left wing parties, liberal
democratic parties, conservative democratic parties and the ultra-conservatism practiced
by the now-abolished Monarchy. Because of the decade long Maoist insurgency and the
movements of other parties, people of Nepal seem to be rejecting the idea of extreme
conservatism, and consequently the Nepalese monarchy has now been abolished. However,
an intense debate still exists between intellectuals and political activists regarding the
degree of conservatism in Nepali politics. While the Unified CPN (Maoist) propose a
progressive ideology, rejecting all the conservative ideas; The CPN-UML, a democratic
party with communist background, seems to be supporting progressive ideas blended with
Conservatism 272
some conservatism. The right wing party of Nepali Congress, is considered to be more
conservative than others because of their history of supporting the idea of the now
abolished Hindu State as well as the idea of Ceremonial Monarchy. However, Nepali
Congress too has adopted a Republican set up after the 2006 democracy movement in
Nepal.
Historians view the inter party clash in this small nation as a melting pot of all the
ideologies of the political spectrum and the intense discussions continues to intrigue many
political analysts.
Netherlands
In the strict sense, the Netherlands did not have a conservative
tradition until the early 2000s. In the nineteenth-century, Dutch
statesmen such as Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer and Abraham
Kuyper heavily criticized modernity, but their ideas evolved toward
Christian Democracy instead of conservatism.
Explicit conservatism in the Netherlands starts with Andreas Kinneging
a philosopher of law who denounced liberalism in favour of the
Christian and classical foundations of Western civilization. In the early
2000s, he gathered around a group of young conservatives, among
them activist Joshua Livestro and journalist Bart Jan Spruyt, and
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a
writer and a former founded the Edmund Burke Foundation with the ambition of becoming
MEP from the either a major intellectual influence or a political movement. This
People's Party for project failed. The Foundation now focuses on introducing
Freedom and
conservatism to students.
Democracy.
Traditionally, the Dutch conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom
and Democracy combines advocacy of free market economy and lower taxes with advocacy
of such personal liberties as euthanasia and the use of softdrugs. The Party for Freedom is
a newly formed party with conservative sentiments, advocating strict restriction on
immigration from Muslim countries and a return to what it calls the 'Judeo-Christian
civilization'. However, it defends values which are usually not associated with
conservatives, such as same-sex marriages. Furthermore, on social and economic issues it
recently tends to vote as often with parties on the Left as well as on the Right. The party is
led by Geert Wilders.
Conservatism 273
New Zealand
The New Zealand National Party ("National" or "the Nats")
currently[26] forms the largest (in terms of parliamentary seats)
political party in the next New Zealand Parliament, and thus function
as the core of a governing coalition. For many decades "National" has
been the largest liberal-conservative political party in New Zealand.
The National Party currently[26] advocates policies of reducing taxes,
reducing social welfare payments, promoting free trade, restoring or
maintaining New Zealand's defence alliances, and promoting one
standard of citizenship for all New Zealanders ("One law for all").
John Key, Current
Prime Minister of
New Zealand.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has been under the influence of conservative clerics who uphold a strict
interpretation of Islamic law, and the monarchy supports conservative social polices.[27]
Women are required to dress modestly, and all sexual activity outside of a traditional
heterosexual marriage is illegal. Dancing, playing music or showing movies in public are
forbidden.[28]
Scandinavian countries
In Scandinavian countries, conservatism has been represented in liberal conservative
parties such as the National Coalition party in Finland, the Moderate Party in Sweden,
Høyre in Norway and the Conservative People's Party in Denmark. Domestically, these
parties generally support market-oriented policies. Denmark's conservative-liberal Venstre
has been characterized as a classical liberal party. Their former leader (Anders Fogh
Rasmussen) wrote the book Fra Socialstat til Minimalstat (English: From Social State to
Minimal State), which advocated an extensive reform along classical liberal lines.
South Korea
In the 2008 parliamentary elections, the conservative Grand National Party won 37% of the
vote in South Korea, compared with 25% for the liberal United Democratic Party[29] . After
decades of free market policies, free trade, and low taxation, South Korea is a major
economic power and one of the wealthiest countries in Asia. It had one of the world's
fastest growing economies since the 1960s, now highly developed[30] and the fourth
largest[31] in Asia and 13th largest[32] in the world. Forming the G20 industrial nations and
the world's top ten exporters, it is an APEC and OECD member, defined as a High Income
Nation by the World Bank and an Advanced Economy by the IMF and CIA. The Asian Tiger
is leading the Next Eleven nations and is still among the world's fastest growing developed
countries.[30] Today, its success story is known as the "Miracle on the Han", a role model
for many developing countries.[33]
Conservatism 274
United Kingdom
Conservatism in the United Kingdom is related to its counterparts in other Western nations,
but has a distinct tradition. Edmund Burke is often considered the father of conservatism in
the English-speaking world. Burke was a Whig, while the term Tory is given to the later
Conservative Party. One Australian scholar argues, "For Edmund Burke and Australians of
a like mind, the essence of conservatism lies not in a body of theory, but in the disposition
to maintain those institutions seen as central to the beliefs and practices of society."[19]
The old established form of English, and after the Act of Union,
British conservatism, was the Tory Party. It reflected the attitudes of
a rural land owning class, and championed the institutions of the
monarchy, the Anglican Church, the family, and property as the best
defence of the social order. In the early stages of the industrial
revolution, it seemed to be totally opposed to a process that seemed
to undermine some of these bulwarks. The new industrial elite were
seen by many as enemies to the social order. Robert Peel was able to
reconcile the new industrial class to the Tory landed class by
Margaret Thatcher, persuading the latter to accept the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846.
United Kingdom He created a new political group that sought to preserve the old
prime minister and
status quo while accepting the basics of laissez-faire and free trade.
Ronald Reagan,
American president.
The new coalition of traditional landowners and sympathetic
industrialists constituted the new Conservative Party.
Benjamin Disraeli gave the new party a political ideology. As a young man, he was
influenced by the romantic movement and medievalism, and developed a devastating
critique of industrialism. In his novels, he outlined an England divided into two nations,
each living in perfect ignorance of each other. He foresaw, like Karl Marx, the phenomenon
of an alienated industrial proletariat. His solution involved a return to an idealised view of a
corporate or organic society, in which everyone had duties and responsibilities towards
other people or groups. This "one nation" conservatism is still a significant tradition in
British politics. It has animated a great deal of social reform undertaken by successive
Conservative governments.
Although nominally a Conservative, Disraeli was sympathetic to some of the demands of the
Chartists and argued for an alliance between the landed aristocracy and the working class
against the increasing power of the middle class, helping to found the Young England group
in 1842 to promote the view that the rich should use their power to protect the poor from
exploitation by the middle class. The conversion of the Conservative Party into a modern
mass organisation was accelerated by the concept of Tory Democracy attributed to Lord
Randolph Churchill.
Conservatism 275
However, in the 1980s, under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, and the influence of
Keith Joseph, there was a dramatic shift in the ideological direction of British conservatism,
with a movement towards free-market economic policies. As one commentator explains,
"The privatization of state owned industries, unthinkable before, became commonplace
[during Thatcher's government] and has now been imitated all over the world."[34] Some
commentators have questioned whether Thatcherism was consistent with the traditional
concept of conservatism in the United Kingdom, and saw her views as more consistent with
radical classical liberalism. Thatcher was described as "a radical in a conservative party"[34]
, and her ideology has been seen as confronting "established institutions" and the "accepted
beliefs of the elite"[34] , both concepts incompatible with the traditional conception of
conservatism as signifying support for the established order and existing social convention.
United States
Conservatism in the United States includes a variety of political ideologies including fiscal
conservatism, supply-side economics, social conservatism, libertarian conservatism,
bioconservatism and religious conservatism,[35] as well as support for a strong military.
Modern American conservatism was largely born out of alliance between classical liberals
and social conservatives in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[36]
Contemporary American conservatism traces its heritage back to Irish political philosopher
Edmund Burke, who developed his views in response to the French Revolution.[37] US
President Abraham Lincoln wrote, that conservatism is "the adherence to the old and tried,
against the new and untried."[38] US president Ronald Reagan, who was a self-declared
conservative, is widely seen as a symbol of American conservatism.[39] In an interview, he
said "I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism."[40] Organizations
in the US committed to promoting conservative ideology include the American Conservative
Union, Eagle Forum, Heritage Foundation and the Hoover Institution. US-based media
outlets that are conservative include Human Events, National Review, The American
Conservative, Policy Review, The Weekly Standard. and The Fox News Channel
In the US, social conservatives emphasize traditional views of social units such as the
family, church, or locale. Social conservatism may entail defining marriage as relationships
between one man and one woman (thereby prohibiting same-sex marriage and polygamy)
and laws placing restrictions on the practice of abortion. While many religious
conservatives believe that government should have a role in defending moral values,
libertarian conservatives such as Barry Goldwater advocated a hands-off government where
social values were concerned.
Conservatism 276
Psychology
A meta-analysis of research literature by Jost, Glaser, Kruglanski, and Sulloway in 2003
found that many factors, such as intolerance of ambiguity and need for cognitive closure,
contribute to the degree of one's political conservatism.[41] A study by Kathleen Maclay
stated these traits "might be associated with such generally valued characteristics as
personal commitment and unwavering loyalty." The research also suggested that both
liberals and conservatives are resistant to change; liberals simply have a higher
tolerance.[42]
According to psychologist Robert Altemeyer, individuals who are politically conservative
tend to rank high in Right-Wing Authoritarianism on his RWA scale. [43] This finding was
echoed by Theodor Adorno. A study done on Israeli and Palestinian students in Israel found
that RWA scores of right-wing party supporters were significantly higher than those of
left-wing party supporters.[44] However, a 2005 study by H. Michael Crowson and
colleagues suggested a moderate gap between RWA and other conservative positions. "The
results indicated that conservatism is not synonymous with RWA." [45]
Psychologist Felicia Pratto and her colleagues have found evidence to support the idea that
a high Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) is strongly correlated with conservative
political views, and opposition to social engineering to promote equality, though Pratto's
findings have been highly controversial.[46] Pratto and her colleagues found that high SDO
scores were highly correlated with measures of prejudice. They were refuted in this claim
by David J. Schneider, who wrote that "correlations between prejudice and political
conservative are reduced virtually to zero when controls for SDO are instituted" [47] and by
Kenneth Minogue who wrote "It is characteristic of the conservative temperament to value
established identities, to praise habit and to respect prejudice, not because it is irrational,
but because such things anchor the darting impusles of human beings in solidities of
custom which we do not often begin to value until we are already losing them. Radicalism
often generates youth movements, while conservatism is a condition found among the
mature, who have discovered what it is in life they most value." [48]
Another study stated that opposition is not based on racism or sexism, but on a "principled
conservatism,"[49] a perspective based on "concern for equity, color-blindness, and genuine
conservative values." Furthermore, the study suggested that racism and conservatism are
independent, and weakly correlated among the highly educated. In an effort to examine the
relationship between education, SDO, and racism, Sidanius and his colleagues conducted a
survey in which subjects were asked about their political and social attitudes.[49] Results
indicated partial support for the principled-conservatism position. However, contrary to
predictions, correlations among SDO, political conservatism, and racism were strongest
among the most well educated, and weakest among the least well educated.[49]
See also
• 'And' theory of conservatism • Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
• Liberal conservatism
References
[1] (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=I0QINMoSGykC& pg=PA114& dq=etymology+ conservative+
conservare& as_brr=3)Freedom and Consumerism: A Critique of Zygmunt Bauman's Sociology By Mark Davis,
Zygmunt Bauman Edition: revised Published by Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2008 ISBN 0754672719,
9780754672715 189 pages page 114
[2] The Scary Echo of the Intolerance of the French Revolution in America Today (http:/ / hnn. us/ articles/ 43075.
html)
[3] BBC: Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797) (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ history/ historic_figures/ burke_edmund. shtml)
[4] As part of introduction to The Conservative Tradition, ed. R.J. White (London: Nicholas Kaye, 1950)
[5] "10 Conservative Principles" (http:/ / www. kirkcenter. org/ kirk/ ten-principles. html)
[6] BBC: Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797) (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ history/ historic_figures/ burke_edmund. shtml)
[7] RRF, Langford 1981-, Volume VIII, 58
[8] Carl B. Cone, Burke and the Nature of Politics, University of Kentucky Press, 1957 OCLC 399586 (http:/ /
www. worldcat. org/ oclc/ 399586)
[9] American Chronicle | Liberal / Conservative (Part 1) Economics (http:/ / www. americanchronicle. com/
articles/ viewArticle. asp?articleID=1689)
[10] http:/ / www. wikipolitique. fr/ Libéralisme_conservateur
[11] http:/ / www. parties-and-elections. de/ contents. html
[12] M. Gallagher, M. Laver and P. Mair, Representative Government in Europe, p. 221.
[13] Allen R.T., Beyond Liberalism, p. 2.
[14] Allen R.T., Beyond Liberalism, p. 13.
[15] " Paleoconservatives - Definition on Worddiq (http:/ / www. wordiq. com/ definition/ Paleoconservatives)". .
[16] " New Libertarian Manifesto (http:/ / agorism. info/ NewLibertarianManifesto. pdf)". .
[17] " Interview With Samuel Edward Konkin III (http:/ / www. spaz. org/ ~dan/ individualist-anarchist/ software/
konkin-interview. html)". .
[18] Vance, Laurence (January 29, 2008). " Is Ron Paul Wrong on Abortion? (http:/ / www. lewrockwell. com/
vance/ vance133. html)" (in English). LewRockwell.com. . Retrieved on 2008-07-01.
[19] Worthington, Glen, Conservatism in Australian National Politics (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/
20060913184447/ http:/ / www. aph. gov. au/ library/ pubs/ rn/ 2001-02/ 02RN29. htm), Parliament of Australia
Parliamentary Library, 19 February 2002
[20] Thomas Blom Hansen, The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India, Princeton
University Press, 2001, ISBN 140080342X, 9781400803422
[21] http:/ / www. s2online. org/ news/ country/ Iraq/ IRANpol. htm
[22] Elections Summaries for POLS 168 -- Middle East Politics (Fall 2007) (http:/ / www. uvm. edu/ ~fgause/
168read. htm)
[23] akhbare-rooz (iranian political Bulletin) (http:/ / www. akhbar-rooz. com/ article. jsp?essayId=4844)
[24] (http:/ / links. jstor. org/ sici?sici=0304-2421(199606)25:3<349:ICAATR>2. 0. CO;2-9)
[25] Israel at the Polls, 1992 By Daniel Judah Elazar, Shmuel Sandler
[26] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Conservatism
[27] Oxford Islamic Studies Online Saudi Arabia (http:/ / www. oxfordislamicstudies. com/ article/ opr/ t236/
e0709)
[28] Saudi Arabia Country Specific Information (http:/ / travel. state. gov/ travel/ cis_pa_tw/ cis/ cis_1012. html)
[29] http:/ / psephos. adam-carr. net/ countries/ k/ korea/ korea2008. txt
[30] Korea, Republic of (http:/ / travel. state. gov/ travel/ cis_pa_tw/ cis/ cis_1018. html)
[31] IMF (2007). World Economic Outlook Database, October 2007 (http:/ / www. imf. org/ external/ pubs/ ft/ weo/
2007/ 02/ weodata/ weorept. aspx?sy=2006& ey=2008& scsm=1& ssd=1& sort=country& ds=. & br=1& pr1.
Conservatism 278
Further reading
• RightWingersGuide.com (http:/ / www. rightwingersguide. com)
• Our Culture, What's Left of It: The Mandarins and the Masses / Theodore Dalrymple
(2005) ISBN 1566636434
• Fascists and conservatives : the radical right and the establishment in twentieth-century
Europe / Martin Blinkhorn., 1990
• Edmund Burke. Reflections on the Revolution in France, Hackett Publishing Company,
Inc. October 1997: ISBN 0-87220-020-5 (paper).
• Crunden, Robert, The Superfluous Men: Critics of American Culture, 1900–1945, 1999.
ISBN 1-882926-30-7
• Recent conservative political thought : American perspectives / Russell G Fryer., 1979
• Paul E. Gottfried, The Conservative Movement, 1993. ISBN 0-8057-9749-1
• The British Right : Conservative and right wing politics in Britain / Neill Nugent., 1977
• America alone : the neo-conservatives and the global order / Stefan A Halper., 2004
• Ted Honderich Conservatism
• Russell Kirk, The Conservative Mind, 7th Ed., 2001. ISBN 0-89526-171-5
Conservatism 279
External links
• Dictionary of the History of Ideas, Conservatism (http:/ / etext. lib. virginia. edu/ cgi-local/
DHI/ dhi. cgi?id=dv1-60).
Post- left anarchy 280
Post-left anarchy
Post-left anarchy is a recent current in anarchist thought that promotes a critique of
anarchism's relationship to traditional leftism. Some post-leftists seek to escape the
confines of ideology in general. Post-left anarchy is marked by a focus on social insurrection
and a rejection of leftist social organisation.[1]
Arguments
The left, even the revolutionary left, post-leftists argue, is anachronistic and incapable of
creating change. Post-left anarchy offers critiques of radical strategies and tactics which it
considers antiquated: the demonstration, class-oriented struggle, focus on tradition, and
the inability to escape the confines of history. The book Anarchy in the Age of Dinosaurs,
for example, criticizes traditional leftist ideas and classical anarchism while calling for a
rejuvenated anarchist movement. The → CrimethInc. essay "Your Politics Are Boring as
Fuck" is another critique of "leftist" movements:
Why has the oppressed proletariat not come to its senses and joined you in your fight
for world liberation? ... [Because] they know that your antiquated styles of protest –
your marches, hand held signs, and gatherings – are now powerless to effect real
change because they have become such a predictable part of the status quo. They
know that your post-Marxist jargon is off-putting because it really is a language of
mere academic dispute, not a weapon capable of undermining systems of control…
—Nadia C., "Your Politics Are Boring as Fuck"[2]
Some post-anarchists have come to similar conclusions, if for different reasons:
There is a certain litany of oppressions which most radical theories are obliged to pay
homage to. Why is it when someone is asked to talk about radical politics today one
inevitably refers to this same tired, old list of struggles and identities? Why are we so
unimaginative politically that we cannot think outside of this 'shopping list' of
oppressions?
—Saul Newman, From Bakunin to Lacan, p. 171[3]
See also
• Green syndicalism
• Illegalism
• Insurrectionary anarchism
• Left anarchism
• Post-structuralism
• Situationist International
Further reading
• → Black, Bob (1997). Anarchy after Leftism. Birmingham: CAL Press. ISBN
9781890532000.
External links
• "Anarchy After Leftism [4]" a comprehensive primer and portal from Infoshop.org
• "Primitivist and post-left 'anarchism' [5]" from Anarchism.ws
• "ifightbears.org [6]" a hub for like-minded writers and theorists of the post-left school of
thought
• "[7] Letter to "Anarchy" magazine criticizing Post-Left Anarchism
References
[1] Macphee, Josh (2007). Realizing the Impossible. Stirling: AK Press. ISBN 1904859321.
[2] Nadia C. " Your Politics Are Boring As Fuck (http:/ / www. crimethinc. com/ texts/ selected/ asfuck. php)",
CrimethInc. Selected Primary Texts.
[3] Newman, Saul (2001). From Bakunin to Lacan. Lexington: Lexington Books. p. 171. ISBN 0739102400.
[4] http:/ / www. infoshop. org/ afterleftism. html
[5] http:/ / anarchism. ws/ postleft. html
[6] http:/ / www. ifightbears. org
[7] http:/ / flag. blackened. net/ revolt/ anarchism/ writers/ anarcho/ movement/ AJODAplatform2. html
282
Authors
Fredy Perlman
Fredy Perlman (August 20, 1934 – July 26, 1985) was an author, publisher and activist. His
most popular work, the book → Against His-Story, Against Leviathan!, is a major source of
inspiration for → anti-civilisation perspectives in contemporary anarchism.
Professional life
During 1966-69 the couple lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Perlman taught social science
courses at Western Michigan University and created outrage among some members of the
faculty when he had students run their own classes and grade themselves. During his first
year in Kalamazoo, he and Milos Samardzija, one of his professors from Belgrade,
translated Isaac Illych Rubin's Essay on Marx's Theory of Value. Perlman wrote an
introduction to the book: "An Essay on Commodity Fetishism."
In May 1968, after lecturing for two weeks in Turin, Italy, Perlman went to Paris on the last
train before rail traffic was shut down by some of the strikes that were sweeping Western
Europe that season. He participated in the May unrest in Paris and worked at the Censier
center with the Citroen factory committee. After returning to Kalamazoo in August, he
collaborated with Roger Gregoire in writing Worker-Student Action Committees, May 68.
During his last year in Kalamazoo, Perlman had left the university and together with several
other people, mostly students, inaugurated the Black and Red magazine, of which six issues
appeared. Typing and layout was done at the Perlman house and the printing at the Radical
Education Project in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In January 1969 Perlman completed The
Reproduction of Daily Life. While traveling in Europe in the spring of 1969, he spent several
weeks in Yugoslavia and there wrote Revolt in Socialist Yugoslavia, which was suppressed
by the authorities, who called it a CIA plot.
In August 1969 he and his wife moved to Detroit, where he wrote The Incoherence of the
Intellectual and with others translated → Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle. This
edition was indicated by Debord himself as containing "obvious weaknesses."[2]
In 1970 Perlman was one of a large group that set up the Detroit Printing Co-op with
equipment from Chicago. For the next decade, Black & Red publications were printed
there, along with countless other projects ranging from leaflets to newspapers to books.
Between 1971 and 1976 he worked on several books, originals as well as translations,
including Manual for Revolutionary Leaders, Letters of Insurgents, Peter Arshinov's History
of the Makhnovist Movement, Voline's The Unknown Revolution, and → Jacques Camatte's
The Wandering of Humanity. During the same years, Perlman began playing the cello, often
in chamber music sessions twice a week. In 1971 he and his wife traveled to Alaska by car.
In 1976 Perlman underwent surgery to replace a damaged heart valve. After, he helped
write and perform Who's Zerelli? a play critiquing the authoritarian aspects of the medical
establishment.
During 1977-80 he studied (and charted) world history. During these years, he traveled to
Turkey, Egypt, Europe and regions of the U.S. to visit historic sites with Lorraine. In 1980
he began a comprehensive history of The Strait (Detroit and surroundings). He did not
finish this work, and the first and last chapters remain unwritten. In July 1985, he
estimated that it would take him eight or ten months to complete and edit the manuscript.
Both Perlman and Lorraine helped on the anti-authoritarian magazine The Fifth Estate,
doing typesetting and proofreading as well as contributing articles. His most recent
contributions were Anti-Semitism and the Beirut Pogrom and The Continuing Appeal of
Nationalism.
During 1982-83, he suspended work on The Strait to write Against His-story, Against
Leviathan!.
Fredy Perlman 284
In 1983, Perlman joined the cello section of the Dearborn Orchestra and in June 1985
performed quartets by Mozart and Schumann at a program for Physicians for Social
Responsibility.
On July 26, 1985, Perlman underwent heart surgery at Henry Ford Hospital, where he died.
In 1989, his widow Lorraine Perlman published a biography of Fredy, Having Little, Being
Much on the press they founded, Black & Red. Lorraine Perlman continues to run the press
in Detroit, Michigan and still contributes to Fifth Estate.
Selected Publications
[3]
• “Essay on Commodity Fetishism”. Telos 6 (Fall 1970). New York: Telos Press.
See also
• → Anarcho-primitivism
• → John Zerzan
• Fifth Estate periodical
References
[1] http:/ / ulwaf. com/ Daily-Bruin-History/ 15_Epilogue. html
[2] Letter from Guy Debord to Donald Nicholson-Smith, 27 April 1978 (http:/ / www. notbored. org/
debord-27April1978. html)
[3] http:/ / www. telospress. com
External links
• Black and Red Books, the press founded by the Perlmans (http:/ / www. blackandred. org/
)
• Loud Bark and Curious Eyes: A History of the UCLA Daily Bruin, 1919-1955 (http:/ /
www. ulwaf. com/ cgi-bin/ webglimpse/ home/ ulwaf/ ulwaf-www?query=perlman&
errors=0& age=& maxfiles=50& maxlines=30& maxchars=10000& cache=yes)
• Fredy Perlman's writings online (http:/ / www. geocities. com/ ~johngray/ indx1.
htm#perlman)
• Excerpt from Against His-story, Against Leviathan! (http:/ / www. primitivism. com/
leviathan. htm)
John Zerzan 285
John Zerzan
John Zerzan
John Zerzan (born 1943) is an American anarchist and → primitivist philosopher and
author. His works criticize agricultural civilization as inherently oppressive, and advocate
drawing upon the ways of life of prehistoric humans as an inspiration for what a free
society should look like. Some of his criticism has extended as far as challenging
domestication, language, symbolic thought (such as mathematics and art) and the concept
of time. His five major books are Elements of Refusal (1988), → Future Primitive and Other
Essays (1994), Running on Emptiness (2002), → Against Civilization: Readings and
Reflections (2005) and Twilight of the Machines (2008).
Zerzan's work
Zerzan's theories draw on Theodor Adorno's concept of negative dialectics to construct a
theory of civilization as the cumulative construction of alienation. According to Zerzan,
original human societies in paleolithic times, and similar societies today such as the !Kung,
Bushmen and Mbuti, live a non-alienated and non-oppressive form of life based on primitive
abundance and closeness to nature. Constructing such societies as a kind of political ideal,
or at least an instructive comparison against which to denounce contemporary (especially
industrial) societies, Zerzan uses anthropological studies from such societies as the basis
for a wide-ranging critique of aspects of modern life. He portrays contemporary society as a
world of misery built on the psychological production of a sense of scarcity and lack.[1] The
history of civilisation is the history of renunciation; what stands against this is not progress
but rather the Utopia which arises from its negation.[2]
John Zerzan 286
Political development
In 1966, Zerzan was arrested while performing civil disobedience at a Berkeley
anti-Vietnam War march and spent two weeks in the Contra Costa County Jail. He vowed
after his release never again to be willingly arrested. He attended events organized by Ken
Kesey and the Merry Pranksters and was involved with the psychedelic drug and music
scene in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.[15] [16]
In the late 1960s he worked as a social worker for the city of San Francisco welfare
department. He helped organize a social worker's union, the SSEU, and was elected vice
president in 1968, and president in 1969.[17] [16] The local Situationist group Contradiction
denounced him as a "leftist bureaucrat".[18] He became progressively more radical as he
dealt further with his and other unions. He was also a voracious reader of the Situationists,
being particularly influenced by → Guy Debord.[16]
In 1974, Black and Red Press published Unions Against Revolution by Spanish ultra-left
theorist Grandizo Munis that included an essay by Zerzan which previously appeared in the
journal Telos. Over the next 20 years, Zerzan became intimately involved with the → Fifth
Estate, → Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed, Demolition Derby and other anarchist
periodicals. He began to question civilization in the early 80's, after having sought to
confront issues around the neutrality of technology and division of labour, at the time when
Fredy Perlman was making similar conclusions.[19] He saw civilization itself as the root of
the problems of the world and that a hunter-gatherer form of society presented the most
egalitarian model for human relations with themselves and the natural world.
Criticism
In his essay "Social Anarchism or Lifestyle Anarchism: An Unbridgeable Chasm", Murray
Bookchin directed criticism from an anarchist point of view at Zerzan's anti-civilisational
and anti-technological perspective. → Bob Black's Anarchy After Leftism is a known book
within primitivist circles, written as a rebuttal to Bookchin. Another notable anarchist work
directed at Bookchin's perspective is → David Watson's Beyond Bookchin.
Aside from Murray Bookchin, several other anarchist critiques of Zerzan's primitivist
philosophies exist. The pamphlet, "Anarchism vs. Primitivism" by Brian Oliver Sheppard
criticizes many aspects of the primitivist philosophy. [24] Some authors, such as Andrew
Flood, have argued that destroying civilization would lead to the death of a significant
majority of the population. [25] John Zerzan contends the collapse of civilization as having a
gradual decrease on population size, with the possibility of people having the need to seek
means of sustainability more close to nature.[26] Additionally, several primitivists, such as →
Derrick Jensen, point out that civilization is in fact unsustainable, and as such the problem
John Zerzan 289
Selected works
• Telos 21, Organized Labor versus "The Revolt Against Work:" The Critical Contest. New
York: Telos Press Ltd., Fall 1974. (Telos Press [3]).
• Telos 124, Why Primitivism?. New York: Telos Press Ltd., Summer 2002. (Telos Press [3]).
• Telos 137, Breaking the Spell: A Civilization Critique Perspective. New York: Telos Press
Ltd., Winter 2008. (Telos Press [3]).
• Telos 141, Second-Best Life: Real Virtuality. New York: Telos Press Ltd., Winter 2007.
(Telos Press [3]).
• Telos 27, Unionization in America. New York: Telos Press Ltd., Spring 1976. (Telos Press
[3]
).
• Telos 28, Unionism and the Labor Front. New York: Telos Press Ltd., Summer 1978.
(Telos Press [3]).
• Telos 49, Origins and Meaning of World War I. New York: Telos Press Ltd., Fall 1981.
(Telos Press [3]).
• Telos 50, Anti-Work and the Struggle for Control. New York: Telos Press Ltd., Winter
1981-1982. (Telos Press [3]).
• Telos 60, Taylorism and Unionism: The Origins of a Partnership. New York: Telos Press
Ltd., Summer 1984. (Telos Press [3]).
See also
• → Anarcho-primitivism
• Green anarchism
• Neo-Tribalism
• → Green Anarchy, publication where John Zerzan works as one of the editors
• → Surplus, a Swedish movie (atmo, 2003) which contains an interview with John Zerzan
• → Fifth Estate, publication where Zerzan published consistently through 1988
External links
[30]
• John Zerzan's website
• Green Anarchist archive [31] Green anarchy archive that includes book and writings of
John Zerzan and other anti-civilization writers.
• Textos de John Zerzan (spanish) [32]
• Green Anarchy web site [33]
• Insurgent Desire [9] – John Zerzan writings and interviews can be read online
• Primitivism.com [10] – Writings by Zerzan and other primitivist authors and essayists
• Creel Commission [39] – June 2006 conversation with John Zerzan and the UK band
• ZNet's Primitivism Debate [34], Michael Albert vs John Zerzan, Eric Blair and the → Green
Anarchy Collective
• Guide to John Zerzan's papers at the University of Oregon [35]
[47]
• John Zerzan's conferences in Montreal, intro and videos (May '08)
• John Zerzan's Turkish articles [36]
• John Wisniewski interviews John Zerzan [37]
John Zerzan 290
• Resources on Green Anarchism that include some of Zerzan's writings and ideas at Jesus
Radicals [37]
References
[1] John Zerzan - The Mass Psychology of Misery (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ massmisery. htm)
[2] John Zerzan - Why Primitivism? (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ whyprim. htm)
[3] John Zerzan (http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ mayday/ story/ 0,7369,475181,00. html) The Guardian
[4] John Zerzan - What is Anarchism? (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ whatisanarchism. htm)
[5] John Zerzan - Future Primitive (http:/ / www. primitivism. com/ future-primitive. htm)
[6] John Zerzan - Running on Emptiness: The Failure of Symbolic Thought (http:/ / www. primitivism. com/
emptiness. htm)
[7] John Zerzan - Number: Its Origin and Evolution (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ number. htm)
[8] John Zerzan - Time and its Discontents (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ time. htm)
[9] John Zerzan - Patriarchy, Civilization, and the Origins of Gender (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/
patriarchy. htm)
[10] John Zerzan - Organized Labor versus "The Revolt Against Work" (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/
organisedlabour. htm)
[11] John Zerzan - Technology (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ technology. htm)
[12] John Zerzan - Agriculture (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ agriculture. htm)
[13] John Zerzan - Globalization and its Apologists: An Abolitionist Perspective (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org.
uk/ globalization. htm)
[14] John Zerzan - "Hakim Bey," Postmodern Anarchist (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ pmanarchist. htm)
[15] http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ world/ 2001/ apr/ 18/ mayday. features11
[16] John Zerzan - So...how did you become an anarchist? (http:/ / www. modukit. com/ anarhija-blok45/ zerzan/
sadrzaj/ textz/ html/ Z_so-how-did-you-become-an-anarchist. html)
[17] History of the union (http:/ / www. shapingsf. org/ ezine/ labor/ nopaid/ main. html)
[18] "Open Letter to John Zerzan, anti-bureaucrat of the San Francisco Social Services Employees Union" (http:/ /
www. bopsecrets. org/ PH/ zerzan. htm)
[19] http:/ / www. corrupt. org/ act/ interviews/ john_zerzan
[20] John Zerzan - Whose Unabomber? (http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ whoseunabomber. htm)
[21] http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ world/ 2001/ apr/ 18/ mayday. features11
[22] Prominent Anarchist Finds Unsought Ally in Serial Bomber (http:/ / query. nytimes. com/ gst/ fullpage.
html?res=990CE3DD113FF934A35756C0A963958260& sec=& spon=& & scp=1& sq=zerzan& st=cse) (New
York Times article)
[23] http:/ / gladstone. uoregon. edu/ ~kwva/
[24] Anarchism vs. Primitivism by Brian Oliver Sheppard (http:/ / libcom. org/ library/ anarchism-vs-primitivism)
[25] Civilization, Primitivism, Anarchism by Andrew Flood (http:/ / www. anarkismo. net/ newswire.
php?story_id=1451)
[26] http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ fp. htm
[27] Endgame, Vol. 1: The Problem of Civilization, Seven Stories Press (http:/ / www. endgamethebook. org/ )
[28] http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ primprimer. htm
[29] http:/ / www. primitivism. com/ impoverishment. htm
[30] http:/ / www. johnzerzan. net
[31] http:/ / www. green-anarchy. wikidot. com
[32] http:/ / www. johnzerzan. com. ar. istemp. com
[33] http:/ / www. greenanarchy. org
[34] http:/ / www. zmag. org/ debateprim. htm
[35] http:/ / nwda-db. wsulibs. wsu. edu/ findaid/ ark:/ 80444/ xv81752
[36] http:/ / yabanil. net/ ?tag=john-zerzan
[37] http:/ / greylodge. org/ gpc/ ?p=1623
Derrick Jensen 291
Derrick Jensen
Derrick Jensen (born December 19, 1960) is an American author and environmental
activist living in Crescent City, California.[1] Jensen has published several books questioning
and critiquing contemporary society and its values, including A Language Older Than
Words, The Culture of Make Believe, and → Endgame. He holds a B.S. in Mineral
Engineering Physics from the Colorado School of Mines and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing
from Eastern Washington University.[2] He has also taught creative writing at Pelican Bay
State Prison and Eastern Washington University.[3]
Writings
A Language Older Than Words uses the lens of domestic violence to look at the larger
violence of western culture. The Culture of Make Believe begins by exploring racism and
misogyny and moves to examine how this culture’s economic system leads inevitably to
hatred and atrocity. Strangely Like War is about deforestation. Walking on Water is about
education (It begins: "As is true for most people I know, I’ve always loved learning. As is
also true for most people I know, I always hated school. Why is that?").[6] Welcome to the
Machine is about surveillance, and more broadly about science and this culture’s obsession
with control.
Endgame is about what he describes as the inherent unsustainability of civilization. In this
book he asks: "Do you believe that this culture will undergo a voluntary transformation to a
sane and sustainable way of living?" Nearly everyone he talks to says no. His next question
is: "How would this understanding — that this culture will not voluntarily stop destroying
the natural world, eliminating indigenous cultures, exploiting the poor, and killing those
who resist — shift our strategy and tactics? The answer? Nobody knows, because we never
Derrick Jensen 292
talk about it: we’re too busy pretending the culture will undergo a magical transformation."
Endgame, he says, is "about that shift in strategy, and in tactics."[7]
Jensen's writing uses the first-person and interweaves personal experiences with cited facts
to construct arguments. His books are written like narratives, lacking a linear, hierarchical
structure. They are not divided into distinct sections devoted to an individual argument.
Instead, his writing is conversational, leaving one line of thought incomplete to move on to
another, returning to the first again at some later point. Jensen uses this creative
non-fiction style to combine his artistic voice with logical argument. Jensen often uses
quotations as reference points for ideas explored in a chapter. (For example, he introduces
the first chapter of Walking on Water with a quote from Jules Henry's book Culture Against
Man.)[8]
Jensen wrote and Stephanie McMillan illustrated the graphic novel As the World Burns
(2007).
Published works
Spoken word on CD
• Derrick Jensen Standup Tragedy (live CD)
• ---- The Other Side of Darkness (live CD), 2004
• ---- Now This War Has Two Sides (live CD), PM Press, 2008
Books
• Derrick Jensen, 1995, Listening to the Land: Conversations about Nature, Culture, and
Eros, Sierra Club Books, ISBN 0-87156-417-3 Republished 2004 by Chelsea Green
Publishing Company, ISBN 978-1931498562
• ----, George Draffan and John Osborn, 1995, Railroads and Clearcuts: Legacy of
Congress's 1864 Northern Pacific Railroad Land Grant, Keokee Company Publishing,
ISBN 1-879628-08-2
• ---- 2000, A Language Older Than Words, Context Books, ISBN 1-893956-03-2
Republished 2004 by Chelsea Green Publishing Company, ISBN 978-1931498555
Derrick Jensen 293
• ---- The Culture of Make Believe, New York: Context Books, 2002, ISBN 1-893956-28-8
Republished 2004 by Chelsea Green Publishing Company, ISBN 978-1931498579
• ---- and George Draffan, 2003, Strangely Like War: The Global Assault on Forests,
Chelsea Green, ISBN 978-1931498456
• ---- and George Draffan, 2004, Welcome to the Machine: Science, Surveillance, and the
Culture of Control, Chelsea Green Publishing Company, ISBN 1-931498-52-0
• ---- 2005, Walking on Water: Reading, Writing, and Revolution, Chelsea Green, ISBN
978-1931498784
• ---- 2006, → Endgame, Volume 1: The Problem of Civilization, Seven Stories Press, ISBN
1-58322-730-X
• ---- 2006, → Endgame, Volume 2: Resistance, Seven Stories Press, ISBN 1-58322-724-5
• ---- and Karen Tweedy Holmes, 2007, Thought to Exist in the Wild: Awakening from the
Nightmare of Zoos, No Voice Unheard, ISBN 978-0972838719
• ---- and Stephanie McMillan, 2007, As the World Burns: 50 Things You Can Do to Stay in
Denial, Seven Stories Press, ISBN 1-58322-777-6
• ---- 2008, How Shall I Live My Life?: On Liberating the Earth from Civilization, PM Press,
ISBN 978-1604860030
• ---- and Aric McBay, 2009, What We Leave Behind, Seven Stories Press, ISBN
978-1583228678
• ---- 2009, Songs of the Dead, PM Press, ISBN 978-1604860443
Further reading
Related authors include → John Zerzan (→ Against Civilization and Elements of Refusal),
George Draffan, Ward Churchill, → Chellis Glendinning, Inga Muscio, Terry Tempest
Williams, Frederick W. Turner (Beyond Geography: The Western Spirit Against the
Wilderness), Jack Forbes (Columbus and Other Cannibals), Dave Edwards, → Daniel Quinn
(Ishmael, Beyond Civilization, The Man Who Grew Young), Neil Evernden (The Natural
Alien), David Watson (Against the Megamachine), → Stanley Diamond (In Search of the
Primitive: A Critique of Civilization), → Jacques Ellul (The Technological Society), Thom
Hartmann (Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight), and → Lewis Mumford (Technics and Human
Development and The Pentagon of Power).
External links
[12]
• Official personal website
• The website for Jensen's latest book Endgame, which includes numerous online excerpts
[13]
References
[1] Endgame, Volume 1: The Problem of Civilization, Seven Stories Press (ISBN 1-58322-730-X), p.17
[2] Derrick Jensen (http:/ / www. derrickjensen. org/ about. html)
[3] Jensen D., 2003, Walking on Water: Reading, Writing, and Revolution, Context Books (ISBN 1-893956-37-7).
[4] He defines a civilization as "a culture — that is, a complex of stories, institutions, and artifacts — that both
leads to and emerges from the growth of cities (civilization, see civil: from civis, meaning citizen, from Latin
civitatis, meaning state or city), with cities being defined — so as to distinguish them from camps, villages, and
so on — as people living more or less permanently in one place in densities high enough to require the routine
importation of food and other necessities of life." Jensen D., 2006, Endgame, Volume 1: The Problem of
Civilization, Seven Stories Press (ISBN 1-58322-730-X), p.17
[5] Actions Speak Louder Than Words (http:/ / www. hopedance. org/ archive/ issue30/ articles/ jensen. htm)
[6] Walking on Water, p.1
[7] Endgame V.1, p.1
[8] Jensen D., 2004, Walking on Water: Reading, Writing, and Revolution, Chelsea Green (ISBN 1-931498-48-2),
p.1
[9] " HOFFERAWARD.COM (http:/ / www. hofferaward. com/ )". www.hofferaward.com. . Retrieved on
2008-04-27.
[10] Press Action ::: Press Action Awards 2006 (http:/ / www. pressaction. com/ news/ weblog/ full_article/
awards12292006/ )
[11] Derrick Jensen (http:/ / www. derrickjensen. org/ published. html)
[12] http:/ / www. derrickjensen. org
[13] http:/ / www. endgamethebook. org
[14] http:/ / anarchism. jesusradicals. com/ primitivism/ endgamereview. pdf
[15] http:/ / www. indybay. org/ archives/ archive_by_id. php?id=4470& category_id=60
[16] http:/ / www. blackoakmedia. org/ interviews/ jensen. html
[17] http:/ / ascentmagazine. com/ articles. aspx?articleID=282& page=read& subpage=current& issueID=38/
[18] http:/ / www. nocompromise. org/ issues/ 26jensen. html
[19] http:/ / www. hopedance. org/ archive/ issue30/ articles/ jensen. htm
[20] http:/ / www. pressaction. com/ news/ weblog/ earth
Richard Borshay Lee 295
Selected publications
• Subsistence Ecology of !Kung Bushmen (1965), PhD Dissertation, University of
California, Berkeley.
• The !Kung San: Men, Women and Work in a Foraging Society (1979), Cambridge and
New York: Cambridge University Press.
• The Dobe Ju/'hoansi (2003), 3rd ed., Thomson Learning/Wadsworth.
Awards
• 1980 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for The !Kung San: Men, Women, and Work in a
Foraging Society
• 1980 Herskovits Award of the African Studies Association for The !Kung San: Men,
Women, and Work in a Foraging Society
External links
• Anthropologica Vol. 45 No. 1, 2003 [2]
[3]
• Expanded Bibliography by Jacqueline Solway
• Biography of Richard Lee [4]
This article about an anthropologist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by Borshay Lee
expanding it [5].
Richard Borshay Lee 296
References
[1] http:/ / links. jstor. org/ sici?sici=0014-1801(197224)19%3A1%3C83%3AMTH%3E2. 0. CO%3B2-U
[2] http:/ / www. anthropologica. ca/ past_issues/ vol45-1. html
[3] http:/ / www. wlupress. wlu. ca/ ~wwwpress/ jrls/ anthro/ issues/ 45_1/ solway-bib. pdf
[4] http:/ / www. mnsu. edu/ emuseum/ information/ biography/ klmno/ lee_richard. html
[5] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ :Richard
Tim Ingold
Tim Ingold is a British social anthropologist. His bibliography includes The Perception of
the Environment. Essays in Livelihood, Dwelling and Skill, Routledge, 2000, which is a
collection of essays, some of which had been published earlier.
Bibliography
• Lines: a brief history (2007). London: Routledge.
• The perception of the environment: essays on livelihood, dwelling and skill (2000).
London: Routledge.
• Evolution and social life (1986). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• The appropriation of nature: essays on human ecology and social relations (1986).
Manchester: Manchester University Press.
• Hunters, pastoralists and ranchers: reindeer economies and their transformations (1980).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• The Skolt Lapps today (1976). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
See also
Taskscape
External links
[1]
• University of Aberdeen
[2]
This article about an educator is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it .
References
[1] http:/ / www. abdn. ac. uk/ ~wap001/ staff/ details. php?id=tim. ingold
[2] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?stub& title=Tim_Ingold& action=edit
Marshall Sahlins 297
Marshall Sahlins
Marshall David Sahlins (born December 27, 1930, Chicago, Illinois) is a prominent
American anthropologist. He received both a Bachelors and Masters degree at the
University of Michigan where he studied with Leslie White, and earned his Ph.D. at
Columbia University in 1954 where his main intellectual influences included Karl Polanyi
and Julian Steward. He returned to teach at the University of Michigan and in the 1960s
became politically active, protesting against the Vietnam War. In the late 1960s he also
spent two years in Paris, where he was exposed to French intellectual life (and particularly
the work of Claude Lévi-Strauss) and the student protests of May 1968. In 1973 he moved
to the University of Chicago, where he is today the Charles F. Grey Distinguished Service
Professor of Anthropology Emeritus.
Sahlins' work has focused on demonstrating the power that culture has to shape people's
perceptions and actions. He has been particularly interested to demonstrate that culture
has a unique power to motivate people that is not derived from biology. His early work
focused on debunking the idea of 'economically rational man' and to demonstrate that
economic systems adapted to particular circumstances in culturally specific ways. After the
publication of Culture and Practical Reason in 1976 his focus shifted to the relation
between history and anthropology, and the way different cultures understand and make
history. Although his focus has been the entire Pacific, Sahlins has done most of his
research in Fiji and Hawaii.
In his Evolution and Culture (1960) he touched the areas of cultural evolution and
neoevolutionism. He divided the evolution of societies into 'general' and 'specific'. General
evolution is the tendency of cultural and social systems to increase in complexity,
organization and adaptiveness to environment. However, as the various cultures are not
isolated, there is interaction and a diffusion of their qualities (like technological inventions).
This leads cultures to develop in different ways (specific evolution), as various elements are
introduced to them in different combinations and on different stages of evolution.
In the late 1990s Sahlins became embroiled in a heated debate with Gananath Obeyesekere
over the details of Captain James Cook's death in the Hawaiian Islands in 1779. At the heart
of the debate was how to understand the rationality of indigenous people. Obeyesekere
insisted that indigenous people thought in essentially the same way as Westerners and was
concerned that any argument otherwise would paint them as 'irrational' and 'uncivilized'.
Sahlins, on the other hand, was critical of Western thought and argued that indigenous
cultures were distinct and equal to those of the West.
In 2001, Marshall Sahlins became the executive publisher of a small press called Prickly
Paradigm.
Marshall Sahlins 298
See also
• → Original affluent society
• Economic anthropology
Publications
• Social Stratification in Polynesia (1958)
• Moala: Culture and Nature on a Fijian Island (1962)
• Evolution and Culture (ed., 1960)
• Stone Age Economics (1974: ISBN 0422745308)
• Tribesmen (1968)
• The Use and Abuse of Biology (1976: ISBN 0472087770)
• Culture and Practical Reason (1976: ISBN 0226733599)
• Historical Metaphors and Mythical Realities (1981: ISBN 0472027212)
• Waiting For Foucault (1999: ISBN 1891754114)
• Islands of History (1985: ISBN 0226733572)
• Anahulu: The Anthropology of History in the Kingdom of Hawaii (1992: ISBN
0226733637)
• How "Natives" Think: About Captain Cook, for Example (1995: ISBN 0-226-73368-8)
• Culture in Practice (2000: ISBN 094229937X)
• Apologies to Thucydides: Understanding History as Culture and Vice Versa (2004: ISBN
0226734005)
• The Western Illusion of Human Nature (2008: ISBN 13-9780979405723)
External links
• The Original Affluent Society [1] - the seminal article by Marshall Sahlins
• Faculty Page [1] - from the University of Chicago Department of Anthropology web site
• http:/ / www. mnsu. edu/ emuseum/ information/ biography/ pqrst/ sahlins_marshall. html
• Waiting for Foucault, Still [2] A small, pocket-sized book by Sahlins. Published in 2002 by
Prickly Paradigm, now available for free online(in pdf).
• Poor Man, Rich Man, Big Man, Chief: Political types in Melanesia and Polynesia [3] - free
online text
About the controversy with Obeyesekere (See also Death of Cook article, about the 2004
re-discovery of the original painting of the incident by John Cleveley the Younger, showing
a less idealised Cook):
• http:/ / www. ahs. cqu. edu. au/ humanities/ history/ 52148/ modules/ pacific_peoplesC.
html#obey
• http:/ / www. snarkout. org/ archives/ 2004/ 07/ 20/
Marshall Sahlins 299
References
[1] http:/ / anthropology. uchicago. edu/ faculty/ faculty_sahlins. shtml
[2] http:/ / www. prickly-paradigm. com/ paradigm1. pdf
[3] http:/ / www. scribd. com/ doc/ 22292/
Marshall-Sahlins-Poor-Man-Rich-Man-BigMan-Chief-Political-Types-in-Melanesia-and-Polynesia
Pierre Clastres
Pierre Clastres, (1934-1977), was a French anthropologist and ethnographer. He is best
known for his fieldwork among the Guayaki in Paraguay and his theory on stateless
societies. Some people regard him as giving scientific validity to certain → anarchist
perspectives.[1]
In his most famous work, Society Against the State (1974), Clastres indeed criticizes both
the evolutionist notion that the state would be the ultimate destiny of all societies, and the
Rousseauian notion of man's natural state of innocence (the myth of the noble savage).
Knowledge of power is innate in any society, thus the natural state for humans wanting to
preserve autonomy is a society structured by a complex set of customs which actively avert
the rise of despotic power. The state is seen as but a specific constellation of hierarchical
power peculiar only to societies who have failed to maintain these mechanisms which
prevent separation from happening. Thus, in the Guayaki tribes, the leader has only a
representational role, being his people's spokesperson towards other tribes ("international
relations"). If he abuses his authority, he may be violently removed by his people, and the
institution of "spokesperson" is never allowed to transform itself into a separate institution
of authority. Pierre Clastres' theory thus was an explicit criticism of vulgar Marxist theories
of economic determinism, in that he considered an autonomous sphere of politics, which
existed in stateless societies as the active conjuration of authority. The essential question
which Clastres sought to answer was: why would an individual in an egalitarian (eg
foraging) society chose to subordinate himself to an authority? He considered the
consequent rise of the state to be due to the power disparaties that arise when religion
credits a prophet or other medium with a direct knowledge of divine power which is
unattainable by the bulk of society. It is this upsetting of the balance of power that
engendered the inequality to be found in more highly structured societies, and not an initial
economic disparity as argued by the Marxist school of thought.
Bibliography
• « Liberté, malencontre, innommable » dans Étienne de La Boétie, Le Discours de la
servitude volontaire
• Chronicle of the Guayaki Indians (Chronique des indiens Guayaki), 1972
• Society Against the State (La Société contre l'État'), 1974
• Le Grand Parler. Mythes et chants sacrés des Indiens Guaraní, 1974
• French Marxists and their Anthropology (Les marxistes et leur anthropologie), 1978
• Recherches d'anthropologie politique, 1980
• Archeology of Violence (Archéologie de la violence. La guerre dans les sociétés
primitives.)
• Bartholomew Dean “Critical Re-vision: Clastres' Chronicle and the optic of primitivism”,
2002 In Best of Anthropology Today, 1974-2000, ed. J. Benthall, with a preface by M.
Pierre Clastres 300
See also
• Anarchism in Africa
• Anthropology and ethnology
• Power (sociology)
• Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari Anti-Oedipus (1978)
External links
[3]
• An Excerpt from Society Against the State ()
• A page from the Librairie Libertaire, describing Clastres and linking to some of his essays
[4]
()
• The essay La question du pouvoir dans les sociétés primitives [5] ()
• Entry [6] of the French Encyclopædia Universalis on the concept of ethnocide ()
References
[1] John Zerzan - Origins of War (http:/ / www. greenanarchy. org/ index. php?action=viewwritingdetail&
writingId=543& kw=origins+ of+ war)
[2] http:/ / www. amazon. com/ gp/ reader/ 0415262550
[3] http:/ / www. primitivism. com/ society-state. htm
[4] http:/ / perso. wanadoo. fr/ libertaire/ archive/ 2000/ 228-mai/ clastres. htm
[5] http:/ / increvablesanarchistes. org/ articles/ 1968_81/ clastre_pouvoirprimitif. htm
[6] http:/ / vadeker. club. fr/ corpus/ ethnocide. html
Brian Ferguson 301
Brian Ferguson
1. REDIRECT Lucas Gray
Paul Shepard
Paul Howe Shepard, Jr.
Born 1926
Kansas City, MO
Died July 27, 1996 (age 69–70)
Salt Lake City, Utah
Occupation Author, Professor
Nationality American
Notable work(s) The Tender Carnivore and the Sacred Game, Nature and Madness,
Coming Home to the Pleistocene, Where we Belong, the Others.
Paul Howe Shepard, Jr. (1926–July 27, 1996) is an American environmentalist and author
best known for introducing the "Pleistocene paradigm" to → deep ecology. His works have
attempted to establish a normative framework in terms of evolutionary theory and
developmental psychology. He offers a critique of sedentism / civilization and advocates
modeling human lifestyles on those of nomadic prehistoric humans. He explores the
connections between domestication, language, and cognition.
He died of lung cancer on July 21, 1996 in Salt Lake City.[1]
Based on his early study of modern ethnographic literature examining contemporary
nature-based peoples, Shepard created a developmental model for understanding the role
of sustained contact with nature in healthy human psychological development, positing that
humans, having spent 99% of their social history in hunting and gathering environments,
are therefore evolutionarily dependent on nature for proper emotional and psychological
growth and development. Drawing from ideas of neoteny, Shepard postulated that many
humans in post-agricultural society are often not fully mature, but are trapped in infantilism
or an adolescent state.
Legacy
Shepard's books have become landmark texts among ecologists and helped pave the way
for the modern → primitivist train of thought, the essential elements being that "civilization"
itself runs counter to human nature - that human nature, as Shepard so eloquently stated, is
Paul Shepard 302
a consciousness shaped by our evolution and our environment. We are, essentially, "beings
of the Paleolithic."
Some of his most influential books are The Tender Carnivore and the Sacred Game, Nature
and Madness, Coming Home to the Pleistocene, Where we Belong, and the Others.
References
[1] Pace, Eric. "Paul Shepard Professor and Author, 71". Obituary in the New York Times, July 22, 1996, page A15
• Conesa-Sevilla, J. (2007). “Minding Animals”: Paul Shepard’s “Selfish” Argument for His
Own Question “What Good Are Animals?” The Trumpeter, 23, 3, 78-91.
Mark Nathan Cohen 303
Bibliography
Among other books, he has authored:
• Health and the Rise of Civilization (Yale University Press, 1989)
• Paleopathology at the Origins of Agriculture (Academic Press 1984)
• Culture of Intolerance (Yale University Press 1998)
• Ancient Health (University Press of Florida 2007)
• Darwin and the Bible (Pearson Educacion and Allyn & Bacon 2008)
• The Food Crisis in Prehistory (Yale University Press 1977)
• Biosocial Mechanisms of Population Regulation (Yale University Press 1980)
References
[1] http:/ / www. plattsburgh. edu/ academics/ anthropology/ faculty/ cohen. php
Harold Barclay
Harold B. Barclay (born January 3, 1924[1] ) is professor emeritus in anthropology at the
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta. His research has focussed on rural society in
modern Egypt and the northern Arab Sudan as well as political anthropology and
anthropology of religion. He is also commonly acknowledged as a notable writer in
anarchist theory, specialising in → theories involving the destruction of the state and how
society would operate if leaderless.
Select bibliography
1. Buurri al Lamaab, a suburban village in the Sudan. Cornell studies in anthropology.
Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1964.
2. The role of the horse in man's culture. London: J.A. Allen, 1980. ISBN 0851313299
3. Culture: the human way. Calgary. Alta., Canada: Western Publishers, 1986. ISBN
0919119115
4. People without Government: An Anthropology of Anarchy, rev. ed., Seattle: Left Bank
Books, 1990. ISBN 0-939306-09-3.
5. Culture and anarchism. London: Freedom Press, 1997. ISBN 0900384840
6. The state. London: Freedom Press, 2003. ISBN 1904491006
7. Longing for Arcadia: memoirs of an anarcho-cynicalist anthropologist. Victoria, B.C.:
Trafford, 2005. ISBN 1412056799
Harold Barclay 304
References
[1] Barclay, Harold (2005). Longing for Arcadia. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 9781412056793.
This article about an educator is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it (http:/ /
en. wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?stub& title=Harold_Barclay& action=edit).
Stanley Diamond
Stanley Diamond (January 4, 1922 – March 31, 1991) was an American poet and
anthropologist. As a young man, he identified as a poet and attended first the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill and then New York University, graduating from the latter
with a B.A. in English and Philosophy.
At the outbreak of World War II, Diamond joined the British Army Field Service and served
in North Africa. Like many veterans of his generation, he went to graduate school on the
G.I. Bill and received a Ph.D. in anthropology from Columbia University in 1951.
After graduation, he held a teaching position at the University of California at Los Angeles,
but as a result of denouncing the McCarthyist politics of that era he was dismissed and
found that no other university was willing to hire him for the next three years. It was during
this period that he conducted his first ethnographic fieldwork, which took him to an Israeli
kibbutz and a nearby Arab mountain village. On his return to the United States, he taught
at Brandeis University and Syracuse University before moving to the New School for Social
Research in 1966, where he founded the New School anthropology program; within a few
years, this program developed into a full department. Diamond served as the department
chair until 1983, when he was named Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and
Humanities at the New School and also Poet in the University. He later taught as visiting
professor in Berlin and Mexico and at Bard College.
As an ethnographer and social critic, Diamond conducted research in Israel; among the
Anaguta of the Jos Plateau in the Nigeria during the last years of British colonial rule;
among the Seneca Nation of upstate New York; and in Biafra during the 1967-1970 Biafran
War, when he advocated for Biafran independence. Diamond is also known for founding the
social science journal Dialectical Anthropology in 1976, as well as for a number of
published books, including several volumes of poetry, including Totems and Going West.
He founded the first department of critical anthropology in the United States at the New
School for Social Research in New York. He also founded the most widely circulated
international journal of anthropology in the world, Dialectical Anthropology. His best-known
book is a collection of essays called In Search Of The Primitive.
Stanley Diamond 305
Major publications
• Culture in history, Columbia University Press, 1960.
• Primitive views of the world, Columbia University Press, 1964.
• Music of the Jos Plateau and other regions of Nigeria (audio recording), Folkways
Records, 1966.
• The transformation of East Africa: Studies in political anthropology (Stanley Diamond
and Fred G. Burke, editors), Basic Books, 1967.
• Anthropological perspectives on education (Murray L. Wax, Stanley Diamond, and Fred
O. Gearing, editors), Basic Books, 1971.
• In search of the primitive: A critique of civilization, Transaction Books, 1974.
• Toward a Marxist anthropology: Problems and perspectives, Mouton, 1979.
• Anthropology: Ancestors and heirs (Stanley Diamond, editor), Mouton, 1980.
• Culture in history: Essays in honor of Paul Radin (Stanley Diamond, editor), Octagon
Books, 1981.
Source
• "Stanley Diamond: In Memoriam," Dialectical Anthropology, vol. 16, no. 2 (June, 1991),
pp. 105-106.
This article about an anthropologist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by Diamond
expanding it [1].
References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ :Stanley
Irven DeVore 306
Irven DeVore
Irven DeVore (October 7, 1934) is an anthropologist and evolutionary biologist, and
Curator of Primatology at Harvard University's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnology. He also teaches at Harvard.
Professor DeVore was doing field research on the behavior and ecology of baboons in 1959,
at the same time Jane Goodall was doing her research on chimpanzees and Robert Ardrey
was writing African Genesis, and has also studied the San of southern Africa. DeVore was
also an early supporter of the field of sociobiology.
Professor DeVore has also appeared on many television programs as an expert or narrator.
Irven DeVore once said, "There is no excuse for boring students when you're talking about
human nature. It's too interesting."
DEGREES: B.A. 1956, University of Texas, Philosophy and Anthropology, M.A. 1959,
University of Chicago, Anthropology, Ph.D. 1962, University of Chicago, Anthropology, M.A.
1963, Harvard University, Honorary
AWARDS: President, Section H (Anthropology), American Association for the Advancement
of Science, 1988-89 Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, elected 1968 Fellow,
American Association for the Advancement of Science, elected 1967 Fellow, American
Anthropological Association, elected 1962 The Walker Prize for Science, Museum of
Science, Boston, 1970 Lifetime Achievement Award, Institute of Human Origins, New York,
1990
Teaching and Fellowships
• Chairman, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, 1987-1992
• Ruth Moore Professor of Biological Anthropology, since 1991
• Distinguished Visiting Professor, University of Cape Town, South Africa, 1992
• Professor of Anthropology and Biology, Harvard University, since 1969
• Visiting Lecturer, Human Biology, Stanford University, 1964 and 1966
• Lecturer in Anthropology, Harvard University, 1963
• Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, 1962-63
• Fellow, Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, Berkeley, 1961
• Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, 1960-61
Offices in Professional Organizations (selected):
• Director, 1996-97, and Acting Director, 1994, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnology, Harvard University
• Trustee, 1974-present, Co-Chair, Science & Grants Committee, 1980-present, L. S. B.
Leakey Foundation, San Francisco, California
• Board of Advisors, 1976-94, The Center for Field Research ("Earthwatch"), Belmont,
Massachusetts
• Co-Founder and President, 1986-present, Dolphins of Shark Bay Research Foundation,
Western Australia
• Board of Directors, 1973-94, Cultural Survival, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Advisory Council, Section H (Anthropology), 1987-90, American Association for the
Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C.
• Advisory Council, 1979-83, Wenner-Gren Foundation, New York, New York
• Co-Founder, Kalahari Peoples Fund, 1970
Irven DeVore 307
Books
• Primate Behavior: Field Studies of Monkeys and Apes, ed., Holt, Rinehart & Winston,
New York.
• 1965 The Primates, with S. Eimerl (Series: LIFE Nature Library), Time-Life, New York.
• 1968 Man the Hunter, with Richard B. Lee, eds. Aldine Publ., Chicago.
• 1976 Kalahari Hunter-Gatherers, with Richard B. Lee, eds., Harvard University Press,
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• 1982 Field Guide for the Study of Adolescence, with Beatrice Whiting, John Whiting, et
al. A 200-page field manual prepared by the staff and post-doctoral trainees for use at the
field sites in our cross-cultural study of adolescence; revision for publication as a general
field guide is under consideration.
External links
• Curriculum vitae [1] - his professional résumé
• Interview transcript [2]
[3]
• Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
References
[1] http:/ / www. discoverlife. org/ who/ CV/ DeVore,_Irven. html
[2] http:/ / www. meta-library. net/ transcript/ devore-frame. html
[3] http:/ / www. peabody. harvard. edu
Clive Ponting 308
Clive Ponting
Clive Ponting (born 1947) is a British writer, former academic and former senior civil
servant. He is the author of a number of revisionist books on British and world history.
However, he is perhaps best known for leaking documents about the Belgrano affair of the
Falklands War.
General Belgrano
Formerly a senior civil servant at the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Clive Ponting achieved
notoriety in July 1984, when he sent two documents to Labour MP, Tam Dalyell, about the
sinking of an Argentine naval warship General Belgrano, a key incident in the Falklands
War of 1982. The documents revealed that the General Belgrano had been sighted a day
earlier than officially reported, and was steaming away from the Royal Navy taskforce, and
was outside the exclusion zone, when the cruiser was attacked and sunk.
Right to know
The Ponting case was seen as a landmark in British legal history, raising serious questions
about the validity of the 1911 Official Secrets Act and the public's "right to know". Shortly
after his resignation, The Observer began to serialize Ponting's book entitled The Right to
Know: the inside story of the Belgrano affair. The Conservative government reacted by
tightening up UK secrets legislation, introducing the 1989 Official Secrets Act and
removing the public interest defence which Ponting had successfully used to avoid being
convicted.
Clive Ponting 309
Academic
Ponting was educated at Bristol Grammar School.
Following his resignation from the Civil Service, Ponting served as a Reader in the
Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Wales, Swansea,
until retirement in 2004.
Bibliography
By Clive Ponting
• The Right to Know: The Inside Story of the Belgrano Affair (1985), Sphere Books, ISBN
0-7221-6944-2
• Whitehall - Tragedy and Farce (1986), Hamish Hamilton, ISBN 0-2411-1835-2
• Breach of Promise - Labour in Power, 1964-70 (1989), Hamish Hamilton, ISBN
0-2411-2683-5
• 1940: Myth and Reality (1990), Hamish Hamilton, ISBN 978-0241126684
• A Green History of the World: The Environment and the Collapse of Great Civilizations
(1991), Penguin, ISBN 0-1401-7660-8
• Churchill (1994), Sinclair-Stevenson, ISBN 1-8561-9270-9
• Armageddon - The Second World War (1995), Random House, ISBN 0-6794-3602-2
• Progress and Barbarism: The World in the Twentieth Century (1998), Chatto & Windus,
ISBN 1-8561-9610-0
• World History - A New Perspective (2000), Chatto & Windus, ISBN 0-7011-6834-X
• Thirteen Days - Diplomacy and Disaster, the Countdown to the Great War (2003),
Pimlico, ISBN 0-7126-6826-8
• The Crimean War - The Story Behind the Myth (2004), Pimlico, ISBN 0-7126-6826-8
• Gunpowder - The Story (2005), Chatto & Windus, ISBN 0-7011-7752-7
• A New Green History of the World: The Environment and the Collapse of Great
[1]
Civilizations (2007), Penguin, ISBN 0-1430-3898-2 Penguin's description of the book
See also
• Tam Dalyell
• Sarah Tisdall
• Patrick Haseldine
• Jury nullification
External links
[2]
• Falklands' row civil servant resigns
• A Green History of the World [3]
Clive Ponting 310
References
[1] http:/ / booksellers. penguin. com/ nf/ Book/ BookDisplay/ 0,,9780143038986,00. html
[2] http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ onthisday/ hi/ dates/ stories/ february/ 16/ newsid_2545000/ 2545907. stm
[3] http:/ / ecobooks. com/ books/ history. htm
Thomas Malthus
1. REDIRECT Thomas Robert Malthus
Jared Diamond 311
Jared Diamond
Jared Diamond
Citizenship American
Fields Physiology
Biophysics
Ornithology
Environmentalism
Ecology
Geography
Evolutionary Biology
Anthropology
Jared Mason Diamond (born 10 September 1937) is an American scientist and nonfiction
author whose work draws from a variety of fields. He is currently Professor of Geography
and Physiology at UCLA. He is best known for the award-winning books The Third
Chimpanzee; Guns, Germs, and Steel; and Collapse.
Biography
Diamond was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a Polish-Jewish family. His father was the
physician Louis K. Diamond, and his mother a teacher, musician, and linguist. He attended
the Roxbury Latin School, earning his A.B. degree from Harvard College in 1958, and his
Ph.D. in physiology and membrane biophysics from the University of Cambridge in 1961.
After graduating from Cambridge, he returned to Harvard as a Junior Fellow until 1965,
and, in 1968, became Professor of Physiology at UCLA Medical School. While in his
twenties, he also developed a second, parallel, career in the ornithology of New Guinea, and
has since undertaken numerous research New Guinea and nearby islands. In his fifties,
Jared Diamond 312
Work
As well as scholarly books and articles in the fields of ecology and ornithology, Diamond is
the author of a number of popular science books, which are known for combining sources
from a variety of fields other than those he has formally studied.
The first of these, The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal
(1991), examined human evolution and its relevance to the modern world, incorporating
insights from anthropology, evolutionary biology, genetics, ecology, and linguistics. It was
well-received by critics, and won the 1992 Rhône-Poulenc Prize for Science Books[2] and the
Los Angeles Times Book Prize.[3] In 1997, he followed this up with Why is Sex Fun?, which
focused in on the evolution of human sexuality, again borrowing from anthropology,
ecology, and evolutionary biology.
His third and best known popular science book, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of
Human Societies, was published in 1997. In it, Diamond seeks to explain Eurasian
hegemony throughout history. Using evidence from ecology, archaeology, genetics,
lingustics, and various historical case studies, he argues that the gaps in power and
technology between human societies do not reflect cultural or racial differences, but rather
originate in environmental differences powerfully amplified by various positive feedback
loops. As a result, the geography of the Eurasian landmass gave its human inhabitants an
inherent advantage over the societies on other continents, which they were able to
dominate or conquer. Although certain examples in the book, and its alleged environmental
determinism, have been criticised, it became a best-seller, and received numerous awards,
including a Pulitzer Prize, an Aventis Prize for Science Books[2] (Diamond's second), and the
1997 Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science. A television documentary based on the book was
produced by the National Geographic Society in 2005.
Diamond's most recent book, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed (2005),
examines a range of past civilizations in an attempt to identify why they either collapsed or
succeeded, and considers what contemporary societies can learn from these historical
examples. As in Guns, Germs, and Steel, he argues against traditional culture-historical
explanations for the failure of past societies, and instead focuses on ecological factors.
Among the societies he considers are the Norse and Inuit of Greenland, the Maya, the
Anasazi, the indigenous people of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Japan, Haiti, the Dominican
Republic, and modern Montana. While not as successful as Guns, Germs and Steel, Collapse
was again both critically acclaimed and subject to accusations of environmental
determinism and specific inaccuracies. It won Diamond his third Royal Society Prize for
Science Books (previously known as the Rhône-Poulenc and Aventis Prize)[2] .
Jared Diamond 313
Controversy
On 21 April 2009, Henep Isum Mandingo and Hup Daniel Wemp of Papua New Guinea filed
a $10 million USD defamation lawsuit against Diamond over a New Yorker Magazine article
titled Vengeance Is Ours: What can tribal societies tell us about our need to get even? The
article is an account of feuds and vengeance killings among tribes in the New Guinea
highlands which Mandingo and Wemp claim have been misrepresented and embellished by
Diamond.[4] The lawsuit came in the wake of an investigation by Rhonda Roland Shearer
which highlighted factual inaccuracies in the article, most notably the fact that Mandingo,
the alleged target of the feud who was rendered wheelchair-bound in the fighting, is fit and
healthy.[5] Diamond and the New Yorker stand by the article. They maintain that it is a
faithful account of the story related to Diamond by Wemp while they worked together in
2001 and in a formal interview in 2006, based on "detailed notes", and that both Diamond
and the magazine did all they reasonably could to verify the story. Furthermore they claim
that in a taped interview between Wemp and a New Yorker fact-checker, Wemp failed to
raise any significant objections. Pauline Wiessner, an expert on tribal warfare in Papua New
Guinea, points that out that young men often exaggerate or make up entirely their exploits
in tribal warfare, and that Diamond was naïve to accept and publish Wemp's stories at face
value.[6]
Selected Publications
Books
• 1972 Avifauna of the Eastern Highlands of New Guinea, Publications of the Nuttall
Ornithological Club, No. 12, Cambridge, Mass., pp. 438.[7]
• 1975 M. L. Cody and J. M. Diamond, eds. Ecology and Evolution of Communities [8].
Belknap Press, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
• 1979 J. M. Diamond and M. LeCroy. Birds of Karkar and Bagabag Islands, New Guinea.
Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 164:469-531
• 1984 J. M. Diamond. The Avifaunas of Rennell and Bellona Islands. The Natural History
of Rennell Islands, British Solomon Islands 8:127-168
• 1986 J. M. Diamond and T. J. Case. eds. Community Ecology. Harper and Row, New York
• 1986 B. Beehler, T. Pratt, D. Zimmerman, H. Bell, B. Finch, J. M. Diamond, and J. Coe.
Birds of New Guinea. Princeton University Press,Princeton
• 1992 The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal, ISBN
0-060-98403-1
• 1997 Why is Sex Fun? The Evolution of Human Sexuality, ISBN 0-465-03127-7
• 1997 Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN
0-393-06131-0
• 2001 The Birds of Northern Melanesia: Speciation, Ecology, & Biogeography (with Ernst
Mayr), ISBN 0-195-14170-9
• 2003 Guns, Germs, and Steel Reader's Companion, ISBN 1-586-63863-7.
• 2005 Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Viking Books. ISBN
1-586-63863-7.
• 2006 [re-release] The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal.
New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-060-84550-3.
Jared Diamond 314
Articles
• Island Biogeography and the Design of Natural Reserves (1976), in Robert M. May's
Theoretical Ecology: Principles and Applications, Blackwell Scientific Publications, pp.
163–186.
• Ethnic differences. Variation in human testis size. (April 1986) Nature 320(6062):488-489
PubMed [9].
• The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race [10] (May 1987) Discover pp. 64–66
• Curse and Blessing of the Ghetto (March 1991) Discover, pp.60–66
• Race Without Color [11] (November 1994) Discover
• The Curse of QWERTY [12] (April 1997) Discover
• Japanese Roots (June 1998) Discover
• What’s Your Consumption Factor? [13] (January 2, 2008) The New York Times
Boards
• Editorial board, Skeptic Magazine, a publication of The Skeptics Society
• Member, the American Philosophical Society
• Member, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Member, the National Academy of Sciences
• US regional director of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF/World Wildlife Fund)
See also
• Assembly rules
References
[14]
• Richmond Forum
• Rivers 2006 [15]
[1] " The Prize Winner, 1998 (http:/ / www. expo-cosmos. or. jp/ jusyou/ 1998_e. html)". Expo-Cosmos. . Retrieved
on 2009-05-18.
[2] " Prize for Science Books previous winners and shortlists (http:/ / royalsociety. org/ bookspage. asp?id=6372)".
Royal Society. . Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
[3] " Los Angeles Times Festival of Books - Book Prizes - Winners by Award (science) (http:/ / www. latimes. com/
extras/ bookprizes/ winners_byaward. html#science)". Los Angeles Times. . Retrieved on 2009-05-18.
[4] Maull, Samuel (April 22, 2009). " Author Jared Diamond sued for libel (http:/ / apnews. myway. com/ article/
20090422/ D97NNPMO0. html)". AP News. . Retrieved on 2009-04-23.
[5] Shearer, Rhonda Roland (21 April 2009). " JARED DIAMOND’S FACTUAL COLLAPSE: New Yorker Mag’s
Papua New Guinea Revenge Tale Untrue…Tribal Members Angry, Want Justice (http:/ / www. stinkyjournalism.
org/ latest-journalism-news-updates-149. php)". Stinky Journalism.org. . Retrieved on 18 May 2009.
[6] Baltar, Michael (15 May 2009). " ‘Vengeance’ Bites Back At Jared Diamond (http:/ / www. sciencemag. org.
ezphost. dur. ac. uk/ cgi/ content/ summary/ 324/ 5929/ 872?maxtoshow=& HITS=10& hits=10&
RESULTFORMAT=& andorexacttitleabs=and& andorexactfulltext=and& searchid=1& FIRSTINDEX=0&
volume=324& firstpage=872& resourcetype=HWCIT)". Science (American Association for the Advancement of
Science) 324 (5929): 872-874. doi: 10.1126/science.324_872 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1126/ science. 324_872).
ISSN 1095-9203 (http:/ / worldcat. org/ issn/ 1095-9203). . Retrieved on 23 June 2009.
[7] http:/ / www. expo-cosmos. or. jp/ jusyou/ 1998_e. html
[8] http:/ / www. hup. harvard. edu/ catalog/ CODECO. html
[9] http:/ / www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/ entrez/ query. fcgi?cmd=Retrieve& db=PubMed& list_uids=3083267&
dopt=Abstract
[10] http:/ / www. environnement. ens. fr/ perso/ claessen/ agriculture/ mistake_jared_diamond. pdf
[11] http:/ / discovermagazine. com/ 1994/ nov/ racewithoutcolor444
[12] http:/ / discovermagazine. com/ 1997/ apr/ thecurseofqwerty1099
[13] http:/ / www. nytimes. com/ 2008/ 01/ 02/ opinion/ 02diamond. html?_r=1& sq=Jared%20Diamond& st=nyt&
adxnnl=1& scp=1& adxnnlx=1229112115-QuKQJMC9jvJdKsW/ aQhaZg
[14] http:/ / www. richmondforum. org/ bio_JaredDiamond. asp
[15] http:/ / www. rivers2006. org/ html/ diamond. htm
Jared Diamond 316
External links
• Diamond's page at UCLA department of geography (http:/ / www. geog. ucla. edu/ people/
faculty. php?lid=3078& display_one=1& modify=1)
• Diamond's page at the UCLA school of medicine (http:/ / dgsom. healthsciences. ucla.
edu/ research/ institution/ personnel?personnel_id=45273)
• Jared Diamond, linguist, molecular physiologist, bio-geographer, etc. / UCLA Spotlight
(http:/ / spotlight. ucla. edu/ faculty/ jared-diamond/ )
• Diamond biography at The Edge (http:/ / www. edge. org/ 3rd_culture/ bios/ diamond.
html)
• Jared Diamond Video Presentation of Collapse (http:/ / vimeo. com/ 2761241) - Video of a
talk given at The Earth Institute atColumbia University in April 2007
• TED Talks: Jared Diamond on why societies collapse (http:/ / www. ted. com/ talks/ view/
id/ 365) at TED in 2003
• The Evolution of Religions - lecture at The Center for Religion and Civic Culture,
University of Southern California (http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=th7CFye03gQ) at
YouTube
• Interview with Charlie Rose (http:/ / www. charlierose. com/ guests/ jared-diamond)
Desmond Morris 317
Desmond Morris
Desmond Morris
Born January 24, 1928
Purton, Wiltshire, England,
United Kingdom
Nationality English
Occupation Zoologist and Ethologist
Desmond John Morris (born 24 January 1928, Purton, north Wiltshire[1] ) is a British
zoologist and ethologist, but is also known as a surrealist painter and popular author.
Life
Morris was educated at Dauntsey's School, an independent school in West Lavington,
Wiltshire. After military service, he attended the University of Birmingham where he
graduated in 1951 with a First Class Honours Degree in Zoology. In 1954, he was awarded
a D.Phil. from Oxford University for his thesis on the Reproductive Behaviour of the
Ten-spined Stickleback, supervised by Niko Tinbergen. He was employed by the Zoological
Society of London as Curator of Mammals at the London Zoo, eventually leaving in 1966 in
frustration about stagnation at the zoo.
He is sometimes wrongly stated to be a relative of Welsh entertainer Johnny Morris, best
remembered for presenting the BBC television series Animal Magic, but this is not the case.
[2]
In the media
Morris first came to public attention in the 1950s as a presenter of the ITV television
programme Zoo Time,[3] but achieved world-wide fame in 1967 with his book The Naked
Ape.[4] The book is an unabashed look at the human species, notable for its focus on
humanity's animal-like qualities and our similarity with apes, and for explaining human
behaviour as largely evolved to meet the challenges of prehistoric life as a →
hunter-gatherer. Reprinted many times and in many languages, it continues to be a
best-seller.
His later studies, books and television shows have continued this focus on human
behaviour, explained from a bluntly zoological point of view. This approach itself, and his
specific conclusions, have often attracted controversy.
Desmond Morris 318
Art
In addition to his scientific pursuits, he is an surrealist
artist. His work has been exhibited alongside works by
Spanish painter Joan Miró and contributed significantly
to the British Surrealist movement. He had his first solo
show in 1948, and has shown regularly since then. In
1957, he curated an exhibition of chimpanzee paintings
and drawings at the Institute of Contemporary Arts,
London, including paintings by a young chimpanzee
called Congo.
Painting by Congo.
Film adviser
Morris oversaw the creation of the gestural and body language for the Paleolithic human
characters in the 1981 film Quest for Fire.
See also
• Sociobiology
• Sexual selection in human evolution
Bibliography
• The Biology of Art (1963) - a look at the paintings of primates and their relation to human
art
• The Mammals: A Guide to the Living Species (1965) — a comprehensive and compelling
listing of all mammal genera, all non-rodent non-bat species, and additional information
on select species.
• The Naked Ape (1967) — an unabashed look at the human species. The book is notable
for its focus on humanity's animal-like qualities and our similarity with apes. Reprinted
many times and in many languages, it continues to be a best-seller.
• The Human Zoo (1969) — a continuation of the previous book, analysing human
behaviour in big modern societies and their resemblance to animal behaviour in captivity.
• Intimate Behaviour (1971) — this book examines and analyses any physical contact acted
out by human animals. From clapping, to having a hair cut, to hand jive, to patting on the
back, to hugging, to babe suckling, to copulation...
• Manwatching (1977), reprinted as Peoplewatching (2002)
• Gestures: Their Origin and Distribution (1979)
• Animal Days (1979) — Autobiographical
• The Soccer Tribe (1981)
• Pocket Guide to Manwatching (1982)
• Inrock (1983)
• Bodywatching – A Field Guide to the Human Species (1985) — Hundreds of photos
analyzing the human body from hair down to the feet.
• Catwatching (1986) — a study of one of the most popular of household pets across the
centuries.
Desmond Morris 319
External links
[5]
• www.desmond-morris.com Official website including a complete biography
References
[1] http:/ / www. sirc. org/ about/ desmond_morris. html
[2] http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ uk/ 337622. stm
[3] http:/ / www. wildfilmhistory. org/ person/ 91/ Desmond+ Morris. ht
[4] http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ society/ 2008/ sep/ 07/ children. family
[5] http:/ / www. desmond-morris. com/
Chellis Glendinning 320
Chellis Glendinning
Chellis Glendinning (born June 1947) is a
European-American author of creative nonfiction, licensed
psychotherapist[1] , and political activist. She is noted as a
pioneer in the field of ecopsychology, [2] , a proponent of
land-based culture, and a critic of technological society,
having worked with such contemporaries as → Jerry
Mander, → Vandana Shiva, Helena Norberg-Hodge, and →
Kirkpatrick Sale.[3]
Books
• My Name Is Chellis and I’m in Recovery from Western Civilization [21]. Gabriola BC
Canada: New Society Publishers/New Catalyst/ Sustainability Classics, 2007; and Boston:
Shambhala Publications, 1994.
• Chiva: A Village Takes on the Global Heroin Trade [16]. New Society Publishers, 2005.
• Winner of the National Federation of Press Women 2006 Book Award for general
nonfiction.
• Winner of the New Mexico Press Women 2006 Communications Award for general
nonfiction.
• Finalist for 2007 New Mexico Book Awards in nonfiction.
• Off the Map: An Expedition Deep into Empire and the Global Economy [22]. New Society
Publishers, 2002; and Off the Map: An Expedition Deep into Imperialism, the Global
Economy and Other Earthly Whereabouts. Shambhala Publications, 1999.
• Winner of the National Federation of Press Women 2000 Book Award for general
nonfiction.
• Winner of the New Mexico Press Women 2000 Communications Award for general
nonfiction.
• A Map: From the Old Connecticut Path to the Rio Grande Valley and All the Meaning
Inbetween. Great Barrington MA: E.F. Schumacher Society, 1999.
• When Technology Wounds [23]. New York: William Morrow, 1990.
• Waking Up in the Nuclear Age [24]. William Morrow, 1987.
Opera
• De Un Lado Al Otro, with composer Cipriano Vigil, 2006.
Selected Essays
• "Cuestionando la Tecnología: Si al Alambre de Fardo y No a las Torres de Microondas" in
Amadao Lascár y Jesús Sepúlveda, eds., Rebeldes y Terrestres: Propuestas de Cambio y
Subversión. Santiago de Chile: Mosquito Comunicaciones, 2008.
• "Cheering for Morgan Stanley," [25], Counterpunch, November 18, 2008.
• "Wireless Mind, Gullible Mind," [25], Counterpunch, October 10-12, 2008.
• "Technofascismo: Los Mecanismos del Totalitarianismo Inverso [26]," Rebelión, translated
by Germán Leyens, June 20, 2008.
• "Techno-Fascism: Every Move You Make," [25] Counterpunch, June 19, 2008.
• "Notes toward a Neo-Luddite Manifesto," [27] Utne Reader, 38, no. 1 (March/April 1990):
50–53.
• "Technology, Trauma, and the Wild." [28] In Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing
the Mind. edited by T. Roszak, et al., 41–54. San Francisco. Sierra Club Books, 1995
• "La Tecnología, El Trauma, y Lo Salvaje," PanNatura. Quito de Ecuador: Fundación
Sangay, 2006.
• "Cocaína No, Coca Sí [29]," April 2006.
• “Hear Tell: Invisibility, Invasiveness, and the Cell Phone,” www.bluegreenearth.com,
Spring 2002.
• “Re-membering Decolonization,” Tikkun, January/February 2002.
Chellis Glendinning 322
• “Fear and Loathing in Los Alamos: On the Lam from the Cerro Grande Fire,” Orion,
Winter 2001.
• "The Conversation We Haven’t Had: Trauma, Technology, and the Wild" in Michael
Shuman and Julia Sweig, eds., Technology for the Common Good. Washington DC:
Institute for Policy Studies Books, 1993.
• "Men/Women, War/Peace: A Systems Approach" (with Ofer Zur) in Mark Macy, ed.,
Solutions for a Troubled World. Boulder CO: Earthview Press, 1987.
References
[1] Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor/Licensed Mental Health Counselor #1946, State of New Mexico,
USA. Issue date: July 31, 1994.
[2] Theodore Roszak, Mary E. Gomes, and Allen D. Kanner, eds., Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the
Mind. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1995, pp. 44-54, 336; JayWalljasper and Jon Spade, eds., Visionaries:
People and Ideas to Change Your Life. Gabriola Island CAN: New Society Publishers, 2001, pp. 260-263; and
John Mongillo and Bibi Booth, eds., Environmental Activists. Westport CT: Greenwood Press, 2001, pp. 110-114.
[3] Stephanie Mills, ed., Turning Away from Technology. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1997, p. xxviii; and Z.
Pascal Zachary, “Not So Fast,” Wall Street Journal, June 26, 1997.
[4] Simon Sacket's Ancestors and Descendents,
www.freepages.books.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~teking/Simon/pafg158.htm
[5] http:/ / www. orionmagazine. org/ pages_toc/ om_toc/ ombi/ index_ombi_98-02. html
[6] http:/ / www. google. com/ search?q=glendinning& btnG=Google+ Search& domains=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.
counterpunch. org& sitesearch=http%3A%2F%2Fwww. counterpunch. org
[7] http:/ / www. coldtype. net/ reader. html
[8] http:/ / www. alternet. org. authors/ 6002
[9] http:/ / www. tikkun. org/ archive/ backissues/ xtik0201
[10] http:/ / www. urbanhabitat. org/ printarchives/ 5-3and4
[11] http:/ / www. centerforinvestigativereporting. org/ investigations/ outlet?page=59
[12] (http:/ / www. sfreporter. com/ stories/ performing_arts_books_September_12_18/ 1871/ ) ; and
hol.Hispaniconline.com/HispanicMag/2007_3/LatinForum-Calendar.htm
[13] University of California Berkeley, Class of 1969; and Mongillo and Booth, pp. 110-114
[14] Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha of California, 1969; and Mongillo and Booth, pp. 110-114.
[15] Columbia Pacific University, San Rafael CA, Class of 1984; (http:/ / www. behaviorresearch. org/
Columbia-Pacific-University. htm) ; and Mongillo and Booth, pp. 110-114
[16] http:/ / www. newsociety. com/ bookid/ 3860
[17] Laura Buelow, Chellis Glendinning and Marjorie Moore, First Times in New Mexico. Albuquerque NM:
Educational Foundations, Special Projects, University of New Mexico, 1990
[18] “Readers Choice 2000”/”Best Local Writer,” Río Grande Sun, August 2000; and “Readers Choice
2003”/”Glendinning Top Writer,” Río Grande Sun, 24 July 2003.
[19] (http:/ / www. lajicarita. org/ 97oct. htm)
[20] Accession Form #08-L13, University of Michigan/Special Collections Library. Date of Accession: 21 August
2008. Collection Name: Glendinning, Chellis, Papers. Processor: Will Lovick, 16 September 2008; http:/ / quod.
lib. umich. edu/ cgi/ f/ findaid/ findaid-idx?c=sclead& idno=umich-scl-glendinning
[21] http:/ / www. newsociety. com/ bookid/ 3989
[22] http:/ / www. newsociety. com/ bookid/ 3798
[23] http:/ / www. amazon. com/ When-Technology-Wounds-Consequences-Progress/ dp/ 0688072828
[24] http:/ / www. amazon. ca/ Waking-Up-Nuclear-Age-Therapy/ dp/ 0688069371
[25] http:/ / www. counterpunch. org
[26] http:/ / firgoa. usc. es/ drupal/ node/ 40271
[27] http:/ / www. jesusradicals. com/ anarchism/ technology/
[28] http:/ / www. jesusradicals. com/ wp-content/ uploads/ technology-trauma-and-the-wild. pdf
[29] http:/ / upsidedownworld. org/ main/ content/ view/ 250/ 1
Kirkpatrick Sale 323
Kirkpatrick Sale
Kirkpatrick Sale (born in Ithaca, New York, 1937) is an independent scholar and author
who has written prolifically about environmentalism, luddism, technology and political
decentralism. He has been described as "a leader of the Neo-Luddites"[1] and "the
theoretician for a new secessionist movement."[2]
Secessionist activism
Sale argues that the major theme of contemporary history, from the dissolution of the
Soviet Union to the expansion of United Nations membership from 51 in 1945 to 192
nations today, is the breakup of great empires. Some on both left and right call for smaller,
less powerful government.[2]
In 2004, Sale and members of the Second Vermont Republic formed the Middlebury
Institute which is dedicated to the study of separatism, secession, and self-determination.
Sale is director of the institute. In 2006, Middlebury sponsored the First North American
Secessionist Convention [6], which attracted 40 participants from 16 secessionist
organizations, and was described as the first gathering of secessionists since the American
Civil War. Delegates issued a statement of principles of secession which they presented as
The Burlington Declaration [7].
In October 2007, the New York Times interviewed Sale about the Second North American
Secessionist Convention [8], co-hosted by the Middlebury Institute. Sale told the
interviewer: “The virtue of small government is that the mistakes are small as well...If you
want to leave a nation you think is corrupt, inefficient, militaristic, oppressive, repressive,
but you don’t want to move to Canada or France, what do you do? Well, the way is through
secession, where you could stay home and be where you want to be.”[2] The convention
received worldwide media attention. [9] [10] [11]
Kirkpatrick Sale 324
Controversies
In 1995, Sale made a public bet with Kevin Kelly that by the year 2020, there would be a
convergence of three disasters: Global currency collapse, significant warfare between rich
and poor, and environmental disasters of some significant size. The bet was turned into a
claim on the FX prediction market, where the probability has hovered around 25%.[12] [1]
In his 1990 book The Conquest of Paradise: Christopher Columbus and the Columbian
Legacy, Sale argued that Christopher Columbus was an imperialist bent on conquest from
his first voyage. In a New York Times book review, historian and member of the
Christopher Columbus Quincentenary Jubilee Committee William H. McNeill wrote about
Sale: "he has set out to destroy the heroic image that earlier writers have transmitted to us.
Mr. Sale makes Columbus out to be cruel, greedy and incompetent (even as a sailor), and a
man who was perversely intent on abusing the natural paradise on which he intruded."[13]
The book Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in American History
presents a debate between Sale and Robert Royal, vice president for research at the Ethics
and Public Policy Center, who insisted that Columbus was a courageous risk-taker who
advanced knowledge about other parts of the world.[14]
Sale has described personal computers as "the devil's work"[2] and in the past opened
personal appearances by smashing one. During promotion of his 1995 book Rebels Against
the Future: The Luddites and Their War on the Industrial Revolution, Sale debated with
Newsweek Magazine senior editor and technology columnist Steven Levy "about the
relative merits of the communications age".[15] However, Sale currently uses a computer in
his secessionist organizing.[2]
News stories about the Second North American Secessionist Convention [8], co-sponsored
by Sale's Middlebury Institute, mentioned the controversial Southern Poverty Law Center's
allegations that the other co-sponsor, The League of the South, was a "racist hate group."
Sale responded: "They call everybody racists. There are, no doubt, racists in the League of
the South, and there are, no doubt, racists everywhere."[9] [10] The Southern Poverty Law
Center later criticized the New York Times' October 2007 Peter Applebombe interview of
Sale for not covering its allegations.[16]
Books
• After Eden: The Evolution of Human Domination, Duke University Press, 2006. ISBN
978-0-8223-3938-0
• The Fire of His Genius: Robert Fulton and the American Dream, Free Press, 2001.
• Why the Sea Is Salt: Poems of Love and Loss, iuniverse, 2001.
• Rebels Against the Future: The Luddites and Their War on the Industrial Revolution:
Lessons for the Computer Age, Addison Wesley, 1995.
• The Green Revolution: The American Environmental Movement, 1962-1992, Hill and
Wang, 1993.
• The Conquest of Paradise: Christopher Columbus and the Columbian Legacy, Knopf,
1990.
• Dwellers in the Land: The Bioregional Vision. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1985.
ISBN 0-87156-847-0
• Human Scale. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1980. ISBN 0-698-11013-7
• Power Shift: The Rise of the Southern Rim and Its Challenge to the Eastern
Establishment. New York: Random House, 1975.
Kirkpatrick Sale 325
• SDS, Random House, 1973. Vintage Books edition (paperback) 1974. ISBN 0394478894
• The Land and People of Ghana, Lippincott, 1963, 1972.
Writings on-line
• links Sale articles as updated [17] at Middlebury Institute, including "Breakdown of
Nations," "Small Is Powerful," "Lessons of 9/11," "Things Fall Apart," "Seeing Red - and
Seeing Blue," "The Case for American Secession," as well as videos featuring Sale.
• Sale contribution in The American Conservative magazine to the topic What is Left? What
is Right? Does it matter? [18], August 28, 2006.
• Blue State Secession [19], The Nation, December 13, 2005.
• Imperial Entropy: Collapse of the American Empire [20], CounterPunch, February 22,
2005.
• An End to the Israeli Experiment? Unmaking a Grievous Error [21], CounterPunch, March
3, 2003.
• the Fire of His Genius, Robert Fulton and the American Dream [22], summary and first
chapter of Sale’s book.
[23]
• Unabomber's Secret Treatise: Is There Method In His Madness? , printed at
Electronic Frontier Foundation web site.
• The Imposition of Technology [24]
• Five Facets of a Myth [25]
• An Overview of Decentralism [26], Keynote Remarks at E. F. Schumacher Society
Decentralist Conference, June 28-30, 1996.
• The Columbian Legacy and the Ecosterian Response [27], E. F. Schumacher Society Third
Annual Lecture, October 1990.
• Mother of All: An Introduction to Bioregionalism [28], E. F. Schumacher Society Third
Annual Lecture, October 1983.
Interviews
[29]
• Interview on Luddism at primitivism.com
• Luddism in the New Millennium, David Kupfer interview [30]
• Kevin Kelly interview (WiReD) [31], 2004.
• The Bioregionalist Vision, Julie A. Wortman interview [32]
• Apostle of Catosptrophe, Derek Turner interview [33], Quarterly Review, 2007 (PDF).
[34]
• A Vision of a Nation No Longer in the U.S., Peter Applebaum interview , New York
Times, 2007.
Kirkpatrick Sale 326
See also
• → Simple living
• Secession
• Bioregionalism
• Decentralization
• Human scale
External links
• Prof. Martin Ryder's page on Luddites and neo-Luddites with information on Kirkpatrick
Sale [11]
References
[1] Kevin Kelly, Interview with the Luddite (http:/ / www. wired. com/ wired/ archive/ 3. 06/ saleskelly_pr. html),
Wired Magazine, 1995.
[2] Peter Applebombe, A Vision of a Nation No Longer in the U.S. (http:/ / www. nytimes. com/ 2007/ 10/ 18/
nyregion/ 18towns. html), New York Times, October 18, 2007.
[3] Richard and Mimi Farina "fan site" (http:/ / www. richardandmimi. com/ cornell. html).
[4] Thinkquest Biography Kirkpatrick Sale (http:/ / library. thinkquest. org/ 26026/ People/ kirkpatrick_sale. html).
[5] Bruce Weber, Obituary: Faith Sale, 63, a Fiction Editor Known as a Writers' Advocate (http:/ / query. nytimes.
com/ gst/ fullpage. html?res=9902E4DE1031F930A25751C1A96F958260), New York Times, December 13,
1999.
[6] http:/ / middleburyinstitute. org/ secessionconvention2006. html
[7] http:/ / middleburyinstitute. org/ burlingtondeclaration2006. html
[8] http:/ / middleburyinstitute. org/ secessionconvention2007. html
[9] Bill Poovey, Secessionists Meeting in Tennessee (http:/ / www. wilmingtonstar. com/ article/ 20071004/ NEWS/
710040357/ -1/ State), Associated Press, October 3, 2007.
[10] Leonard Doyle, Anger over Iraq and Bush prompts calls for secession from the US (http:/ / news.
independent. co. uk/ world/ americas/ article3028714. ece), Independent, UK, October 4, 2007.
[11] WDEF News 12 Video report on Secessionist Convention (http:/ / wdef. com/ news/
secessionists_say_second_north_american_secessionists_convention/ 10/ 2007), October 3, 2007.
[12] FX Claim NLud (http:/ / ideafutures. com/ fx-bin/ Claim?claim=NLud& uid=2)
[13] William H. McNeill, Review of Kirkpatrick Sale's The Conquest of Paradise (http:/ / query. nytimes. com/ gst/
fullpage. html?res=9C0CE5DD1739F934A35753C1A966958260& sec=& spon=& pagewanted=all), New York
Times, October 7, 1990.
[14] Larry Madaras, James M. SoRelle, Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in American History
(http:/ / www. dushkin. com/ catalog/ 0072850299. mhtml?SECTION=TOC), McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, 2002.
[15] Kirkpatrick Sale-Steven Levy Debate At New Jersey Institute of Technology Will Address Merits of
Technology (http:/ / www. njit. edu/ v2/ News/ Releases/ 3336. htm), February 1998.
[16] Mark Potok, New York Times Feature on Sale Left Out a Fact or Two (http:/ / www. splcenter. org/ blog/
2007/ 10/ 23/ times-feature-on-sale-left-out-a-fact-or-two/ ), October 23, 2007.
[17] http:/ / www. middleburyinstitute. net
[18] http:/ / www. amconmag. com/ article/ 2006/ aug/ 28/ 00004/
[19] http:/ / www. thenation. com/ doc. mhtml?i=20041213& s=sale
[20] http:/ / www. counterpunch. org/ sale02222005. html
[21] http:/ / www. counterpunch. org/ sale03032003. html
[22] http:/ / www. ulster. net/ ~hrmm/ diglib/ fulton/ foreward. html
[23] http:/ / www. eff. org/ / Censorship/ Terrorism_militias/ sale_unabomber. analysis
[24] http:/ / www. primitivism. com/ imposition. htm
[25] http:/ / www. non-fides. fr/ spip. php?article231
[26] http:/ / www. schumachersociety. org/ conferences/ kirkkey. html
[27] http:/ / www. schumachersociety. org/ publications/ sale_90. html
[28] http:/ / www. schumachersociety. org/ publications/ sale_83. html
[29] http:/ / www. primitivism. com/ sale. htm
[30] http:/ / yeoldeconsciousnessshoppe. com/ art42. html
Kirkpatrick Sale 327
[31] http:/ / www. wired. com/ wired/ archive/ 3. 06/ saleskelly_pr. html
[32] http:/ / thewitness. org/ archive/ 9906/ currentarticle. html
[33] http:/ / www. quarterly-review. org/ sitebuildercontent/ sitebuilderfiles/ qr3sale. pdf
[34] http:/ / www. nytimes. com/ 2007/ 10/ 18/ nyregion/ 18towns. html
Jerry Mander
Jerry Mander is an American activist and author, best known for his 1977 book, Four
Arguments for the Elimination of Television. His most recent book, The Superferry
Chronicles, is about efforts by Hawaiian activists to halt the operation of the Hawaii
Superferry.
Mander worked in advertising for 15 years, including five as partner and president of
Freeman, Mander & Gossage in San Francisco. Mander worked with the noted
environmentalist, David Brower, managing the Sierra Club's advertising campaigns to
prevent the construction of dams in the Grand Canyon, to establish Redwood National Park,
and to stop the U.S. Supersonic Transport (SST) project. In 1971 he founded the first
non-profit advertising agency in the United States, Public Interest Communications.
Mander is currently the director of the International Forum on Globalization, and the
program director for Megatechnology and Globalization at the Foundation for Deep
Ecology.
Notwithstanding its resemblance to the term "gerrymander", "Jerry Mander" is his real
name, not a pseudonym; he was born to Harry and Eva Mander.
Bibliography
• The Great International Paper Airplane Book, with George Dippel and Howard Gossage
(1971) ISBN 0-671-21129-3
• Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television (1977) ISBN 0-688-08274-2
• In the Absence of the Sacred (1991) ISBN 0-87156-509-9
• The Case Against the Global Economy and for a Turn Toward the Local, with Edward
Goldsmith (1996) ISBN 0-87156-865-9.
• Alternatives to Economic Globalization: A Better World Is Possible, Contributor, with the
International Forum on Globalization Alternatives Task Force (2004) ISBN 1576753034,
ISBN 9781576753033.
• Paradigm Wars: Indigenous Peoples' Resistance to Globalization, with Victoria
Tauli-Corpuz (2006) ISBN 1-57805-132-0
• The Superferry Chronicles: Hawaii’s Uprising Against Militarism, Commercialism, and
the Desecration of the Earth, [1] with Koohan Paik, Koa Books (2008) ISBN
978-0-9773338-8-2
Jerry Mander 328
External links
• Bad Magic: The Failure of Technology [2] - An Interview with Jerry Mander by Catherine
Ingram (from "The Sun" magazine)
• The Perils of Globalization [3] - An Interview with Jerry Mander by Scott London (from the
radio series "Insight & Outlook")
• Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television [4] - A Book Review
• The Homogenization of Global Consciousness: Media, Telecommunications and Culture
[5]
, an Article by Jerry Mander at Lapis Magazine Online
• On "Paradigm Wars" [6] - A Talk by Jerry Mander, November 28, 2006 (video)
• The Foundation for Deep Ecology [7]
References
[1] http:/ / www. superferrychronicles. com
[2] http:/ / www. ratical. org/ ratville/ AoS/ theSun. html
[3] http:/ / www. scottlondon. com/ insight/ scripts/ mander. html
[4] http:/ / www. turnoffyourtv. com/ reviews/ Jerry. Mander. html
[5] http:/ / www. lapismagazine. org/ content/ view/ 120/ 2/
[6] http:/ / fora. tv/ fora/ showthread. php?t=533
[7] http:/ / www. deepecology. org/
External links
• Beyond Bookchin [1]
• Against the Megamachine [2]
[3]
• "Swamp Fever, Primitivism & the "Ideological Vortex": Farewell to All That"
• "Civilization Is Like A Jetliner" by T Fulano [4]
• "On the Road to Nowhere" [5]
• "On the 150th Anniversary of the Communist Manifesto" [6]
• "We All Live in Bhopal" by George Bradford [7]
• "Milosevic “Crucified”: Counter-Spin as Useful Idiocy" [8]
• "The Balkan Wars and the New World Dis/Order" [9]
• "Late Summer Wars" [10]
References
[1] http:/ / www. blackandred. org/ pages/ catalog. html
[2] http:/ / bookstore. autonomedia. org/ index. php?main_page=pubs_product_book_info& products_id=5
[3] http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ swampfever. htm
[4] http:/ / www. beatingheartspress. com/ civilizationjetliner. html
[5] http:/ / www. newint. org/ issue266/ road. htm
[6] http:/ / www. newint. org/ issue307/ manifesto. htm
[7] http:/ / www. eco-action. org/ dt/ bhopal. html
[8] http:/ / citycellar. com/ BalkanWitness/ watson2. htm
[9] http:/ / citycellar. com/ BalkanWitness/ watson. htm
[10] http:/ / 72. 29. 73. 163/ ~vox/ ac/ F08/ f08. html
Bob Black 330
Bob Black
Western Philosophy
20th-century philosophy
Bob Black (born Robert Charles Black, Jr. on January 4, 1951) is an American anarchist
and lawyer. He is the author of The Abolition of Work and Other Essays, Beneath the
Underground, Friendly Fire, Anarchy After Leftism, and numerous political essays.
Kenn Thomas hailed Black in 1999 as a "defender of the most liberatory tendencies within
modern anti-authoritarian thought".[1]
Literary work
Beginning in the late 1970s, Bob Black was one of the earliest people to advocate what is
now called → post-left anarchy. In his vociferously confrontational writing style he has
criticized many of the perceived sacred cows of leftist, anarchist, and activist thought. An
unaffiliated New Leftist in his college years, Black became dissatisfied with authoritarian
socialist ideology and after discovering anarchism spent much of his energy analyzing
authoritarian tendencies within ostensibly "anti-authoritarian" groups. In his essay "My
Anarchism Problem" he writes: "To call yourself an anarchist is to invite identification with
an unpredictable array of associations, an ensemble which is unlikely to mean the same
thing to any two people, including any two anarchists." Though not an →
anarcho-primitivist, he sometimes writes for and has strongly influenced anarcho-primitivist
publications.
Some of his work from the early 1980s (anthologized in The Abolition of Work and Other
Essays) highlights his critiques of the nuclear freeze movement ("Anti-Nuclear Terror"), the
editors of Processed World ("Circle A Deceit: A Review of Processed World"), "radical
feminists" ("Feminism as Fascism"), and Libertarians ("The Libertarian As Conservative").
views the subordination enacted in workplaces as "a mockery of freedom", and denounces
as hypocrites the various theorists who support freedom while supporting work.
Subordination in work, Black alleges, makes people stupid and creates fear of freedom.
Because of work, people become accustomed to rigidity and regularity, and do not have the
time for friendship or meaningful activity. Most workers, he states, are dissatisfied with
work (as evidenced by petty deviance on the job), so that what he says should be
uncontroversial; however, it is controversial only because people are too close to the
work-system to see its flaws.
Play, in contrast, is not necessarily rule-governed, and is performed voluntarily, in complete
freedom, as a gift economy. He points out that → hunter-gatherer societies are typified by
play, a view he backs up with the work of → Marshall Sahlins; he recounts the rise of
hierarchal societies, through which work is cumulatively imposed, so that the compulsive
work of today would seem incomprehensibly oppressive even to ancients and medieval
peasants. He responds to the view that "work," if not simply effort or energy, is necessary
to get important but unpleasant tasks done, by claiming that first of all, most important
tasks can be rendered ludic, or "salvaged" by being turned into game-like and craft-like
activities, and secondly that the vast majority of work does not need doing at all. The latter
tasks are unnecessary because they only serve functions of commerce and social control
that exist only to maintain the work-system as a whole. As for what is left, he advocates
Charles Fourier's approach of arranging activities so that people will want to do them. He is
also skeptical but open-minded about the possibility of eliminating work through
labour-saving technologies. He feels the left cannot go far enough in its critiques because of
its attachment to building its power on the category of workers, which requires a
valorization of work.
social opportunities. In practice his agenda takes the form of a combination of elements of
anarchist communism with a support for local-government and NGO initiatives which he
refers to as Libertarian Municipalism. He claims that "lifestyle anarchism" goes against the
fundamental tenets of anarchism, accusing it of being "decadent" and "petty-bourgeois" and
an outgrowth of American decadence and a period of declining struggle, and speaks in
nostalgic terms of "the Left that was" as, for all its flaws, vastly superior to what has come
since.
In response, Black published Anarchy After Leftism which later became a seminal post-left
work.[1] The text is a combination of point-by-point, almost legalistic dissection of
Bookchin's argument, with bitter theoretical polemic, and even personal insult against
Bookchin (whom he refers to as "the Dean" throughout). Black accuses Bookchin of
moralism, which in post-left anarchism, refers to the imposition of abstract categories on
reality in ways which twist and repress desires (as distinct from "ethics", which is an ethos
of living similar to Friedrich Nietzsche's call for an ethic "beyond good and evil"), and of
"puritanism", a variant of this. He attacks Bookchin for his Stalinist origins, and his failure
to renounce his own past affiliations with what he himself had denounced as "lifestylist"
themes (such as the slogans of May 1968). He claims that the categories of "lifestyle
anarchism" and "individualist anarchism" are straw-men. He alleges that Bookchin adopts a
"work ethic", and that his favored themes, such as the denunciation of Yuppies, actually
repeat themes in mass consumer culture, and that he fails to analyze the social basis of
capitalist "selfishness"; instead, Black calls for an enlightened "selfishness" which is
simultaneously social, as in Max Stirner's work.
Bookchin, Black claims, has misunderstood the critique of work as asocial, when in fact it
proposes non-compulsive social relations. He argues that Bookchin believes labour to be
essential to humans, and thus is opposed to the abolition of work. And he takes him to case
for ignoring Black's own writings on work, for idealizing technology, and for
misunderstanding the history of work.
He denounces Bookchin's alleged failure to form links with the leftist groups he now
praises, and for denouncing others for failings (such as not having a mass audience, and
receiving favourable reviews from "yuppie" magazines) of which he is himself guilty. He
accuses Bookchin of self-contradiction, such as calling the same people "bourgeois" and
"lumpen", or "individualist" and "fascist". He alleges that Bookchin's "social freedom" is
"metaphorical" and has no real content of freedom. He criticizes Bookchin's appropriation
of the anarchist tradition, arguing against his dismissal of authors such as Stirner and Paul
Goodman, rebuking Bookchin for implicitly identifying such authors with
anarcho-capitalism, and defending what he calls an "epistemic break" made by the likes of
Stirner and Nietzsche. He alleges that the post-left "disdain for theory" is simply Bookchin's
way of saying they ignore his own theories. He offers a detailed response to Bookchin's
accusation of an association of eco-anarchism with fascism via a supposed common root in
German romanticism, criticising both the derivation of the link (which he terms
"McCarthyist") and the portrayal of romanticism itself, suggesting that Bookchin's sources
such as Mikhail Bakunin are no more politically correct than those he denounces, and
accusing him of echoing fascist rhetoric and propaganda. He provides evidence to dispute
Bookchin's association of "terrorism" with individualist rather than social anarchism. He
points to carnivalesque aspects of the Spanish Revolution to undermine Bookchin's dualism.
Bob Black 333
Black then rehearses the post-left critique of organization, drawing on his knowledge of
anarchist history in an attempt to rebut Bookchin's accusation that anti-organizationalism is
based in ignorance. He claims among other things that direct democracy is impossible in
urban settings, that it degenerates into bureaucracy, and that organizationalist anarchists
such as the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo sold out to state power. He argues that
Bookchin is not an anarchist at all, but rather, a "municipal statist" or "city-statist"
committed to local government by a local state - smattering his discussion with further
point-by-point objections (for instance, over whether New York is an "organic community"
given the alleged high crime-rate and whether confederated municipalities are compatible
with direct democracy). He also takes up Bookchin's opposition to relativism, arguing that
this is confirmed by science, especially anthropology - proceeding to produce evidence that
Bookchin's work has received hostile reviews in social-science journals, thus attacking his
scientific credentials, and to denounce dialectics as unscientific. He then argues
point-by-point with Bookchin's criticisms of → primitivism, debating issues such as
life-expectancy statistics and alleged ecological destruction by hunter-gatherers. And he
concludes with a clarion-call for an anarchist paradigm-shift based on post-left themes,
celebrating this as the "anarchy after leftism" of the title.
Bookchin never replied to Black's critiques, which he continued in such essays as "Withered
Anarchism," "An American in Paris," and "Murray Bookchin and the Witch-Doctors."
Bookchin later repudiated anarchism in favor of a form of direct democracy he called
"communalism".
Hogshire Controversy
After a visit to the house of drugs writer Jim Hogshire during which Black claimed to have
been threatened by Mr Hogshire, Black sent a letter to the Seattle police [4] which resulted
in Hogshire's arrest, and the rejection of Mr Black's work by his former publisher,
Loompanics.
External links
[5]
• Bob Black at the Spunk Library
• The entire text of Bob Black’s 1986 collection The Abolition of Work and Other Essays at
Inspiracy [6]
• The Abolition of Work [7]
• Gerry Reith archive at Inspiracy [8]
• Future Nexus [9]
• Listen Anarchist! [10] a critique by Chaz Bufe
References
[1] Thomas, Kenn (1999). Cyberculture Counterconspiracy. Book Tree. ISBN 1585091251.
[2] Black, Bob (1989). "Bomb 'Em If They Can't Take a Joke" (http:/ / www. inspiracy. com/ black/ bomb. html),
1989 (post-November 22), reprinted at www.inspiracy.com/black
[3] Black, Bob. " They Don't Call it SubGenius for Nothing (http:/ / www. spunk. org/ library/ writers/ black/
sp001674. html)". Spunk Library. . Retrieved on 2008-10-28.
[4] http:/ / www. seesharppress. com/ black. html
[5] http:/ / www. spunk. org/ library/ writers/ black
[6] http:/ / inspiracy. com/ black/
[7] http:/ / www. zpub. com/ notes/ black. html
[8] http:/ / www. inspiracy. com/ minitrue/ index. html
[9] http:/ / futurenexus. blogspot. com
[10] http:/ / www. seesharppress. com/ listen. html
Edward Abbey 335
Edward Abbey
Edward Paul Abbey (January 29, 1927 – March 14, 1989) was an American author and
essayist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues and criticism of public land policies.
His best-known works include the novel The Monkey Wrench Gang, which has been cited as
an inspiration by radical environmental groups, and the non-fiction work Desert Solitaire.
Writer Larry McMurtry referred to Abbey as the "Thoreau of the American West".
Biography
Abbey was born in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and grew up in nearby Home, Pennsylvania,
where there is a Pennsylvania state historical marker in his honor.[1] This Appalachian
upbringing remained an influence on him throughout his life, and he addressed it at various
points in his writing, most extensively in The Fool's Progress and Appalachian Wilderness.
In the summer of 1944 he headed west, and fell in love with the desert country of the Four
Corners region. He wrote, "For the first time, I felt I was getting close to the West of my
deepest imaginings, the place where the tangible and the mythical became the same." He
received a Master's Degree in philosophy from the University of New Mexico and also
studied at the University of Edinburgh. In the late 1950s Abbey worked as a seasonal
ranger for the United States National Park Service at Arches National Monument (now a
national park), near the town of Moab, Utah, which was not then known for extreme sports
but for its desolation and uranium mines. It was there that he penned the journals that
would become one of his most famous works, 1968's Desert Solitaire, which Abbey
described "...not [as] a travel guide, but an elegy."
Desert Solitaire is regarded as one of the finest nature narratives in American literature,
and has been compared to Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac and Thoreau's Walden.
In it, Abbey vividly describes the physical landscapes of Southern Utah and delights in his
isolation as a backcountry park ranger, recounting adventures in the nearby canyon
country and mountains. He also attacks what he terms the "industrial tourism" and
resulting development in the national parks ("national parking lots"), rails against the Glen
Canyon Dam, and comments on various other subjects.
Abbey died in 1989 at the age of 62 at his home in Tucson, Arizona. He is survived by two
daughters, Susannah and Becky; and three sons, Joshua, Aaron and Benjamin.
Controversy
Abbey's abrasiveness, opposition to anthropocentrism, and outspoken writings made him
the object of much controversy. Conventional environmentalists from mainstream groups
disliked his more radical "Keep America Beautiful...Burn a Billboard" style. Based on his
writings and statements—and in a few cases, his actions—many believe that Abbey did
advocate ecotage or sabotage on behalf of ecology. The controversy intensified with the
publication of Abbey's most famous work of fiction, The Monkey Wrench Gang. The novel
centers on a small group of eco-warriors who travel the American West attempting to put
the brakes on uncontrolled human expansion by committing acts of sabotage against
industrial development projects. Abbey claimed the novel was written merely to "entertain
and amuse," and was intended as symbolic satire. Others saw it as a how-to guide to
non-violent ecotage, as the main characters attack things, such as road-building equipment,
Edward Abbey 336
and not people. The novel inspired environmentalists frustrated with mainstream
environmentalist groups and what they saw as unacceptable compromises. Earth First! was
formed as a result in 1980, advocating eco-sabotage or "→ monkeywrenching." Although
Abbey never officially joined the group, he became associated with many of its members,
and occasionally wrote for the organization.
Sometimes called the "desert anarchist," Abbey was known to anger people of all political
stripes, including environmentalists. In his essays the narrator describes throwing beer
cans out of his car, claiming the highway had already littered the landscape. Abbey even
had an FBI file opened on him in 1947,[2] after he posted a letter while in college urging
people to rid themselves of their draft cards. He differed from the stereotype of
environmentalist as politically-correct leftist by disclaiming the counterculture and the
"trendy campus people", saying he didn't want them as his primary fans, and by supporting
some conservative causes such as immigration reduction and the National Rifle Association.
He devoted one chapter in his book Hayduke Lives to poking fun at left-green leader
Murray Bookchin. However, he reserved his harshest criticism for the military-industrial
complex, "welfare ranchers," energy companies, land developers and "Chambers of
Commerce," all of which he believed were destroying the West's great landscapes.
pour on the grave, they drove off into the desert. The men searched for the right
spot the entire next day and finally turned down a long rutted road, drove to the
end, and began digging. That night they buried Ed and toasted the life of
America's prickliest and most outspoken environmentalist.
Abbey's body was buried in the Cabeza Prieta Desert in Pima County, Arizona, where "you'll
never find it". The friends carved a marker on a nearby stone, reading:
EDWARD PAUL ABBEY
1927—1989
No Comment
In late March, about 200 friends of Abbey gathered near the Saguaro National Monument
near Tucson and held the wake he requested. A second, much larger wake was held in May,
just outside his beloved Arches National Park, with such notables as Terry Tempest
Williams and Wendell Berry speaking.
In the late summer of 1988, an interview with Abbey appeared in "Western Winds
Magazine" a newsletter for an outdoor company called Western Mountaineering. The
interview, written by Paul Bousquet with some help from editor Fred Lifton, contained two
quotes that were especially poignant coming so soon before his death:
ww: According to my calculations you turned 60 this year. How did this effect
you?
Abbey: Haven't given it much thought. It's one of those things that happen when
you keep hanging around. I expect my life to become an easy downhill slide from
here on. My father is 86 and still working—alone—out in the Appalachian woods
every day, cutting down trees and hauling them down to the sawmill. Barring
accidents internal or external, I'll probably end up doing something like that.
Longevity, like intelligence or good looks, is largely a matter of heredity: choose
your parents with care. Also, it helps to have a mean, rancorous, rotten
disposition; us mean and ugly types are hard to kill.
ww: Have you ever come close to death? Tell us about it.
Abbey: In my youth I did fool things on rock, on snow, on mountainsides and deep
down in slickrock canyons, but never suffered more than the usual thrill of utter
terror. Rode motorcycles for a few years. Got on a few horses I didn't understand.
And again never lost anything but some skin. About five years ago some medical
doctors gave me six months to live, saying I had pancreatic cancer. But they were
wrong, their machines had deceived them: the dark blob on the X-ray screens and
CAT-scans turned out to be some kind of portal vein thrombosis, which means
that I may die at any moment of a massive internal hemorrhage. But in the
meantime I feel fine and carry on as usual, having no particularly appealing
alternative, and am ready for whatever happens so long as it's quick, violent and
economical. And if it's not, I'll do my best to make it so. Like everyone, I've lived
close to death all of my life.
Edward Abbey 338
Quotations
• On abortion: "Abolition of a woman's right to abortion, when and if she wants it,
amounts to compulsory maternity: a form of rape by the State."[3]
• On absurdities: "As for the "solitary confinement of the mind," my theory is that
solipsism, like other absurdities of the professional philosopher, is a product of too much
time wasted in library stacks between the covers of a book, in smoke-filled coffeehouses
(bad for brains) and conversation-clogged seminars. To refute the solipsist or the
metaphysical idealist all that you have to do is take him out and throw a rock at his head:
if he ducks he's a liar. His logic may be airtight but his argument, far from revealing the
delusions of living experience, only exposes the limitations of logic." (Desert Solitaire, pp.
121–122).
• On industry: "In the Soviet Union, government controls industry. In the United States,
industry controls government. That is the principal structural difference between the two
great oligarchies of our time."[3]
• On Anarchism: "Anarchism is not a romantic fable but the hardheaded realization,
based on five thousand years of experience, that we cannot entrust the management of
our lives to kings, priests, politicians, generals, and county commissioners."[3]
• On terrorism: "The most common form of terrorism in the U.S.A. is that carried on by
bulldozers and chain saws."[3]
• On off-road vehicles: "The fat pink slobs who go roaring over the landscape in these
over-sized over-priced over-advertised mechanical mastodons are people too lazy to walk,
too ignorant to saddle a horse, too cheap and clumsy to paddle a canoe. Like cattle or
sheep, they travel in herds, scared to death of going anywhere alone, and they leave their
sign and spoor all over the back country: Coors beer cans, Styrofoam cups, plastic
spoons, balls of Kleenex, wads of toilet paper, spent cartridge shells, crushed gopher
snakes, smashed sagebrush, broken trees, dead chipmunks, wounded deer, eroded trails,
bullet-riddled petroglyphs, spray-painted signatures, vandalized Indian ruins, fouled-up
waterholes, polluted springs and smoldering campfires piled with incombustible tinfoil,
filter tips, broken bottles. Etc." (Postcards from Ed, pp. 66–67).
• On sport hunting: "Whenever I see a photograph of some sportsman grinning over his
kill, I am always impressed by the striking moral and aesthetic superiority of the dead
animal to the live one."[3]
• On firearms: "The tank, the B-52, the fighter-bomber, the state-controlled police and
military are the weapons of dictatorship. The rifle is the weapon of democracy. Not for
nothing was the revolver called an "equalizer." Egalite implies liberte. And always will.
Let us hope our weapons are never needed—but do not forget what the common people
of this nation knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights: An armed citizenry is the first
defense, the best defense, and the final defense against tyranny." (Abbey's Road)
• On reason: "Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried."[3]
• On truth: "Better a cruel truth than a comfortable delusion."[3]
• On the Bible: "A knowledge of the true age of the earth and of the fossil record makes it
impossible for any balanced intellect to believe in the literal truth of every part of the
Bible in the way that fundamentalists do. And if some of the Bible is manifestly wrong,
why should any of the rest of it be accepted automatically?"
Edward Abbey 339
• On the wisdom of crowds: One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real
bona fide stupidity, there ain't nothin' can beat teamwork." (Seldom Seen Smith, in The
Monkey Wrench Gang)
• On war: "The tragedy of modern war is that the young men die fighting each
other—instead of their real enemies back home in the capitals."[4]
• On patriotism: "A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his
government."[5]
• On highways: "Of course I litter the public highway. Every chance I get. After all, it's not
the beer cans that are ugly; it's the highway that is ugly." ("The Second Rape of the
West," The Journey Home, 1977)
• On growth: "Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell." (The
Journey Home, 1977)
• On government: "Society is like a stew. If you don't stir it up every once in a while then
a layer of scum floats to the top."[6]
• On immigration "It might be wise for us, as American citizens, to consider calling a halt
to the mass influx of even more millions of hungry, ignorant, unskilled, and
culturally-morally-genetically, impoverished people...Why not [support immigration]?
Because we prefer democratic government, for one thing; because we still hope for an
open, spacious, uncrowded, and beautiful--yes beautiful!--society, for another. The
alternative, in the squalor, cruelty and corruption of Latin America, is plain for all to
see."[7]
Critical comments
• About The Monkey Wrench Gang, the National Observer wrote, "A sad, hilarious,
exuberant, vulgar fairy tale... It'll make you want to go out and blow up a dam."
• The New York Times wrote, "Since the publication of The Monkey Wrench Gang, Mr.
Abbey has become an underground cult hero."
Bibliography
Fiction
• Jonathan Troy (1954) (ISBN 1-131-40684-2)
• The Brave Cowboy (1956) (ISBN 0-8263-0448-6)
• Fire on the Mountain (1962) (ISBN 0-8263-0457-5)
• Black Sun (1971) (ISBN 0-88496-167-2)
• The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975) (ISBN 0-397-01084-2)
• Good News (1980) (ISBN 0-525-11583-8)
• The Fool's Progress (1988) (ISBN 0-8050-0921-3)
• Hayduke Lives (1989) (ISBN 0-316-00411-1)
• Earth Apples: The Poetry of Edward Abbey (1994) (ISBN 0-312-11265-3)
Edward Abbey 340
Non-fiction
• Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness (1968) (ISBN 0-8165-1057-1)
• Appalachian Wilderness (1970)
• Slickrock (1971) (ISBN 0-87156-051-8)
• Cactus Country (1973)
• The Journey Home (1977) (ISBN 0-525-13753-X)
• The Hidden Canyon (1977)
• Abbey's Road (1979) (ISBN 0-525-05006-X)
• Desert Images (1979)
• Down the River (with Henry Thoreau & Other Friends) (1982) (ISBN 0-525-09524-1)
• In Praise of Mountain Lions (1984)
• Beyond the Wall (1984) (ISBN 0-03-069299-7)
• One Life at a Time, Please (1988) (ISBN 0-8050-0602-8)
• A Voice Crying in the Wilderness: Notes from a Secret Journal (1989)
• Confessions of a Barbarian: Selections from the Journals of Edward Abbey, 1951–1989
(1994) (ISBN 0-316-00415-4)
Letters
[8]
• Cactus Chronicles published by Orion Magazine, Jul–Aug 2006 (no longer active,)
• Postcards from Ed: Dispatches and Salvos from an American Iconoclast (2006) (ISBN
1-57131-284-6)
Anthologies
• Slumgullion Stew: An Edward Abbey Reader (1984)
• The Best of Edward Abbey (1984)
• The Serpents of Paradise: A Reader (1995)
See also
• Ecodefense: A Field Guide To Monkeywrenching [book]
External links
• AbbeyWeb - lots of information about Edward Abbey and his books [9]
• Works by or about Edward Abbey [10] in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Edward Abbey [11] at the Internet Book List
• Edward Abbey [12] at the Internet Book Database of Fiction
• Edward Abbey [13] at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
Edward Abbey 341
References
[1] Historical state marker (http:/ / www. abbeyweb. net/ marker. html)
[2] FBI response to Freedom of Information Act request for its file on Abbey (http:/ / foia. fbi. gov/ foiaindex/
abbey. htm)
[3] http:/ / www. abbeyweb. net/ quotes. htx
[4] http:/ / thinkexist. com/ quotes/ edward_abbey/
[5] http:/ / www. americanswhotellthetruth. org/ pgs/ portraits/ Edward_Abbey. html
[6] http:/ / quotationsbook. com/ quote/ add_to_site/ 36694/
[7] http:/ / alterdestiny. blogspot. com/ 2008/ 03/ edward-abbey-racist-quotes. html
[8] http:/ / www. orionmagazine. org/ index. php/ articles/ article/ 173/
[9] http:/ / www. abbeyweb. net/
[10] http:/ / worldcat. org/ identities/ lccn-n78-93802
[11] http:/ / www. iblist. com/ author541. htm
[12] http:/ / www. ibdof. com/ IBDOF-author-booklist. php?author=495
[13] http:/ / www. isfdb. org/ cgi-bin/ ea. cgi?Edward_Abbey
Jacques Camatte
Jacques Camatte is a French writer who once was a Marxist theoretician and member of
the Internationalist Communist Party, a primarily Italian left communist organisation under
the influence of Amadeo Bordiga, which denounced the USSR as capitalist and aimed to
rebuild a "true" Leninism. Following the theses of the early Italian Communist Party (under
Bordiga's leadership), it refused all participation in the electoral system and generally
considered democracy a perversion of class struggle and a means of oppression. Camatte
left the ICP in 1966 to protest against its "activist" turn, and to defend the purity of
revolutionary theory in his journal Invariance.
After collecting and publishing a great amount of historical documents from left communist
currents, and analysing the most recently discovered writings of Marx, in the early 70's
Camatte abandoned the Marxist perspective. He decided instead that capitalism had
succeeded in shaping humanity to its profit, and that every kind of "revolution" was thus
impossible; that the working class was nothing more than an aspect of capital, unable to
supersede its situation; that any future revolutionary movement would basically consist of a
struggle between humanity and capital itself, rather than between classes; and that capital
has become totalitarian in structure, leaving nowhere and no-one outside its domesticating
influence. This pessimism about revolutionary perspective is accompanied by the idea that
we can "leave the world" and live closer to nature, and stop harming children and distorting
their naturally sane spirit.
Camatte's writings are hard to find, in French and English, and may be equally hard to
understand. For these reasons, many aspects of his thinking can be considered obscure. His
writings, however, are increasingly being read by those interested in → anarcho-primitivist
ideas and other critiques of the totality.
Jacques Camatte 342
References
• This World We Must Leave and Other Essays, ed. Alex Trotter (Brooklyn: Autonomedia,
1995)
External links
• Jacques Camatte's web site [1]
• Jacques Camatte archive [2]
• Jacques Camatte and the New Politics of Liberation, Dave Antagonism (Green Anarchy
nos. 18, 19, 20, and archived at http:/ / www. greenanarchy. org/ index.
php?action=viewwritingdetail& returnto=viewjournal& printIssueId=3& writingId=258
• Works by or about Jacques Camatte [3] in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
References
[1] http:/ / perso. wanadoo. fr/ revueinvariance/
[2] http:/ / www. marxists. org/ archive/ camatte/ index. htm
[3] http:/ / worldcat. org/ identities/ lccn-n85-6460
Raoul Vaneigem
Raoul Vaneigem (born 1934) is a Belgian writer and philosopher. He was born in Lessines
(Hainaut, Belgium). After studying romance philology at the Free University of Brussels
(now split into the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel) from
1952 to 1956, he participated in the Situationist International from 1961 to 1970. He
currently resides in Belgium and is the father of four children.
Vaneigem and → Guy Debord were the two principal theoreticians of the Situationist
movement. Although Debord was the more disciplined thinker, Vaneigem's slogans
frequently made it onto the walls of Paris during the May 1968 uprisings. His most famous
book, and the one that contains the famous slogans, is The Revolution of Everyday Life (in
French the title was more elaborate: Traité de savoir-vivre à l'usage des jeunes générations
[1]
).
After leaving the Situationist movement Vaneigem wrote a series of polemical books
defending the idea of a free and self-regulating social order. He frequently made use of
pseudonyms, including "Julienne de Cherisy," "Robert Desessarts," "Jules-François Dupuis,"
"Tristan Hannaniel," "Anne de Launay," "Ratgeb," and "Michel Thorgal." Recently he has
been an advocate of a new type of strike, in which service and transportation workers
provide services for free and refuse to collect payment or fares.
From www.nothingness.org: "Along with Guy Debord, the voice of Raoul Vaneigem was one
of the strongest of the Situationists. Counterpoised to Debord's political and polemic style,
Vaneigem offered a more poetic and spirited prose. The Revolution of Everyday Life (Traité
de savoir-vivre à l'usage des jeunes générations), published in the same year as The Society
of the Spectacle, helped broaden and balance the presentation of the SI's theories and
practices. One of the longest SI members, and frequent editor of the journal Internationale
Situationniste, Vaneigem finally left the SI in November of 1970, citing their failures as well
as his own in his letter of resignation. Soon after, Debord issued a typically scathing
response denouncing both Vaneigem and his critique of the Situationist International."
Raoul Vaneigem 343
[2]
Further biographical information can be found at www.nothingness.org and
www.notbored.org [3].
A significant text on Vaneigem and Debord's place in Post Dada art can be read at leading
Situationist critic Stewart Home's website http:/ / www. stewarthomesociety. org/ sp/
assault. htm
Partial bibliography
• The Revolution of Everyday Life [4], (Traité de savoir-vivre à l'usage des jeunes
générations)
• () Traité de savoir-vivre à l'usage des jeunes générations [1]
• Le livre des plaisirs [5], (The Book of Pleasures), 1979, reprinted 1993.
• L'Ile aux delices, (The Island of Delights), an erotic novel, 1979.
• Le mouvement du libre-esprit (The Movement of the Free Spirit), 1986.
[6]
• Adresse aux vivants sur la mort qui les gouverne et l'opportunité de s'en défaire , 1990
• Lettre de Staline à ses enfants enfin réconciliés de l'Est et de l'Ouest, 1992
• La résistance au christianisme. Les hérésies des origines au XVIIIe siècle, 1993
• Les hérésies, 1994
• Avertissement aux écoliers et lycéens [7], 1995
• Nous qui désirons sans fin, 1996
• La Paresse, 1996
• Notes sans portée, 1997
• Dictionnaire de citations pour servir au divertissement et à l'intelligence du temps, 1998
• Déclaration des droits de l'être humain. De la souveraineté de la vie comme dépassement
des droits de le l'homme, 2001
• Pour une internationale du genre humain, 2001
• Salut à Rabelais ! Une lecture au présent, 2003
• Rien n'est sacré, tout peut se dire, 2003
• Le Chevalier, la Dame, le Diable et la Mort, 2003
• Modestes propositions aux grévistes, 2004
• Journal imaginaire, 2005
External links
• English and French texts [8] on nothingness.org library [9]
References
[1] http:/ / arikel. free. fr/ aides/ vaneigem/
[2] http:/ / www. nothingness. org/ SI/ vaneigem. html
[3] http:/ / www. notbored. org/ vaneigem. html
[4] http:/ / library. nothingness. org/ articles/ all/ all/ pub_contents/ 5
[5] http:/ / www. scenewash. org/ lobbies/ chainthinker/ situationist/ vaneigem/ bop/ bop. html
[6] http:/ / library. nothingness. org/ articles/ SI/ fr/ pub_contents/ 6
[7] http:/ / library. nothingness. org/ articles/ SI/ fr/ pub_contents/ 10
[8] http:/ / library. nothingness. org/ authors. php3?id=4
[9] http:/ / library. nothingness. org
[10] http:/ / libcom. org/ library/ raoul-vaneigem
[11] http:/ / audioanarchy. org/ antiwork/ 03-The_Decline_And_Fall_Of_Work. mp3
[12] http:/ / www. stewarthomesociety. org/ sp/ assault. htm
Guy Debord
Western Philosophy
20th century philosophy
Guy Ernest Debord (December 28, 1931 - November 30, 1994) was a French Marxist
theorist, writer, filmmaker, hypergraphist and founding member of the groups Lettrist
International and Situationist International (SI). He was also briefly a member of Socialisme
ou Barbarie.
Life
Guy Debord was born in Paris. His father died early, and he was raised by his grandmother
in a series of Mediterranean towns. He was a headstrong youth, and after graduating high
school he dropped out of the University of Paris where he had been studying law. He
became a revolutionary poet, writer and film-maker founding the Lettrist International
schism with Gil J. Wolman. In the 1960s he led the Situationist International group, which
influenced the Paris Uprising of 1968. His book Society of the Spectacle (1967) is
considered a major catalyst for the uprising.[1] In the 1970s Debord disbanded the
Situationist International, and resumed filmmaking with financial backing from the movie
mogul and publisher Gerard Lebovici. His two best films date from this period: a film
version of → Society of the Spectacle (1973) and the autobiographical "In Girum Imus Nocte
Et Consumimur Igni" (1978). After the dissolution of the Situationist International, Debord
spent his time reading, and occasionally writing, in relative isolation, although he continued
to correspond on political and other issues, notably with Lebovici and the Italian situationist
Gianfranco Sanguinetti.[2] and designed a war game [3] . He was married twice, to Michele
Bernstein and Alice Becker-Ho.
His lifelong steady alcohol consumption began to take a toll on his health. Apparently to
end the suffering from a form of polyneuritis brought on by his excessive drinking, he
committed suicide,[4] shooting himself in the heart at his property (called Champot) in
Bellevue-la-Montagne, Haute-Loire, on November 30, 1994.
In order to prevent the selling of Debord's archive to Yale University [5] the French Ministry
of Culture officially declared it to be 'a national treasury', justifying this act by stating that
"he has been one of the most important contemporary thinkers, with a capital place in
history of ideas from the second half of the 20th century"[6]
Works
Left communism
Communism portal
Guy Debord's best known works are his theoretical books, Society of the Spectacle and
Comments on the Society of the Spectacle. In addition to these he wrote a number of
autobiographical books including "Mémoires", "Panégyrique", "Cette Mauvaise
Réputation..." and "Considérations sur l'assassinat de Gérard Lebovici". He was also the
author of numerous short pieces, sometimes anonymous, for the journals "Potlatch", "Les
Lèvres Nues," "Les Chats Sont Verts," and "Internationale Situationniste".
In broad terms, Debord's theories attempted to account for the spiritually debilitating
modernisation of both the private and public spheres of everyday life by economic forces
Guy Debord 346
during the post-WW2 modernisation of Europe. He rejected as the twin faces of the same
problem both capitalism of the West and the statism of the Eastern bloc. → Alienation,
Debord postulated, could be accounted for by the invasive forces of the 'spectacle' - "a
social relation between people that is mediated by images". Debord's analysis developed
the notions of "reification" and "fetishism of the commodity" pioneered by Karl Marx and
Georg Lukács. This analysis probed the historical, economic and psychological roots of 'the
media'. Central to this school of thought was the claim that alienation is more than an
emotive description or an aspect of individual psychology: rather, it is a consequence of the
mercantile form of social organization which has reached its climax in capitalism.
The Situationist International, a political/artistic movement organized by Debord and his
colleagues and represented by a journal of the same name, attempted to create a series of
strategies for engaging in class struggle by reclaiming individual autonomy from the
spectacle. These strategies, including "dérive" and "détournement", drew on the traditions
of Lettrism.
The SI was the fusion of several extremely small avant-garde artistic tendencies: the
Lettrist International, the International Movement for an Imaginist Bauhaus (an off-shoot of
COBRA), and the London Psychogeographical Association in 1957. After an intense period
of theoretical analysis, publication and the expulsion of most of its few members, leading to
the Second Situationist International, the Situationist Antinational and the Situationist
Bauhaus, Debord dissolved the SI in 1972.
Debord's first book, Mémoires, was bound with a sandpaper cover so that it would destroy
other books placed next to it.
Debord has been the subject of numerous biographies, works of fiction, artworks and songs,
many of which are catalogued in the bibliography by Shigenobu Gonzalves, "Guy Debord ou
la Beaute du Negatif".
On January 29th 2009, 15 years after his death, the archive of his works have been
classified as "National treasure" by the Minister of Culture, Christine Albanel, in response
to a sale request by Yale University.[7]
Films
• Hurlements en faveur de Sade (Howls for Sade) 1952
• Sur le passage de quelques personnes à travers une assez courte unité de temps (On the
Passage of a Few Persons Through a Rather Brief Unity of Time) 1959 (short film,
Dansk-Fransk Experimentalfilmskompagni)
• Critique de la séparation (Critique of Separation) 1961 (short film, Dansk-Fransk
Experimentalfilmskompagni)
• La Société du spectacle (→ Society of the Spectacle) 1973 (Simar Films)
• Réfutation de tous les judgements, tant élogieux qu’hostiles, qui ont été jusqu’ici portés
sur le film « La Société du spectacle » (Refutation of All the Judgements, Pro or Con,
Thus Far Rendered on the Film "The Society of the Spectacle") 1975 (short film, Simar
Films)
• In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni (We Turn in the Night, Consumed by Fire)
(Simar Films) 1978 This film was meant to be Debord's last one and is largely
autobiographical. The film script was reprinted in 2007 in No: a journal of the arts.[8]
• Guy Debord, son art, son temps (Guy Debord - His Art and His Time) 1994 (a 'sabotage
television film' by Guy Debord and Brigitte Cornand, Canal Plus)
Guy Debord 347
Complete Cinematic Works (AK Press, 2003, translated and edited by Ken Knabb) includes
the scripts for all six of Debord's films, along with related documents and extensive
annotations.
Popular culture
Debord was the inspiration for the character in the film Waking Life (2001) named "Mr.
Debord", who quotes Robert Louis Stevenson: "Suicide carried off many. Drink and the
devil took care of the rest."
Bibliography
Works by Debord
• Debord, Guy (1957). Report on the Construction of Situations.
• Memoires, 1959 (co-authored by Asger Jorn), reprinted by Allia (2004), ISBN
2-84485-143-6.
• La société du spectacle, 1967, numerous editions; in English: The Society of the
Spectacle, Zone Books 1995, ISBN 0-942299-79-5. Society of the Spectacle, Rebel Press
2004, ISBN 0-946061-12-2.
• La Véritable Scission dans L'Internationale, 1972 (co-authored by Gianfranco
Sanguinetti); in English: The Real Split in the International, Pluto Press 2003, ISBN
0-7453-2128-3.
• Œuvres cinématographiques complètes, 1978, new edition in 1994; in English: Complete
Cinematic Works: Scripts, Stills, and Documents, AK Press 2003, ISBN 1-902593-73-1.
• Considérations sur l'assassinat de Gérard Lebovici, 1985; in English: Considerations on
the Assassination of Gérard Lebovici, TamTam 2001, ISBN 2-85184-156-4.
• Le Jeu de la Guerre, 1987; in English A Game of War, Atlas Press 2008, ISBN
978-1-900565-38-7
• Commentaires sur la société du spectacle, 1988; in English: Comments on the Society of
the Spectacle, Verso 1990, ISBN 0-86091-302-3.
• Panégyrique volume 1, 1989; in English: Panegyric, Verso 2004, reprinted 2009, ISBN
1-85984-665-3; in Portuguese: "Panegírico" [2002], ISBN 85-87193-77-5.
• "The Proletariat as Subject and as Representation" [9]
Further reading
• Internationale situationniste, Paris, 1958-1969. Réédition intégrale chez Van Gennep,
Amsterdam 1972, chez Champ Libre 1975, et chez Fayard 1997, ISBN 2-213-59912-2;
complete translations are available in German: Situationistische Internationale,
Gesammelte Ausgabe des Organs der Situationistischen Internationale, Hamburg: MaD
Verlag 1976-1977, ISBN 3-921523-10-9; and in Spanish: Internacional situacionista:
textos completos en castellano de la revista Internationale situationniste (1958-1969),
Madrid: Literatura Gris [1999-2001], ISBN 84-605-9961-2.
• Situationist International Anthology, translated and edited by Ken Knabb, Bureau of
Public Secrets 1981; Revised and Expanded Edition 2006, ISBN 978-0-939682-04-1.
• Guy Debord, Anselm Jappe, University of California Press 1999, ISBN 0-520-21204-5.
• Guy Debord - Revolutionary, Len Bracken, Feral House 1997, ISBN 0-922915-44-X.
• I situazionisti, Mario Perniola, Roma, Castelvecchi 2005, ISBN 88-7615-068-4.
Guy Debord 348
• The Game of War: The Life and Death of Guy Debord., Andrew Hussey, Cape 2001, ISBN
0-224-04348-X.
• Guy Debord and the Situationist International, edited by Tom McDonough, MIT Press
2002, ISBN 0-262-13404-7.
• "The Beautiful Language of my Century": Reinventing the Language of Contestation in
Postwar France, 1945-1968, Tom McDonough, MIT Press 2007, ISBN 0-262-13477-2.
• Guy Debord, Andy Merrifield, Reaktion 2005, ISBN 1-86189-261-6.
• Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century, Greil Marcus, Harvard
University Press, 1990, ISBN 0-674-53581-2.
• 50 Years of Recuperation of the Situationist International, McKenzie Wark, Princeton
Architectural Press, New York, 2008 ISBN 1568987897
• Los Situacionistas y la Anarquía, Miguel Amoros, Bilbao, Muturreko burutazioak, 2008,
ISBN 978-84-88455-98-7.
See also
• Anti-art
• Situationist International
• Psychogeography
• → Raoul Vaneigem
• Gerard Lebovici
External links
• Situationist international online [10]
• Libcom.org/library: Guy Debord archive [11]
[12]
• A brief biography and several texts, including Society of the Spectacle.
• Comments on the society of the spectacle (1988) [13]
• Guy Debord and the Situationists [14]
• Audio recordings [15] / Films [16] by Guy Debord
• Michael Löwy on Guy Debord [17], in Radical Philosophy
• French wikipedia article which has fuller list of works [18]
• The Strange Life of Guy Debord [19](French)
• Films [20] / Writings [21] and Literature on Guy Debord [22]
• "Punk Saint of All Things, Useless, Beautiful, and Free" [23]
• On Guy Debord’s Films [24]
• Observations on the English translation of Guy Debord's Oeuvres Cinématographiques
Completes [25]
Guy Debord 349
References
[1] Andreotti, L. "Review: Leaving the twentieth century: The Situationist International." Journal of Architectural
Education, 49(3), p. 197.
[2] Guy Debord (http:/ / www. notbored. org/ debord. html)
[3] Le Jeu de la Guerre : Relevé des positions successives de toutes les forces au cours d'une partie (http:/ / www.
amazon. fr/ Jeu-Guerre-Relevé-positions-successives/ dp/ 2070776514) accessed 14th January 2008
[4] Hussey, Andrew (28 July 2001). " Situation Abnormal (http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ books/ 2001/ jul/ 28/
biography. artsandhumanities)". The Guardian. . Retrieved on July 8, 2009.
[5] (http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ books/ booksblog/ 2009/ mar/ 18/ guy-debord-situationist-international)
[6] Journal Officiel de la Republique Francaise du 12 fevrier 2009 (texte 120)
[7] (http:/ / juralibertaire. over-blog. com/ article-28060152. html)
[8] (http:/ / www. nojournal. com)
[9] http:/ / prole. info/ articles/ sos_chapter4. html
[10] http:/ / www. cddc. vt. edu/ sionline/ index. html
[11] http:/ / libcom. org/ tags/ guy-debord
[12] http:/ / www. nothingness. org/ SI/ debord. html
[13] http:/ / www. notbored. org/ commentaires. html
[14] http:/ / catless. ncl. ac. uk/ Obituary/ debord. html
[15] http:/ / www. ubu. com/ sound/ debord. html
[16] http:/ / www. ubu. com/ film/ index. html
[17] http:/ / www. radicalphilosophy. com/ default. asp?channel_id=2188& editorial_id=10310
[18] http:/ / fr. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Guy_Debord
[19] http:/ / www. philippesollers. net/ Debord. html
[20] http:/ / members. chello. nl/ j. seegers1/ situationist/ films_debord. html
[21] http:/ / members. chello. nl/ j. seegers1/ situationist/ writings_debord. html
[22] http:/ / members. chello. nl/ j. seegers1/ situationist/ bib_debord. html
[23] http:/ / www. judithfitzgerald. ca/ spectatoes. html
[24] http:/ / www. bopsecrets. org/ SI/ debord. films/ index. htm
[25] http:/ / www. monoculartimes. co. uk/ avantgardening/ observations-oeuvres_1. shtml
Theodore Roszak (scholar) 350
Subjects History
Counterculture of the 1960s
Notable work(s) The Making of a Counter Culture
Background
Roszak received his B.A. from UCLA and Ph.D. in History from Princeton University. He
taught at Stanford University, the University of British Columbia, and San Francisco State
University before joining CalState East Bay (formerly CalState Hayward).[2]
Scholarship
Roszak "first came to public prominence in 1968, with the publication of his The Making of
a Counter Culture[3] which chronicled and gave explanation to the European and North
American counterculture of the 1960s.
Other books include include Longevity Revolution: As Boomers Become Elders, The Voice of
the Earth (Touchstone Books), The Cult of Information, The Gendered Atom: Reflections on
the Sexual Psychology of Science, The Voice of the Earth, and Ecopsychology: Healing the
Mind, Restoring the Earth. With his wife Betty, he is co-editor of the anthology
Masculine/Feminine: Essays on Sexual Mythology and the Liberation of Women.
His fiction includes Flicker (Simon and Schuster and Bantam Books) and the award-winning
Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein (Random House and Bantam Books). His most recent
novel, published in 2003, is The Devil and Daniel Silverman.
Scholarship
Non-fiction
• The Dissenting Academy (1968)
• The Making of a Counter Culture (1968)
• Masculine/Feminine: Readings in Sexual Mythology and the Liberation of Women (1969)
• Where the Wasteland Ends (1972)
Theodore Roszak (scholar) 351
• Sources (1972)
• Unfinished Animal: The Aquarian Frontier and the Evolution of Consciousness (1975)
• Person/Planet: The Creative Disintegration of Industrial Society (1979)
• From Satori to Silicon Valley' [4]' (1986)
• The Cult of Information (1986)
• Fool's Cycle/Full Cycle (1988). ISBN 0-931191-07-6.
• The Voice of the Earth (1992)
• The Gendered Atom
• Kanner, Roszak, & Gomes. Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind. (1995,
ISBN 0-87156-406-8)
• World Beware! American Triumphalism in an Age of Terror (2006, ISBN 1-897071-02-7)
Essays
• "Birth of an Old Generation [5]"
[6]
• "When the Counterculture Counted
• "Raging Against the Machine: In its '1984' Commercial, Apple Suggested that its
Computers Would Smash Big Brother. But Technology Gave Him More Control. [7]" Los
Angeles Times, January 28, 2004.
Fiction
• Pontifex (1974)
• Dreamwatcher
• Bugs (1981)
• Flicker (1991)
• The Devil and Daniel Silverman (2003)
• The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein
External links
• "Social critic and professor Theodore Roszak wrote The Making of a Counter Culture in
1968 [8]" - PBS
• "Flashing back to Woodstock [9]" - CNN
• Interview [10] - KQED-FM
• Interview [11]
References
[1] " Princeton Alumni Weekly (http:/ / www. princeton. edu/ ~paw/ web_exclusives/ books/ books0506. html)".
Princeton University. . Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
[2] " Stanford Humanities Lab (http:/ / shl. stanford. edu/ about/ events/ fuller_conversations_2003. html)".
Stanford University. . Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
[3] " Computing and Counterculture (http:/ / library. stanford. edu/ mac/ counter. html)". Stanford University. .
Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
[4] http:/ / library. stanford. edu/ mac/ primary/ docs/ satori/ index. html
[5] http:/ / usinfo. state. gov/ journals/ itsv/ 0699/ ijse/ roszak. htm
[6] http:/ / www. sfgate. com/ cgi-bin/ article. cgi?f=/ c/ a/ 2001/ 12/ 23/ RV150757. DTL& type=printable
[7] http:/ / articles. latimes. com/ 2004/ jan/ 28/ opinion/ oe-roszak28
[8] http:/ / www. pbs. org/ wgbh/ amex/ love/ sfeature/ back_03. html
[9] http:/ / edition. cnn. com/ 2004/ US/ 08/ 13/ twih. woodstock/ index. html
[10] http:/ / www. kqed. org/ epArchive/ R602231000
Theodore Roszak (scholar) 352
Jacques Ellul
Western Philosophy
20th century philosophy
School/tradition non-conformist
Jacques Ellul (January 6, 1912 – May 19, 1994) was a French philosopher, law professor,
sociologist, theologian, and Christian anarchist. He wrote several books about the
"technological society" and the intersection between Christianity and politics, such as
Anarchy and Christianity (1991)—arguing that anarchism and Christianity are socially
following the same goal.
A philosopher who approached technology from a deterministic viewpoint, Ellul, professor
at the University of Bordeaux, authored some 40 books and hundreds of articles over his
lifetime, the dominant theme of which has been the threat to human freedom and Christian
faith created by modern technology. His constant concern has been the emergence of a
"technological tyranny" over humanity. As a philosopher and theologian, he further
explored the religiosity of the technological society.
Life
Ellul was born in Bordeaux, France, and was educated at the universities of Bordeaux and
Paris. In World War II, he was a leader in the French resistance. For his efforts to save Jews
he was awarded the title Righteous among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1981.[1] He was
also prominent in the worldwide Ecumenical movement, although he later became sharply
critical of the movement for what he felt were indiscriminate endorsements of political
establishments, primarily of the Left. However, he was no friendlier in his assessment of
those of the Right, either; he fashioned an explicitly anti-political stance as an alternative to
both (see below).
Ellul studied Karl Marx and became a prolific exegete of his theories. Ellul converted to
Christianity at age 22. The influence of these ideologies has alternately earned him devoted
followers and vicious enemies. In large measure and especially in those of his books
concerned with theological matters, Ellul restates the viewpoints held by the great
Protestant theologian Karl Barth, who was a leader of the resistance against the German
state church in World War II. Barth's polar dialectic of the Word of God, in which the
Gospel both judges and renews the world, helped to shape Ellul's theological perspective.
Ellul went beyond Barth in one particular observation: "That which desacralizes a given
reality, itself in turn becomes the new sacred reality".
The sacred is then, as classically defined, the object of both hope and fear, both fascination
and dread. Once nature was the all-encompassing environment and power upon which
human beings were dependent in life and death, and so was experienced as sacred. The
Jacques Ellul 353
Reformation desacralized the church in the name of the Bible, and the Bible became the
sacred book.
Science (through Charles Darwin's theory of evolution) and reason (higher criticism and
liberal theology) desacralized the scriptures; subsequent decades have seen science,
particularly those in the applied categories amenable to the aims of collective economic
production (whether capitalist, socialist, or communist), elevated to the position of sacred
in Western culture. Today, argued Ellul, it is the technological society that modern-day
humans generally hold sacred. Ellul defined technique as "the totality of methods rationally
arrived at, and having absolute efficiency (for a given stage of development) in every field
of human activity." Thus, it is not the society of machines as such, but the society of
"efficient techniques" which is the focus of Ellul's sociological analysis:
“ Modern technology has become a total phenomenon for civilization, the defining force of a ”
new social order in which efficiency is no longer an option but a necessity imposed on all
human activity.
It is useless to think that a distinction can be made between technique and its use,
according to Ellul, for techniques have specific social and psychological consequences
independent of human desires. There can be no room for moral considerations in their use:
“ Not even the moral conversion of the technicians could make a difference. At best, they ”
would cease to be good technicians." In the end, technique has only one principle, efficient
ordering.
Philosophy
What many consider to be Ellul's most important work, The Technological Society (1964)
was originally titled: La Technique: L'enjeu du siècle, "The Stake of the Century." In it, Ellul
set forth seven characteristics of modern technology.
The characteristics of technique which serve to make efficiency a necessity are rationality,
artificiality, automatism of technical choice, self-augmentation, monism, universalism, and
autonomy. The rationality of technique enforces logical and mechanical organization
through division of labor, the setting of production standard, etc. And it creates an artificial
system which "eliminates or subordinates the natural world."
Regarding technology, instead of it being subservient to humanity, "human beings have to
adapt to it, and accept total change." As an example, Ellul offered the diminished value of
the humanities to a technological society. As people begin to question the value of learning
ancient languages and history, they question those things which, on the surface, do little to
advance their financial and technical state. According to Ellul, this misplaced emphasis is
one of the problems with modern education.
This, according to Ellul, produces a situation where an incredible stress is placed on
information in our schools. The focus in those schools is to prepare young people to enter
the world of information, able to handle computers, but knowing only the reasoning, the
language, the combinations, and the connections between computers. This movement is
invading the whole intellectual domain and also that of conscience.
Ellul's commitment to scrutinize technological development is expressed as such:
Jacques Ellul 354
“ [W]hat is at issue here is evaluating the danger of what might happen to our humanity in the ”
present half-century, and distinguishing between what we want to keep and what we are
ready to lose, between what we can welcome as legitimate human development and what we
should reject with our last ounce of strength as dehumanization. I cannot think that choices of
this kind are unimportant.
Theology
Although a son of the minority French Reformed tradition and thus a spiritual heir of
thinkers like John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli, Ellul departed substantially from Reformed
doctrinal traditions, but unlike other European Protestant thinkers, utterly rejected the
influence of philosophical idealism or romanticism upon his beliefs about God and human
faith. In articulating his theological ideas, he mainly drew upon the corpus of works by the
Swiss-German professor Karl Barth and the critiques of European state Christianity made
by Dane Søren Kierkegaard. This made him one of the more ardent expositors of
neo-orthodoxy, which was in decline elsewhere in the Western theological scene during
Ellul's heyday. Much like Barth, Ellul had no use for either liberal theology (to him
dominated by Enlightenment notions about the goodness of humanity and thus rendered
puerile by its naïveté or orthodox Protestantism (e.g., fundamentalism or scholastic
Calvinism, both of which to him refuse to acknowledge the radical freedom of God and
humanity) and maintained a roughly anti-Catholic view of the Bible, theology, and the
churches. The latter was a standpoint shaped, again, by his membership in a tradition
historically persecuted by Catholic clergy and state officials.
One particular theological movement that aroused his ire was that of secular theology,
based on notions that traditional Christian conceptions of God and humanity are based
upon a primitive consciousness, one that most civilized people have quite overcome. This
line of thought affirmed the ethical teachings of Jesus but rejected the idea that he
represented anything more than a highly accomplished human being. Ellul attacked this
school, and practitioners of it such as Harvey Cox, as out of accord not with Christian
doctrinal traditions, but reality itself, namely what he perceived as the irreducible
religiosity of the human race, a devotion that has worshiped idols such as rulers, nations,
and, in more recent times, technology and economics. To Ellul, people use such fallen
images, or powers, as a substitute for God, and are, in turn, used by them, with no possible
appeal to innocence or neutrality, which, although possible theoretically, does not in fact
exist. Ellul thus renovates in a non-legalistic manner the traditional Christian
understanding of original sin and espouses a thoroughgoing pessimism about human
capabilities, a view most sharply evidenced in his Meaning of the City (see bibliography
below).
Ellul espouses views on salvation, the sovereignty of God, and ethical action that appear to
take a deliberately contrarian stance toward established, "mainstream" opinion. For
instance, in the book What I Believe, he declared himself to be a Christian Universalist,
writing "that all people from the beginning of time are saved by God in Jesus Christ, that
they have all been recipients of His grace no matter what they have done."[2] Ellul
formulated this stance not from any liberal or humanistic sympathies, but in the main from
an extremely high view of God's transcendence, that God is totally free to do what God
pleases. Any attempts to modify that freedom from merely human standards of
righteousness and justice amount to sin, to putting oneself in God's place, which is precisely
Jacques Ellul 355
what Adam and Eve sought to do in the creation stories in Genesis. This highly unusual
juxtaposition of original sin and universal salvation has repelled liberal and conservative
critics and commentators alike, who charge that such views amount to antinomianism,
denying that God's laws are binding upon human beings. In most of his
theologically-oriented writings, Ellul effectively dismisses those charges as stemming from
a radical confusion between religions as human phenomena and the unique claims of the
Christian faith, which are not predicated upon human achievement or moral integrity
whatsoever.
Political philosophy
Ellul identified himself as a "Christian Anarchist." For him, this meant that nation-states
should neither be praised nor feared, but merely ignored. To him, human government is
irrelevant in that the law contained in Scripture is sufficient and exclusive. That is, being a
Christian means pledging absolute allegiance to Christ, which makes other laws redundant
at best or counter to the Law of God. Despite the initial attraction of some evangelicals to
his thinking because of his high view of Biblical texts (i.e., generally eschewing the
historical-critical method), this position eventually alienated the few followers he had
among conservative Protestants (this despite the fact that a U.S. evangelical school,
Wheaton College, houses numerous manuscripts of his). Later, he would attract a following
among adherents of more ethically-compatible traditions such as the Anabaptists and the
house church movement. Similar political ideas to Ellul's appear in the writings of a
corresponding friend of his, the American William Stringfellow.
“ It is the emergence of mass media which makes possible the use of propaganda techniques ”
on a societal scale. The orchestration of press, radio and television to create a continuous,
lasting and total environment renders the influence of propaganda virtually unnoticed
precisely because it creates a constant environment. Mass media provides the essential link
between the individual and the demands of the technological society.
In all of this, Ellul continued to place his understanding of technology and its proper role in
this present society in a context that recognizes a faith in the eternal. This allowed Ellul to
propose a more explicit alternative to the technology of the technician than those provided
by some of his contemporaries, such as Martin Heidegger.
To throw this wager or secular faith into the boldest possible relief, Ellul places it in
dialectical contrast with Biblical faith. As a dialectical contrast to "La Technique," for
instance, Ellul writes Sans feu ni lieu (published in 1975, although written much earlier.)
Whereas technology is the attempt of human beings to create their home in this world, the
Bible denies that people, the children of a Creator God, can ever be truly at home here.
Ellul adhered to the maxim "Think globally, act locally" throughout his life. He often said
that he was born in Bordeaux by chance, but that it was by choice that he spent almost all
his academic career there. After a long illness, he died in his house in Pessac, just a mile or
Jacques Ellul 356
two from the University of Bordeaux campus, surrounded by those closest to him. Not long
before his death, the treatment for this illness illustrated to him once again one of his
favourite themes - the ambivalence of technological progress.
Books
• Étude sur l'évolution et la nature juridique du Mancipium. Bordeaux: Delmas, 1936.
• Le fondement théologique du droit. Neuchâtel: Delachaux & Niestlé, 1946.
• The Theological Foundation of Law. Trans. Marguerite Wieser. Garden City NY:
Doubleday, 1960. London: SCM, 1961. New York: Seabury, 1969.
• Présence au monde moderne: Problèmes de la civilisation post-chrétienne. Geneva:
Roulet, 1948. Lausanne: Presses Bibliques Universitaires, 1988.
• The Presence of the Kingdom. Trans. Olive Wyon. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1951.
London: SCM, 1951. New York: Seabury, 1967. Colorado Springs: Helmers and
Howard, 1989.
• Le livre de Jonas. Paris: Cahiers Bibliques de Foi et Vie, 1952.
• The Judgment of Jonah. Trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971.
• L'homme et l'argent (Nova et vetera). Neuchâtel: Delachaux & Niestlé, 1954. Lausanne:
Presses Bibliques Universitaires, 1979.
• Money and Power. Trans. LaVonne Neff. Downers Grove IL: InterVarsity Press, 1984.
Basingstoke, England: Marshall Pickering, 1986.
• La technique ou l'enjeu du siècle. Paris: Armand Colin, 1954. Paris: Économica, 1990.
• The Technological Society. Trans. John Wilkinson. New York: Knopf, 1964. London:
Jonathan Cape, 1965. Rev. ed.: New York: Knopf/Vintage, 1967. with introduction by
Robert K. Merton (professor of sociology, Columbia University). This may be his
best-known work; Aldous Huxley brought the French edition to the attention of an
English publisher, and thus brought it to English readers. → Theodore Kaczynski had a
copy in his cabin and said he read it five times—his "manifesto" addresses similar
themes.
• Histoire des institutions. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France; volumes 1 & 2,
• L'Antiquité (1955); vol. 3, Le Moyen Age (1956); vol. 4, Les XVIe-XVIIIe siècle (1956); vol.
5, Le XIXe siècle (1789–1914) (1956).
• Propagandes. Paris: A. Colin, 1962. Paris: Économica, 1990
• Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes. Trans. Konrad Kellen & Jean Lerner.
New York: Knopf, 1965. New York: Random House/ Vintage 1973
• Fausse présence au monde moderne. Paris: Les Bergers et Les Mages, 1963.
• False Presence of the Kingdom. Trans. C. Edward Hopkin. New York: Seabury, 1972.
• Le vouloir et le faire: Recherches éthiques pour les chrétiens: Introduction (première
partie). Geneva: Labor et Fides, 1964.
• To Will and to Do: An Ethical Research for Christians. Trans. C. Edward Hopkin.
Philadelphia: Pilgrim, 1969.
• L'illusion politique. Paris: Robert Laffont, 1965. Rev. ed.: Paris: Librairie Générale
Française, 1977.
• The Political Illusion. Trans. Konrad Kellen. New York: Knopf, 1967. New York:
Random House/Vintage, 1972.
Jacques Ellul 357
• Exégèse des nouveaux lieux communs. Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1966. Paris: La Table
Ronde, 1994.
• A Critique of the New Commonplaces. Trans. Helen Weaver. New York: Knopf, 1968.
• Politique de Dieu, politiques de l'homme. Paris: Éditions Universitaires, 1966.
• The Politics of God and the Politics of Man. Trans./ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972.
• Histoire de la propagande. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1967, 1976.
• Métamorphose du bourgeois. Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1967. Paris: La Table Ronde, 1998.
• Autopsie de la révolution. Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1969.
• Autopsy of Revolution. Trans. Patricia Wolf. New York: Knopf, 1971.
• Contre les violents. Paris: Centurion, 1972.
• Violence: Reflections from a Christian Perspective. Trans. Cecelia Gaul Kings. New
York: Seabury, 1969. London: SCM Press, 1970. London: Mowbrays, 1978.
• Sans feu ni lieu: Signification biblique de la Grande Ville. Paris: Gallimard, 1975.
• The Meaning of the City. Trans. Dennis Pardee. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970.
Carlisle, Cumbria, England: Paternoster, 1997.
• L'impossible prière. Paris: Centurion, 1971, 1977.
• Prayer and Modern Man. Trans. C. Edward Hopkin. New York: Seabury, 1970, 1973
• Jeunesse délinquante: Une expérience en province. Avec Yves Charrier. Paris: Mercure
de France, 1971. 2nd ed.: Jeunesse délinquante: Des blousons noirs aux hippies. Nantes:
Éditions de l'AREFPPI, 1985.
• De la révolution aux révoltes. Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1972.
• L'espérance oubliée. Paris: Gallimard, 1972.
• Hope in Time of Abandonment. Trans. C. Edward Hopkin. New York: Seabury, 1973.
• Éthique de la liberté, 2 vols. Geneva: Labor et Fides, I:1973, II:1974.
• The Ethics of Freedom. Trans. and ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1976. London: Mowbrays, 1976.
• Les nouveaux possédés. Paris: Arthème Fayard, 1973.
• The New Demons. Trans. C. Edward Hopkin. New York: Seabury, 1975. London:
Mowbrays, 1975.
• L'Apocalypse: Architecture en mouvement. Paris: Desclée, 1975.
• Apocalypse: The Book of Revelation. Trans. George W. Schreiner. New York: Seabury,
1977.
• Trahison de l'Occident. Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1975.
• The Betrayal of the West. Trans. Matthew J. O'Connell. New York: Seabury,1978.
• Le système technicien. Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 1977.
• The Technological System. Trans. Joachim Neugroschel. New York: Continuum, 1980.
• L'idéologie marxiste chrétienne. Paris: Centurion, 1979.
• Jesus and Marx: From Gospel to Ideology. Trans. Joyce Main Hanks. Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1988.
• L'empire du non-sens: L'art et la société technicienne. Paris: Press Universitaires de
France, 1980.
• La foi au prix du doute: "Encore quarante jours . . ." Paris: Hachette, 1980.
Jacques Ellul 358
• Living Faith: Belief and Doubt in a Perilous World. Trans. Peter Heinegg. San
Francisco: Harper and Row, 1983.
• La Parole humiliée. Paris: Seuil, 1981.
• The Humiliation of the Word. Trans. Joyce Main Hanks. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1985.
• Changer de révolution: L'inéluctable prolétariat. Paris: Seuil, 1982.
• Les combats de la liberté. (Tome 3, L'Ethique de la Liberté) Geneva: Labor et Fides,
1984. Paris: Centurion, 1984.
• La subversion du christianisme. Paris: Seuil, 1984, 1994. réédition en 2001, La Table
Ronde;
• The Subversion of Christianity. Trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1986.
• Conférence sur l'Apocalypse de Jean. Nantes: AREFPPI, 1985.
• Un chrétien pour Israël. Monaco: Éditions du Rocher, 1986.
• Ce que je crois. Paris: Grasset and Fasquelle, 1987.
• What I Believe. Trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.
• La Genèse aujourd'hui. Avec François Tosquelles. Ligné: AREFPPI, 1987.
• La raison d'être: Méditation sur l'Ecclésiaste. Paris: Seuil, 1987
• Reason for Being: A Meditation on Ecclesiastes. Trans. Joyce Main Hanks. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990.
• Anarchie et christianisme. Lyon: Atelier de Création Libertaire, 1988. Paris: La Table
Ronde, 1998
• Anarchy and Christianity. Trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1991.
• Le bluff technologique. Paris: Hachette, 1988.
• The Technological Bluff. Trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990.
• Ce Dieu injuste . . .?: Théologie chrétienne pour le peuple d'Israël. Paris: Arléa, 1991,
1999.
• Si tu es le Fils de Dieu: Souffrances et tentations de Jésus. Paris: Centurion, 1991.
• Déviances et déviants dans notre société intolérante. Toulouse: Érés, 1992.
• Silences: Poèmes. Bordeaux: Opales, 1995.
• Oratorio: Les quatre cavaliers de l'Apocalypse. Bordeaux: Opales, 1997.
• Sources and Trajectories: Eight Early Articles by Jacques Ellul that Set the Stage.
Trans./ed. Marva J. Dawn. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997.
Jacques Ellul 359
Interviews
• "A temps et à contretemps: Entretiens avec Madeleine Garrigou-Lagrange". Paris:
Centurion, 1981.
• "In Season, Out of Season: An Introduction to the Thought of Jacques Ellul: Interviews by
Madeleine Garrigou-Lagrange." Trans. Lani K. Niles. San Francisco: Harper and Row,
1982.
• "Perspectives on Our Age: Jacques Ellul Speaks on His Life and Work". Ed. Willem H.
Vanderburg. Trans. Joachim Neugroschel. Toronto: CBC, 1981. New York: Seabury,
1981. Concord, Ontario: House of Anansi, 1997.
• "L'homme à lui-même: Correspondance". Avec Didier Nordon. Paris: Félin, 1992.
• "Entretiens avec Jacques Ellul". Patrick Chastenet. Paris: Table Ronde, 1994.
• "Jacques Ellul on Religion, Technology, and Politics: Conversations with Patrick
Troude-Chastenet". Trans. Joan Mendès France. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1998.
• "Jacques Ellul on Politics, Technology, and Christianity: Conversations with Patrick
Troude-Chastenet". Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 2005.
See also
• Christian anarchism
• Indoctrination
• Koyaanisqatsi
• Propaganda
• Randal Marlin
• Non-conformists of the 1930s
External links
• Jacques Ellul works on Jesus Radicals [3]
• International Jacques Ellul Society [4]
• Association Internationale Jacques Ellul [5]
• Wheaton College Library's Jacques Ellul page [6] (with biographical information and
listings of their holdings of rare Ellul manuscripts)
• Jacques Ellul at Anarchist Archive [7]
• Transcript of Ellul's Politics of God and Politics of Man [8]
• On the film The Betrayal by Technology, a 1993 portrait by ReRun Productions, on
Jacques Ellul (broadcasted twice in the Netherlands on national TV [9]
Jacques Ellul 360
References
[1] " Righteous Among the Nations Recognized by Yad Vashem as of 1 January 2008 - France (http:/ / www1.
yadvashem. org/ righteous_new/ PDF Virtual_Wall_Of_Honor/ FRANCE. pdf)" (PDF). Yad Vashem. 2008-01-01. .
Retrieved on 2008-08-27.
[2] "Did God Create Hell? (http:/ / www. tentmaker. org/ articles/ did-god-create-hell. htm)
[3] http:/ / www. jesusradicals. com/ theology/ jacques-ellul/
[4] http:/ / www. ellul. org/ ijes. htm
[5] http:/ / www. jacques-ellul. org/
[6] http:/ / www. wheaton. edu/ learnres/ ARCSC/ collects/ sc16/
[7] http:/ / flag. blackened. net/ daver/ anarchism/ ellul/ index. html
[8] http:/ / www. religion-online. org/ showbook. asp?title=1506
[9] http:/ / www. rerunproducties. nl
Lewis Mumford 361
Lewis Mumford
Lewis Mumford
Occupation Historian,
Writer
Nationality American
Genres History
Notable work(s) The City in History, Technics and Civilization, The Myth of the
Machine
Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian of
technology and science. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he
had a tremendously broad career as a writer that also included a period as an influential
literary critic. Mumford was influenced by the work of Scottish theorist Sir Patrick Geddes.
Mumford was also a contemporary and friend of Frank Lloyd Wright, Frederic J. Osborn,
Edmund N. Bacon, and Vannevar Bush.
Life
Mumford was born in Flushing, New York, and graduated from Stuyvesant High School in
1912.[1] He studied at the City College of New York and the New School for Social
Research, but became ill with tuberculosis and never finished his degree. In 1919 he
became associate editor of The Dial, an influential modernist literary journal. He later
worked for The New Yorker where he wrote architectural criticism and commentary on
urban issues.
Mumford's earliest books in the field of literary criticism have had a lasting impact on
contemporary American literary criticism. The Golden Day contributed to a resurgence in
scholarly research on the work of 1850's American transcendentalist authors and Herman
Melville: A study of His Life and Vision effectively launched a revival in the study of the
work of Herman Melville. Soon after, with the book The Brown Decades, he began to
establish himself as an authority in US architecture and urban life, which he interpreted in
a social context.
In his early writings on urban life, Mumford was optimistic about human abilities and wrote
that the human race would use electricity and mass communication to build a better world
Lewis Mumford 362
for all humankind. He would later take a more pessimistic stance. His early architectural
criticism also helped to bring wider public recognition to the work of Henry Hobson
Richardson, Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Mumford was involved in numerous research positions and received the Presidential Medal
of Freedom in 1964. In 1943 Mumford was made an honorary Knight Commander of the
Order of the British Empire. In 1976, he was awarded the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca.
He served as the architectural critic for The New Yorker magazine for over 30 years, and
his 1961 book, The City in History, received the National Book Award.
Lewis Mumford died at his home in Amenia, New York.
Ideas
Mumford believed that what defined humanity, what set human beings apart from other
animals, was not primarily our use of tools (technology) but our use of language (symbols).
He was convinced that the sharing of information and ideas amongst participants of
primitive societies was completely natural to early humanity, and had obviously been the
foundation of society as it became more sophisticated and complex. He had hopes for a
continuation of this process of information “pooling” in the world as humanity moved into
the future.[2]
Mumford's choice of the word "technics" throughout his work was deliberate. For Mumford,
technology is one part of technics. Using the broader definition of the Greek tekne, which
means not only technology but also art, skill and dexterity, technics refers to the interplay
of a social milieu and technological innovation - the "wishes, habits, ideas, goals" as well as
"industrial processes" of a society. As Mumford writes at the beginning of Technics and
Civilization, "other civilizations reached a high degree of technical proficiency without,
apparently, being profoundly influenced by the methods and aims of technics."
Megatechnics
In The Myth of the Machine Vol II: The Pentagon of Power (Chapter 12) (1970), Mumford
criticizes the modern trend of technology, which emphasizes constant, unrestricted
expansion, production, and replacement. He explains that these goals work against
technical perfection, durability, social efficiency, and overall human satisfaction. Modern
technology—which he calls 'megatechnics'—evades producing lasting, quality products by
using devices such as consumer credit, installment buying, non-functioning and defective
designs, built-in fragility, and frequent superficial "fashion" changes. "Without constant
enticement by advertising", he explains, "production would slow down and level off to
normal replacement demand. Otherwise many products could reach a plateau of efficient
design which would call for only minimal changes from year to year."
He uses his own refrigerator as an example, explaining that it "has been in service for
nineteen years, with only a single minor repair: an admirable job. Both automatic
refrigerators for daily use and deepfreeze preservation are inventions of permanent value
... if biotechnic criteria were heeded, rather than those of market analysts and fashion
experts, an equally good product might come forth from Detroit, with an equally long
prospect of continued use."
Lewis Mumford 363
Biotechnics
Mumford describes an organic model of technology, or biotechnics, as a contrast to
megatechnics. Organic systems direct themselves to "qualitative richness, amplitude,
spaciousness, and freedom from quantitative pressures and crowding. Self-regulation,
self-correction, and self-propulsion are as much an integral property of organisms as
nutrition, reproduction, growth, and repair." Biotechnics models life in seeking balance,
wholeness, and completeness.
Megamachines
Mumford also refers to large hierarchical organizations as megamachines—a machine using
humans as its components. These organizations comprise Mumford's stage theory of
civilization. The most recent Megamachine manifests itself, according to Mumford, in
modern technocratic nuclear powers—Mumford used the examples of the Soviet and US
power complexes represented by the Kremlin and the Pentagon, respectively. The builders
of the Pyramids, the Roman Empire and the armies of the World Wars are prior examples.
Features
He explains that meticulous attention to accounting and standardization, and elevation of
military leaders to divine status are spontaneous features of megamachines throughout
history. He cites such examples as the repetitive nature of Egyptian paintings which feature
enlarged Pharaohs and public display of enlarged portraits of dictators such as Mao Zedong
and Joseph Stalin. He also cites the overwhelming prevalence of quantitative accounting
records among surviving historical fragments, from ancient Egypt to Nazi Germany.
Necessary to the construction of these megamachines is an enormous bureaucracy of
humans which act as "servo-units", working without ethical involvement. According to
Mumford, Technological improvements such as remote control by satellite or radio, instant
global communication, and assembly line organizations dampen psychological barriers
against the end result of their actions. An example which he uses is that of Adolf Eichmann,
the Nazi official who conducted logistics behind the Holocaust. Mumford collectively refers
to people willing to carry out placidly the extreme goals of these megamachines as
"Eichmanns".
Lewis Mumford 364
Urban civilization
In his influential book The City in History, which won the National Book Award, Mumford
explores the development of urban civilizations. Harshly critical of urban sprawl, Mumford
argues that the structure of modern cities is partially responsible for many social problems
seen in western society. While pessimistic in tone, Mumford argues that urban planning
should emphasize an organic relationship between people and their living spaces.
Mumford uses the example of the medieval city as the basis for the "ideal city", and claims
that the modern city is too close to the Roman city (the sprawling megalopolis) which ended
in collapse; if the modern city carries on in the same vein, Mumford argues, then it will
meet the same fate as the Roman city.
Mumford wrote critically of urban culture believing the city is “a product of earth … a fact
of nature … man's method of expression”.[3] Further Mumford recognized the crises facing
urban culture, distrusting of the growing finance industry, political structures, fearful that a
local community culture was not being fostered by these institutions. Mumford feared
'metropolitan finance’, urbanisation, politics and alienation.
"The physical design of cities and their economic functions are secondary to their
relationship to the national environment and to the spiritual values of human community."
Writing style
While Mumford's writing exhibits much original research and a uniquely "Mumfordian"
approach to history and technology, his style often incorporates powerful rhetorical
subtleties and psychoanalytical interpretations of philosophical figures. A Mumford essay
also tends to be multidisciplinary, combining references and images from an often
startlingly wide range of studies.
Rhetoric
In cataloguing the "obsession" of classic thinkers with space travel, Mumford turns his
attention to an obscure work by Johannes Kepler entitled Somnium where Kepler
speculates about the possibilities of lunar travel (supposedly attainable as early as 1609).
Mumford cites this work as an example of a science-driven transition from Heaven to space
travel as the salvation and ultimate goal of the human race—a recurring theme of
Mumford's writings loosely summarized as sun worship which, according to Mumford, is a
psychotic emanation from the "collective psyche" of mankind.
After illustrating Kepler's "keen grasp of the embarrassing details" and inferring interior
compulsions were to blame, Mumford charges Kepler with being "steeped in sun-worship".
While these inflections lie below the level of outright attack they are dismissive of Kepler's
reasoning and even speculate as to his subconscious motivations.
Lewis Mumford 365
Influence
Mumford's interest in the history of technology and his explanation of "polytechnics", along
with his general philosophical bent, has been an important influence on a number of more
recent thinkers concerned that technology serve human beings as broadly and well as
possible. Some of these authors — such as → Jacques Ellul, Witold Rybczynski, Amory
Lovins, J. Baldwin, E. F. Schumacher, Herbert Marcuse, Murray Bookchin, Marshall
McLuhan — have been both intellectuals and persons directly involved with technological
development and decisions about the use of technology.
Mumford also had an influence on the American environmentalist movement, with thinkers
like Barry Commoner and Bookchin being influenced by his ideas on cities, ecology and
technology.[4] Ramachandra Guha noted his work contains 'some of the earliest and finest
thinking on bioregionalism, anti-nuclearism, biodiversity, alternate energy paths, ecological
urban planning and appropriate technology."[5]
It is also evident in the work of some artists. This includes Berenice Abbott's photographs of
New York City in the late 1930s.[6]
Bibliography
Incomplete - to be updated
• The Story of Utopias [7] (1922)
• Sticks and Stones (1924)
• The Golden Day (1926)
• Herman Melville: A Study of His Life and Vision (1929)
• The Brown Decades: A Study of the Arts in America, 1865-1895 (1931)
• The City (1939, a film)
• "Renewal of Life" series
• Technics and Civilization (1934)
• The Culture of Cities (1938)
• The Condition of Man (1944)
• The Conduct of Life (1951)
• Art and Technics (1952)
• Values for Survival (1946)
• The Transformations of Man (1956 New York: Harper and Row)
• The City in History (1961) often considered his most important work (Awarded the
National Book Award)
• The Highway and the City (1963, essay collection)
• The Myth of the Machine (2 volumes)
• Technics and Human Development (1967)
• The Pentagon of Power (1970)
• The Urban Prospect (1968, essay collection)
• My Work and Days: A Personal Chronicle (1979)
• Sketches from Life: The Autobiography of Lewis Mumford (1982 New York: Dial Press)
• The Lewis Mumford Reader. Donald L. Miller, ed. (1986 New York: Pantheon Books)
Lewis Mumford 366
Articles
• Mumford, Lewis (8 Januuary 1949). "The Sky Line: The Quick and the Dead". The New
Yorker 24 (46): 60–65.
Reviews the Esso Building, Rockefeller Center
• Mumford, Lewis (4 February 1950). "The Sky Line: Civic Virtue". The New Yorker 25
(50): 58–63.
Reviews Parke-Bernet Galleries, Madison Avenue
Further reading
• Miller, Donald L. (1989). Lewis Mumford: A Life. New York: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
External links
[8]
• Lewis Mumford: A Brief Biography
• Lewis Mumford Center for Comparative Urban and Regional Research [9] at the
University at Albany, The State University of New York
• Virtual Lewis Mumford Library [10]- Mumford Archive at Monmouth University
References
[1] Wojtowicz, Robert (January 2001). " City As Community: The Life And Vision Of Lewis Mumford (http:/ / www.
odu. edu/ ao/ instadv/ quest/ cityascommunity. html)". Quest (Old Dominion University) 4 (1). . Retrieved on
2007-10-31.
[2] Mumford, Lewis (1974). "Enough Energy for Life & The Next Transformation of Man [MIT lecture transcript]".
CoEvolution Quarterly (Sausalito, CA: POINT Foundation) 1 (4): 19–23.
[3] Mumford The Culture of Cities 1938
[4] Wall, Derek. Green History, Routledge, 1994, pg. 91.
[5] Quoted in Guha, Ramachandra & Martinez-Alier, J (1997) Varieties of Environmentalism: Essays North and
South. London: Earthscan (1997). For other works on Mumford’s ecological and environmental thought, see:
David Pepper Modern Environmentalism, Routledge, 1996, Max Nicolson, The New Environmental Age,
Cambridge University Press, 1989, and BA Minteer, The Landscape of Reform: Civic Pragmatism and
Environmental Thought in America MIT Press, 2006.
[6] See Peter Barr's PhD dissertation on Abbott's photographs, "Becoming Documentary: Berenice Abbott's
Photographs, 1925-1939" (Boston University, 1997).
[7] http:/ / www. sacred-texts. com/ utopia/ sou/ index. htm
[8] http:/ / www. nd. edu/ ~ehalton/ mumfordbio. html
[9] http:/ / www. albany. edu/ mumford/
[10] http:/ / library. monmouth. edu/ spcol/ mumford/ mumford. html
Brian M. Fagan 367
Brian M.Fagan
Brian Murray Fagan is an author of popular archaeology books as well as being emeritus
professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, U.S..
Biography
Professor Brian M. Fagan was born in England. He received his childhood education at
Rugby School[1]. He attended Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he studied
archaeology and anthropology (BA 1959, MA 1962, PhD 1965). He spent six years as
Keeper of Prehistory at the Livingstone Museum in Zambia, Central Africa, and moved to
the U.S.A. in 1966. He was Visiting Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of
Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, in 1966/67, and was appointed Professor of Anthropology at
the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 1967.
Prof. Fagan is an archaeological generalist, with expertise in the broad issues of human
prehistory. He is the author or editor of 46 books, including seven widely used
undergraduate college texts. Prof. Fagan has contributed over 100 specialist papers to
many national and international journals. He is a Contributing Editor to American
Archaeology and Discover Archaeology magazines, and formerly wrote a regular column for
Archaeology Magazine. He serves on the Editorial Boards of six academic and general
periodicals and has many popular magazine credits, including Scientific American and
Gentleman's Quarterly.
Prof. Fagan has been an archaeological consultant for many organizations, including
National Geographic Society, Time/Life, Encyclopædia Britannica, and Microsoft Encarta.
He has lectured extensively about archaeology and other subjects throughout the world at
many venues, including the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the National Geographic
Society, the San Francisco City Lecture Program, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Getty
Conservation Institute.
In addition to extensive experience with the development of Public Television programs,
Prof. Fagan was the developer/writer of Where in time is Carmen San Diego, an NPR series
in 1984-86. He has worked as a consultant for the BBC, RKO, and many Hollywood
production companies on documentaries. In 1995 he was Senior Series Consultant for
Time/Life Television's "Lost Civilizations" series.
Prof. Fagan was awarded the 1996 Society of Professional Archaeologists' Distinguished
Service Award for his "untiring efforts to bring archaeology in front of the public." He also
received a Presidential Citation Award from the Society for American Archaeology in 1996
for his work in textbook, general writing and media activities. He received the Society's
first Public Education Award in 1997.
Fagan appeared on The Daily Show on March 17th, 2008 to discuss 'climate change and its
impact on human history.'
Fagan has written many critiques of contemporary archaeology and has advocated
non-traditional approaches, as well as writing extensively on the role of archaeology in
contemporary society. His approach is a melding of different theoretical approaches, which
focuses on the broad issues of human prehistory and the past. He is a strong advocate of
multidisciplinary approaches to such issues as climate change in the past. Over the years,
he has written a series of well-known textbooks that provide accurate summaries of the
Brian M. Fagan 368
latest advances in archaeological method and theory and world prehistory These are
designed for beginners and avoid both confusing jargon and major theoretical discussion,
which is inappropriate at this basic level. His approach melds traditional culture history
with more recent approaches, with a major emphasis on writing historical narrative using
archaeological data and sources from other disciplines. Fagan is also well known for his
public lectures on a wide variety of archaeological and historical topics, delivered to a
broad range of archaeological and non-archaeological audiences.
Selected Bibliography
• The Rape of the Nile: Tomb Robbers, Tourists, and Archaeologists in Egypt. New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1975 (hardcover, ISBN 0-684-14235-X); Boulder, CO: Westview
Press, 2004 (revised and updated ed., paperback, ISBN 0-8133-4061-6).
• Quest for the Past: Great Discoveries in Archaeology. Boston: Addison Wesley, 1978
(paperback, ISBN 0-201-03111-6).
• Clash of Cultures. New York: W.H. Freeman & Company, 1984 (paperback, ISBN
0-7167-1622-4); Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press, 1997 (hardcover, ISBN 0-7619-9146-8;
paperback, ISBN 0-7619-9145-X).
• The Adventure of Archaeology. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1985
(hardcover, ISBN 0-87044-603-7)
• The Great Journey: The Peopling of Ancient America. London: Thames & Hudson, 1987
(hardcover, ISBN 0-500-05045-7); 1989 (paperback, ISBN 0-500-27515-7); Gainesville,
FL: University Press of Florida, 2004 (updated ed., paperback, ISBN 0-8130-2756-X).
• Journey from Eden: The Peopling of Our World. London: Thames & Hudson, 1991
(hardcover, ISBN 0-500-05057-0).
• Kingdoms of Gold, Kingdoms of Jade: The Americas Before Columbus. London: Thames &
Hudson, 1991 (hardcover, ISBN 0-500-05062-7).
• Snapshots of the Past. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press, 1995 (hardcover, ISBN
0-7619-9109-3; paperback, ISBN 0-7619-9108-5).
• Time Detectives: How Archaeologist Use Technology to Recapture the Past. New York:
Simon & Schuster, 1995 (hardcover, ISBN 0-671-79385-3; paperback, ISBN
0-684-81828-0).
• (editor) The Oxford Companion to Archaeology. New York: Oxford University Press
(USA), 1996 (hardcover, ISBN 0-19-507618-4).
• (editor) Eyewitness to Discovery: First-Person Accounts of More Than Fifty of the World's
Greatest Archaeological Discoveries. New York: Oxford University Press (USA), 1997
(hardcover, ISBN 0-19-508141-2); 1999 (paperback, ISBN 0-19-512651-3).
• Floods, Famines, and Emperors: El Niño and the Fate of Civilizations. New York: Basic
Books, 1999 (hardcover, ISBN 0-465-01120-9); 2000 (paperback, ISBN 0-465-01121-7);
London: Pimlico, 2001 (new ed., paperback, ISBN 0-7126-6478-5)
• (editor) The Seventy Great Mysteries of the Ancient World: Unlocking the Secrets of Past
Civilizations. London: Thames & Hudson, 2001 (paperback, ISBN 0-500-51050-4).
• The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History, 1300–1850. New York: Basic Books, 2000
(hardcover, ISBN 0-465-02271-5); 2001 (paperback, ISBN 0-465-02272-3).
• Stonehenge. New York: Oxford University Press (USA), 2002 (ISBN 0-19-514314-0).
• Archaeologists: Explorers of the Human Past. New York: Oxford University Press (USA),
2003 (hardcover, ISBN 0-19-511946-0).
Brian M. Fagan 369
Further reading
• Fagan, Brian. "Retrospect (But certainly not a necrology!)", Antiquity, Vol. 78, Issue 299.
(2004), pp. 173–183.
External links
• Brian Murray Fagan [2] at the EMuseum of the Minnesota State University, Mankato
• Course syllabus [3] for an Anthropology course taught by Brian Fagan.
• Interview [4] with Brian Fagan at the Society for California Archaeology.
• Audio interview with National Review Online [5]
[6]
• Brian Fagan books online .
References
[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Brian_m. _fagan#endnote_SCA
[2] http:/ / www. mnsu. edu/ emuseum/ information/ biography/ fghij/ fagan_brian. html
[3] http:/ / id-archserve. ucsb. edu/ Anth3/ Syllabus/ Syllabus. html
[4] http:/ / www. scahome. org/ educational_resources/ 2002_Fagan. html
[5] http:/ / radio. nationalreview. com/ betweenthecovers/ post/
?q=YjZhODczNzE0MjA5ODIwZTk4NGEyMWJlYjA3MGVhZjQ=
[6] http:/ / www. brianfagan. com/ index. html
Gary Snyder 370
Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder
Nationality American
Notable work(s) Turtle Island, 1975; The Real Work, 1980; A Place in Space, 1995;
Mountains and Rivers Without End, 1996
Notable award(s) Pulitzer Prize for poetry, 1974; Bollingen Prize for Poetry, 1997;
John Hay Award for Nature Writing, 1997; Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize,
[1]
2008
Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet (often associated with the Beat
Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance), as well as an essayist, lecturer, and
environmental activist (frequently described as the "poet laureate of → Deep Ecology"[2] ).
Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. His work, in his various roles, reflects an
immersion in both Buddhist spirituality and nature. Snyder has also translated literature
into English from ancient Chinese and modern Japanese. For many years, Snyder served as
a faculty member at the University of California, Davis, and served for a time on the
California Arts Council.
Early life
Gary Sherman Snyder was born in San Francisco, California to Harold and Lois Hennessy
Snyder. Snyder is of German, Scots-Irish, and English ancestry. His family, impoverished by
the Great Depression,[3] moved to King County, Washington[4] , when he was two years old.
There they tended dairy cows, kept laying hens, had a small orchard, and made cedar-wood
shingles,[5] [6] until moving to Portland, Oregon ten years later.[7]
At the age of seven, Snyder was laid up for four months by an accident. "So my folks
brought me piles of books from the Seattle Public Library," he recalled in interview, "and it
was then I really learned to read and from that time on was voracious — I figure that
accident changed my life. At the end of four months, I had read more than most kids do by
the time they're eighteen. And I didn't stop."[3]
Also during his ten childhood years in Washington, Snyder became aware of the presence of
the Coast Salish people and developed an interest in the Native American peoples in
general and their traditional relationship with nature.[3]
In 1942, following his parents' divorce, Snyder moved to Portland, Oregon with his mother
and his younger sister, Anthea.[8] (As Thea Lowry, Anthea is the author of Empty Shells.)[9]
Their mother, Lois Snyder Hennessey (born Wilkey),[10] worked during this period as a
reporter for The Oregonian. One of Gary's boyhood jobs was as a newspaper copy boy, also
at the Oregonian.[8] Also, during his teen years, he attended Lincoln High School,[8] worked
as a camp counselor, and went mountain climbing with the Mazamas youth group.[11]
Climbing remained an interest of his,[3] especially during his twenties and thirties.
Gary Snyder 371
In 1947, he started attending Reed College on a scholarship.[3] Here he met, and for a time
roomed with Carl Proujan, Philip Whalen and Lew Welch. At Reed, Snyder published his
first poems in a student journal. He also spent the summer of 1948 working as a seaman.
He joined the now defunct Marine Cooks and Stewards union to get this job.[12] (He was to
work as a seaman again in the mid 1950s. As much to experience other cultures in port
cities as to earn money, this work served to put him more in touch with the oceans and
other aspects of the hydrosphere.) Snyder married Alison Gass in 1950; they separated
after seven months, and divorced in 1953.[13]
While attending Reed, Snyder did folklore research on the Warm Springs Indian
Reservation in central Oregon.[14] He graduated with a dual degree in anthropology and
literature in 1951.[15] He spent the following few summers working as a timber scaler at
Warm Springs, developing relationships with its people that were less rooted in
academia.[14] This experience formed the basis for some of his earliest published poems
(including "A Berry Feast"),[3] later collected in the book The Back Country.
He also encountered the basic ideas of Buddhism and, through its arts, some of the Far
East's traditional attitudes toward nature. Going on to Indiana University with a graduate
fellowship to study anthropology[3] (where Snyder also practiced self-taught Zen
meditation), he left after a single semester to return to San Francisco and to 'sink or swim
as a poet'.[16]
Snyder worked for two summers in the North Cascades in Washington as a fire lookout, on
Crater Mountain in 1952 and Sourdough Mountain (both locations on the upper Skagit
River) in 1953. His attempts to get another lookout stint in 1954 (at the peak of
McCarthyism), however, failed. He had been barred from working for the government, due
to his above-mentioned association with the Marine Cooks and Stewards.[17] Instead, he
went back to Warm Springs to work in logging as a chokersetter (fastening cables to logs).
This experience contributed to his Myths and Texts and the essay Ancient Forests of the
Far West.[18]
The Beats
Back in San Francisco, Snyder lived with Whalen, who shared his growing interest in Zen
Buddhism. Snyder's reading of the writings of D.T. Suzuki had in fact been a factor in his
decision not to continue as a graduate-student in anthropology, and in 1953 he enrolled at
the University of California, Berkeley to study Asian culture and languages. He studied ink
and wash painting under Chiura Obata and Tang Dynasty poetry under Ch'en
Shih-hsiang.[19] Snyder continued to spend summers working in the forests, including one
summer as a trail-builder in Yosemite. He spent some months in 1955 and 1956 living in a
cabin (which he dubbed "Marin-an") outside Mill Valley, California with Jack Kerouac. It
was also at this time that Snyder was an occasional student at the American Academy of
Asian Studies, where Saburō Hasegawa and Alan Watts, among others, were teaching.
Hasegawa introduced Snyder to the treatment of landscape painting as a meditative
practice. This inspired Snyder to attempt something equivalent in poetry, and with
Hasegawa's encouragement, he began work on Mountains and Rivers without End, which
would be completed and published forty years later.[20] During these years, Snyder was
writing and collecting his own work, as well as embarking on the translation of the "Cold
Mountain" poems by the 8th-century Chinese recluse Han Shan; this work appeared in
chapbook-form in 1969, under the title Riprap & Cold Mountain Poems.
Gary Snyder 372
Snyder met Allen Ginsberg when the latter sought Snyder out on the recommendation of
Kenneth Rexroth.[21] Then, through Ginsberg, Snyder and Kerouac came to know each
other. This period provided the materials for Kerouac's novel The Dharma Bums, and
Snyder was the inspiration for the novel's main character, Japhy Ryder, in the same way
Neal Cassady had inspired Dean Moriarty in On the Road. As the large majority of people in
the Beat movement had urban backgrounds, writers like Ginsberg and Kerouac found
Snyder, with his backcountry and manual-labor experience and interest in things rural, a
refreshing and almost exotic individual. Lawrence Ferlinghetti later referred to Snyder as
'the Thoreau of the Beat Generation'.
Snyder read his poem "A Berry Feast" at the famous poetry reading at the Six Gallery in
San Francisco (October 7, 1955) that heralded what was to become known as the San
Francisco Renaissance. This also marked Snyder's first involvement with the Beats,
although he was not a member of the original New York circle, but rather entered the scene
through his association with Kenneth Rexroth.
As recounted in Kerouac's Dharma Bums, even at age 25 Snyder felt he could have a role in
the fateful future meeting of West and East. Snyder's first book, Riprap, which drew on his
experiences as a forest lookout and on the trail-crew in Yosemite, was published in 1959.
for a while with a group of other people on the small, volcanic island of Suwanosejima. His
previous study of written Chinese assisted his immersion in the Zen tradition (with its roots
in Tang Dynasty China) and enabled him to take on certain professional projects while he
was living in Japan.
Snyder received the Zen precepts and a dharma name (Chofu, "Listen to the Wind"), and
lived sometimes as a de facto monk, but never registered to become a priest[33] and
planned eventually to return to the United States to 'turn the wheel of the dharma'. He was
married from 1960 to 1965 to Joanne Kyger, who lived with him in Japan.[13]
During this time, he published a collection of his poems from the early to mid '50s, Myths &
Texts (1960), and Six Sections from Mountains and Rivers Without End (1965). (This last
was the beginning of a project that he was to continue working on until the late 1990s.)
Much of Snyder's poetry expresses experiences, environments, and insights involved with
the work he has done for a living: logger, fire-lookout, steam-freighter crew, translator,
carpenter, and itinerant poet, among other things.
Ever the participant observer, during his years in Japan Snyder not only immersed himself
in Zen practice in monasteries but also was initiated into Shugendo, a form of ancient
Japanese animism, (see also Yamabushi).[34] In the early 1960s he traveled for six months
through India with his wife Joanne, Allen Ginsberg, and Peter Orlovsky.[27]
Snyder and Joanne Kyger separated soon after their trip to India, and divorced in 1965.
Continuing on in the path of the naturalist while in Japan, Snyder educated himself on
subjects like geomorphology and forestry. These interests have probably surfaced as much
or more in his essays and interviews as in his poetry.
In 1966, Snyder joined Allen Ginsberg, Richard Baker, and Swami Kriyananda to buy
100 acres (0.40 km2) in the Sierra foothills, north of Nevada City, California. In 1970, this
would become his home, with the Snyder family's portion being named Kitkitdizze.[35]
Snyder spent the summers of 1967 and 1968 with a group of Japanese back-to-the-land
drop-outs known as "the Tribe" on Suwanosejima[36] (a small Japanese island in the East
China Sea), where they combed the beaches, gathered edible plants, and fished. [37] On
the island, on August 6,[35] 1967, he married Masa Uehara, whom he had met in Osaka a
year earlier.[33] In 1968, they moved to California with their infant son, Kai (born April
1968).[35] Their second son, Gen, was born a year later. In 1971, they moved to San Juan
Ridge (39°24′0″N 120°52′0″W) in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Northern California, near
the South Fork of the Yuba River, where they and friends built a house that drew on
rural-Japanese and Native-American architectural ideas.
In 1968 his book The Back Country appeared, again mainly a collection of poems stretching
back over about fifteen years. Snyder devoted a section at the end of the book to his
translations of eighteen poems by Kenji Miyazawa.
American continent, won a Pulitzer Prize. It also influenced numerous West Coast
Generation X writers, including Alex Steffen, Bruce Barcott and Mark Morford.
Snyder also wrote numerous essays setting forth his views on poetry, culture, social
experimentation, and the environment. Many of these were collected in Earth House Hold
(1969), The Old Ways (1977), The Real Work (1980), The Practice of the Wild (1990), A
Place in Space (1995), and The Gary Snyder Reader (1999). In 1979, Snyder published He
Who Hunted Birds in His Father's Village: The Dimensions of a Haida Myth, based on his
Reed thesis. Snyder's journals from his travel in India in the mid 1960s appeared in 1983
under the title Passage Through India.
In interviews and in articles about him, Snyder provided much food for thought, starting
back in the mid 1960s. In these, his wide-ranging interests in cultures, natural history,
religions, social critique, contemporary America, and hands-on aspects of rural life, as well
as his ideas on literature, were given full-blown articulation. In 1967, for instance (in a
taped round-table discussion in the San Francisco Oracle), Snyder's friend Alan Watts
brought up the world problem posed by the population-explosion. Snyder's comment was
the "change or bend of mind that seems to be taking place in the West, today especially, is
going to result — can result ultimately — in a vast leisure society in which people will
voluntarily reduce their number." It was a prediction that would prove partly true.
Snyder had readily accepted the far-reaching implications of the Hubbert "→ peak oil"
prediction emerging into public policy discussion in the 1970s. Snyder often spoke of the
"fossil-fuel subsidy", in the form of fairly cheap petroleum and coal, that had distorted many
aspects of human activity and relationships (e.g., farming, suburban life, wealth and
poverty).
As a social critic, Snyder has much in common with → Lewis Mumford, Aldous Huxley, Karl
Hess, Aldo Leopold, and Karl Polanyi.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Snyder expressed many of his insights and ideas in public lectures
and in essays, including ones published in major outdoor and environmental magazines
(and later collected in books).
In 1986, Snyder became a professor in the writing-program at the University of California,
Davis. Here he began to influence a new generation of authors interested in writing about
the Far East, including Robert Clark Young, whom he mentored. Snyder is now professor
emeritus of English.[38]
Snyder was married to Uehara for twenty-two years; the couple divorced in 1989. Snyder
married Carole Lynn Koda (October 3, 1947 - June 29, 2006),[39] who would write
Homegrown: Thirteen brothers and sisters, a century in America, in 1991,[40] [13] and
remained married to her until her death of cancer. She had been born in the third
generation of a successful Japanese-American farming family, noted for its excellent rice.
She shared Buddhism, extensive travels, and work with Snyder, and performed independent
work as a naturalist.[41]
As Snyder's involvement in environmental issues and his teaching grew, he seemed to move
away from poetry for much of the 1980s and early 1990s. However, in 1996 he published
the complete Mountains and Rivers Without End, which, in its mixture of the lyrical and
epic modes celebrating the act of inhabitation on a specific place on the planet, is both his
finest work and a summation of what a re-inhabitory poetics stands for. This work was
written over a 40-year period. It has been translated into Japanese and French. In 2004
Snyder published Danger on Peaks, his first collection of new poems in twenty years.
Gary Snyder 375
Along the way, Gary Snyder was awarded the Levinson Prize from the journal Poetry, the
American Poetry Society Shelley Memorial Award (1986), was inducted into the American
Academy of Arts and Letters (1987), and won the 1997 Bollingen Prize for Poetry and, that
same year, the John Hay Award for Nature Writing.[42] Snyder also has the distinction of
being the first American to receive the Buddhism Transmission Award (for 1998) from the
Japan-based Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai Foundation. For his ecological and social activism,
Snyder was named as one of the 100 visionaries selected in 1995 by Utne Reader.
Snyder's poetics
Gary Snyder uses mainly common speech-patterns as the basis for his lines, though his
style has been noted for its "flexibility" and the variety of different forms his poems have
taken. He does not typically use conventional meters nor intentional rhyme. "Love and
respect for the primitive tribe, honour accorded the Earth, the escape from city and
industry into both the past and the possible, contemplation, the communal" – such,
according to Glyn Maxwell, is the awareness and commitment behind the specific poems
(Maxwell in "The Online Companion to the Anthology of Modern American Poetry").
The author and editor Stewart Brand once wrote: "Gary Snyder's poetry addresses the
life-planet identification with unusual simplicity of style and complexity of effect."[43]
Snyder has always maintained that his personal sensibility arose from his interest in Native
Americans ("Indians") and their involvement with nature and knowledge of it; indeed, their
"ways" seemed to resonate with his own. And he has sought something akin to this through
Buddhist practices, Yamabushi initiation, and other experiences and involvements.
However, since his youth he has been quite literate, and he has written about his
appreciation of writers of similar sensibilities, like D. H. Lawrence, William Butler Yeats,
and some of the great ancient Chinese poets. William Carlos Williams was another
influence, especially on Snyder's earliest published work. Starting in high school, Snyder
read and loved the work of Robinson Jeffers, his predecessor in poetry of the landscape of
the American West; but, whereas Jeffers valued nature over humankind, Snyder saw
humankind as part of nature.[44]
In 2004, receiving the Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Grand Prize, Snyder highlighted
traditional ballads and folk songs, Native American songs and poems, William Blake, Walt
Whitman, Jeffers, Ezra Pound, Noh drama, Zen aphorisms, Federico García Lorca, and
Robert Duncan as significant influences on his poetry, but added, "the influence from haiku
and from the Chinese is, I think, the deepest."[45]
"I have some concerns that I'm continually investigating that tie together biology,
mysticism, prehistory, general systems theory", Snyder once said in interview (New York
Quarterly "Craft Interview", 1973). Besides 'non-human nature', sexuality is something
often expressed or contemplated in Gary Snyder's poetry. A self-admitted and somewhat
famed ladies' man through most of his life, Snyder has also been married four times.
Aside from content and style, Snyder's interests in anthropology and Native cultures, along
with his Buddhism and environmentalism, have formed his attitude to poetry. He has often
spoken of the poem as work-place, and, for him, the work to be done there is learning to be
in the world.
Snyder argues that poets, and humans in general, need to adjust to very long timescales,
especially when judging the consequences of their actions. His poetry examines the gap
between nature and culture so as to point to ways in which the two can be more closely
Gary Snyder 376
integrated.
“ ...I never did know exactly what was meant by the term "The Beats", but let's say that the ”
original meeting, association, comradeship of Allen [Ginsberg], myself, Michael [McClure],
Lawrence [Ferlinghetti], Philip Whalen, who's not here, Lew Welch, who's dead, Gregory
[Corso], for me, to a somewhat lesser extent (I never knew Gregory as well as the others) did
embody a criticism and a vision which we shared in various ways, and then went our own ways
for many years. ...
Where we began to come really close together again, in the late '60s, and gradually working
toward this point, it seems to me, was when Allen began to take a deep interest in Oriental
thought and then in Buddhism which added another dimension to our levels of agreement; and
later through Allen's influence, Lawrence began to draw toward that; and from another angle,
Michael and I after the lapse of some years of contact, found our heads very much in the same
place, and it's very curious and interesting now; and Lawrence went off in a very political
direction for awhile, which none of us had any objection with, except that wasn't my main
focus. It's very interesting that we find ourselves so much on the same ground again, after
having explored divergent paths; and find ourselves united on this position of powerful
environmental concern, critique of the future of the individual state, and an essentially shared
poetics, and only half-stated but in the background very powerfully there, a basic agreement on
[49]
some Buddhist type psychological views of human nature and human possibilities.
[50]
However, Gary Snyder has also been quoted as saying:
Gary Snyder 377
“ The term Beat is better used for a smaller group of writers ... the immediate group around Allen ”
Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, plus Gregory Corso and a few others. Many of us ... belong together
in the category of the San Francisco Renaissance. ... Still, beat can also be defined as a
particular state of mind ... and I was in that mind for a while.
Bibliography
• Myths & Texts (1960)
• Six Sections from Mountains and Rivers Without End (1965)
• The Back Country (1967)
• Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems (1969)
• Regarding Wave (1969)
• Earth House Hold (1969)
• Turtle Island (1974)
• The Old Ways (1977)
• He Who Hunted Birds in His Father's Village: The Dimensions of a Haida Myth (1979)
• The Real Work (1980)
• Axe Handles (1983)
• Passage Through India (1983)
• Left Out in the Rain (1988)
• The Practice of the Wild (1990)
• No Nature: New and Selected Poems (1992)
• A Place in Space (1995)
• narrator of the audio book version of Kazuaki Tanahashi's Moon in a Dewdrop from
Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō
• Mountains and Rivers Without End (1996)
• The Gary Snyder Reader: Prose, Poetry, and Translations (1999)
• Danger on Peaks (2005)
• Back on the Fire: Essays (2007)
[51]
• The Politics of Ethnopoetics (1975) text on ubuweb: visual - concrete - sound poetry
References
[1] " Poetry Foundation: Gary Snyder Wins 2008 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize (http:/ / www. poetryfoundation. org/
foundation/ release_042908. html)". 2008-04-29. . Retrieved on 2008-05-26.
[2] Petr Kopecký, "Nature Writing in American Literature: Inspirations, Interrelations, and Impacts of California
Authors on the Deep Ecology Movement" The Trumpeter, Volume 22, Number 2 (2006) ISSN: 0832-6193
"[George] Sessions' numerous references to Snyder have not passed unnoticed by other scholars. In his
influential study The Idea of Wilderness (1991), Max Oelschlaeger titled the section on Snyder 'Poet Laureate of
Deep Ecology.' What is even more striking is that in the footnote, Oelschlaeger confesses that 'Sessions in
particular has influenced me to see and read Snyder as the poet laureate of deep ecology.'"
[3] Chapter 14: The Dharma Bum (http:/ / www. everyday-beat. org/ everyday/ essay/ snyder/ )
[4] Seattle Times, 5/28/2009
[5] Snyder, Gary (1989) "Choosing Your Place-and Taking a Stand" interview with G.S., The Mother Earth News,
(89)
[6] Snyder 2007, pg. 61
[7] Snyder, Gary (2000) The Gary Snyder Reader. Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint. isbn 1-582430-79-9
[8] Suiter 2002, pg. 54
[9] Snyder 2007, pg. 7
[10] Snyder 2007, pg. 149
[11] Halper, Jon (1991). Gary Snyder: Dimensions of a Life. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. isbn =
0-87156-616-8
Gary Snyder 378
• Snyder, Gary. 1980. The Real Work: Interviews & Talks 1964-1979. New Directions, New
York. ISBN 0-8112-0761-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-8112-0760-9 (pbk)
• Autobiographical notes in Mountains and Rivers Without End, by Gary Snyder, 1996
• "Chronology" (c.v. for Gary Snyder) in The Gary Snyder Reader, 1999
• Snyder, Gary. Back on the Fire (2007) Shoemaker & Hoard. ISBN 1-59376-137-6
• Gary Snyder at Modern American Poetry (http:/ / www. english. uiuc. edu/ maps/ poets/
s_z/ snyder/ snyder. htm)
• Charters, Ann (ed.). The Portable Beat Reader. Penguin Books. New York. 1992. ISBN
0-670-83885-3 (hc); ISBN 0-14-015102-8 (pbk)
• Anthony Hunt, "Genesis, Structure, and Meaning in Gary Snyder's 'Mountains and Rivers
Without End'." Detailed, book length commentary on Gary Snyder's "Mountains & Rivers
Without End" (http:/ / www. nvbooks. nevada. edu/ books. asp?ID=2222)
Gary Snyder 379
• mp3 Audio Books, "Biography of Snyder, Gary". Accessed April 19, 2008. (http:/ /
audiofreemp3books. com/ authors/ snyder-gary. html#)
• Knight, Arthur Winfield. Ed. The Beat Vision (1987) Paragon House. ISBN 0-913729-40-X;
ISBN 0-913729-41-8 (pbk)
• Kyger, Joanne. Strange Big Moon: The Japan and India Journals: 1960-1964 (2000) North
Atlantic Books. ISBN 978-1556433375
• Suiter, John. Poets on the Peaks (2002) Counterpoint. ISBN 1582431485; ISBN
1-58243-294-5 (pbk)
• Western Literature Assocition. Updating the Literary West (1997) Texas Christian
University Press. ISBN 978-0875651750
• Smith, Eric Todd. Reading Gary Snyder's Mountains and Rivers Without End (1999) Boise
State University. ISBN 978-0884301417
• Stirling, Isabel. Zen Pioneer: The Life & Works of Ruth Fuller Sasaki (2006) Shoemaker
& Hoard. ISBN 978-1-59376-110-3
• A Brief Biography (http:/ / wwwenglish. ucdavis. edu/ faculty/ snyder/ a_brief_biography.
htm)
External links
• Works by or about Gary Snyder (http:/ / worldcat. org/ identities/ lccn-n79-150347) in
libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Lannan Foundation, Wendell Berry and Gary Snyder 2001 (see Wendell Berry entry for
link)
• Gary Snyder - Books, Selected Poems, Prose and Biography - in Russian (http:/ / www.
garysnyderpoems. com)
• Gary Snyder - kerouac Alley multimedia directory (http:/ / www. kerouacalley. com/
snyder. html)
• Shambhala Sun Magazine article "The Wild Mind Of Gary Snyder" by Trevor Carolan
(http:/ / www. shambhalasun. com/ index. php?option=com_content& task=view&
id=2071& Itemid=244)
• "Writers and the War Against Nature" by Gary Snyder in Shambhala Sun Magazine
(http:/ / www. shambhalasun. com/ index. php?option=com_content& task=view&
id=3148& Itemid=247)
• 2007 Public Access TV interview (Nevada County TeleVision), 61 minutes (http:/ / video.
google. com/ videoplay?docid=-7493184569903349861& q="nctv11+ interviews"+
-thevideosense& total=48& start=0& num=10& so=1& type=search& plindex=7)
• "Gary Snyder" (http:/ / digital. boisestate. edu/ u?/ western,29) by Bert Almon from the
Western Writers Series Digital Editions (http:/ / library. boisestate. edu/ westernwriters/ )
at Boise State University
Richard Heinberg 380
Richard Heinberg
Richard Heinberg
Born 1950
Occupation journalist and author
Spouse(s) Janet Barocco
Richard Heinberg is an American journalist and educator who has written extensively on
ecological issues, including oil depletion. He is the author of eight books,[1] including The
Party's Over: Oil, War, and the Fate of Industrial Societies (2003), Powerdown: Options and
Actions for a Post-Carbon World,[2] The Oil Depletion Protocol: A Plan to Avert Oil Wars,
Terrorism and Economic Collapse (2006),[3] and Peak Everything: Waking Up to the
Century of Declines (2007).[4] His ninth book, Blackout: Coal, Climate, and the Last Energy
Crisis was published in June 2009.[5]
In February 2007 Heinberg addressed the Trade Committee of the European Parliament
and served as an advisor to the National Petroleum Council in its report to the U.S.
Secretary of Energy on Peak Oil. In October 2007 he addressed members of the New
Zealand Parliament. Currently he is a Mayor’s appointed member of the Oil Independent
Oakland 2020 [6] Task Force (Oakland, California), which has been convened to chart a path
for the city to dramatically reduce its petroleum dependence.
Heinberg is now a Senior Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute [7] in Sebastopol, California.
He has a Master of Arts degree in Leadership.[8] [9] He lives in Santa Rosa, California and
was a core faculty member of New College of California, until the college closed in March,
2008. He taught a course on Culture, Ecology and Sustainable Community. He is also an
accomplished violinist, illustrator and book designer. He is married to Janet Barocco.
Heinberg has proposed an international protocol to peak oil management with the aim of
reducing the impact of the arrival of the peak.[10] The adoption of the Protocol would mean
that oil-importing nations should deal to reduce their importations in an annual percentage,
while exporting countries should deal to reduce their exportations in the same percentage.
In a similar direction has been focused the Uppsala Protocol.[11]
Heinberg is the editor of Museletter [12], which has been included in Utne Magazine’s
annual list of Best Alternative Newsletters. He has appeared in the documentaries The End
of Suburbia, The 11th Hour, Crude Impact, Oil, Smoke & Mirrors [13], Chasing God [14], →
What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire, The Great Squeeze [15] and The Power of
Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil.
Richard Heinberg 381
See also
• Petrodollar warfare
External links
[16]
• Post Carbon Institute
• 2008 interview on Global Public Media [17] Heinberg on Post Carbon Institute's Green
New Deal
• OneWorldTV video interview with Richard Heinberg [18]
• Interview: (October 21, 2006) The Oil Depletion Protocol [19]
• Interview, July 2006 [20]
• Heinberg's personal website [21]
• Oil, Smoke & Mirrors [13] Contains interviews with Heinberg discussing peak oil.
• Critique of Civilization [22] Paper presented at the 24th annual meeting of the
International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations, June 15, 1995.
• Peak Everything lecture [23] at YouTube
References
[1] Purchase Richard Heinberg's Books | Richard Heinberg's website (http:/ / www. richardheinberg. com/ books)
[2] [http://www.newsociety.com/bookid/3862 New Society Publishers - Powerdown: Options and Actions for a
Post-Carbon World]]
[3] New Society Publishers - The Oil Depletion Protocol (http:/ / www. newsociety. com/ bookid/ 3931)
[4] New Society Publishers - Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines (http:/ / www. newsociety.
com/ bookid/ 3964)
[5] New Society Publishers - Blackout: Coal, Climate, and the Last Energy Crisis (http:/ / www. newsociety. com/
bookid/ 4035)
[6] http:/ / www. oaklandnet. com/ Oil/ default. html
[7] http:/ / www. postcarbon. org/
[8] New College of California (http:/ / www. newcollege. edu/ profiles/ profiledetails. cfm?profileID=53)
[9] Ecoshow speaker Richard Heinberg Peak oil author Powerdown (http:/ / www. ecoshow. co. nz/ Eco+ Forum/
Eco+ forum+ Programme/ Speakers/ Richard+ Heinberg. html)
[10] Oil Depletion Protocol (http:/ / heinberg. wordpress. com/ 2007/ 06/ 01/
182-the-oil-depletion-protocol-an-update/ )
[11] Protocol of Uppsala (http:/ / www. oilcrisis. com/ Uppsala/ )
[12] http:/ / heinberg. wordpress. com/
[13] http:/ / video. google. com/ videoplay?docid=8677389869548020370
[14] http:/ / www. chasinggod. net/ index. php?option=content& task=view& id=11& Itemid=29
[15] http:/ / www. thegreatsqueeze. com/
[16] http:/ / www. postcarbon. org
[17] http:/ / www. globalpublicmedia. com/
reality_report_talking_with_richard_heinberg_about_the_green_new_deal
[18] http:/ / tv. oneworld. net/ article/ view/ 152547
[19] http:/ / www. financialsense. com/ Experts/ 2006/ Heinberg. html
[20] http:/ / www. thesunmagazine. org/ 367_Heinberg. pdf
[21] http:/ / www. richardheinberg. com/
[22] http:/ / www. awok. org/ critique_of_civilization/
[23] http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=ybRz91eimTg
David Abram 382
David Abram
David Abram (born June 24, 1957) is an American cultural ecologist, philosopher, and
performance artist, best known for his work bridging the philosophical tradition of
phenomenology with environmental and ecological issues. He is the founder and creative
director of the Alliance for Wild Ethics (AWE).
Biography
Born on Long Island, Abram grew up among the marshes and creeks that wind through
coastal suburbia. He began practicing sleight-of-hand magic in his late teens, which
sparked his ongoing fascination with perception. In 1976, he began working as "house
magician" at Alice's Restaurant in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, and soon was
performing at clubs throughout New England while studying at Wesleyan University. He
took a year off from college to journey as a street magician through Europe and the Middle
East; toward the end of that journey, in London, he began exploring the application of
sleight-of-hand magic to psychotherapy under the guidance of Dr. R. D. Laing. After
graduating summa cum laude from Wesleyan in 1980, Abram traveled throughout
Southeast Asia, living and studying with indigenous magic practitioners. When he returned
to North America he became a student of natural history and ecology while continuing to
perform in Canada and the United States. A much-reprinted essay written while studying at
the Yale School of Forestry in 1984 — entitled "The Perceptual Implications of Gaia" —
brought Abram into association with the scientists formulating the Gaia Hypothesis, and he
was soon lecturing in tandem with biologist Lynn Margulis and geochemist James Lovelock
in Britain and the United States. In the late nineteen-eighties, Abram turned his attention to
exploring and articulating the decisive influence of language upon the human senses and
upon our sensory experience of the land around us. Abram received a doctorate for this
work from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, in 1993.
Work
David Abram's writing is informed by his work with indigenous peoples, as well as by the
American nature-writing tradition that stems from Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman.
His philosophical work is informed by the European tradition of phenomenology — in
particular, by the work of the French phenomenologist, Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Abram's
work has also been influenced by his friendships with the archetypal psychologist James
Hillman and with the radical social critic, → Ivan Illich — as well as by his esteem for the
American poet → Gary Snyder and the agrarian poet and essayist Wendell Berry. In 1988,
while pursuing his doctorate, David was invited by the maverick ecologist → Paul Shepard
to temporarily fill Shepard's teaching position (while Shepard pursued a year's research
overseas), as visiting professor of ecology and natural philosophy at the Claremont Colleges
in California. Since that time, Abram has offered seminars at universities around the world,
while nonetheless maintaining his independence from the institutional world of academia.
His ideas have on several occasions been debated (sometimes heatedly) within the pages of
Environmental Ethics, an academic journal dedicated to matters of environmental
philosophy.[1] In 2001, the New England Aquarium and the Orion Society sponsored a large
public debate between David Abram and distinguished biologist E. O. Wilson, at Faneuil
Hall in Boston, on science and ethics. (An essay by Abram that grew out of that debate,
David Abram 383
entitled "Earth in Eclipse," has been published in several versions). In the summer of 2005,
Abram delivered a keynote address for the United Nations “World Environment Week” in
San Francisco, to 70 mayors from the largest cities around the world. Abram founded the
Alliance for Wild Ethics with several colleagues in 2006. He is profiled in the 2007 book,
[2]
Visionaries: The 20th Century’s 100 Most Inspirational Leaders The father of two small
children, David Abram lives in northern New Mexico.
Abram is the author of The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a
More-than-Human World,[3] , for which he received the international Lannan Literary
Award for Nonfiction. A storyteller and sleight-of-hand magician who has lived and traded
magic with indigenous medicine people in Indonesia, Nepal, and the Americas, Abram's
essays on the cultural causes and consequences of ecological disarray have appeared in
such journals as Orion, Environmental Ethics, Parabola, Tikkun, Wild Earth, Resurgence,
and The Ecologist, as well as in edited anthologies. Named by the Utne Reader as one of a
hundred visionaries currently transforming the world,[4] Abram has been the recipient of
numerous honors, including fellowships from the Rockefeller and Watson Foundations.
External links
• Alliance for Wild Ethics (AWE) website [5]
[6]
• The Ecology of Magic: chapter excerpt from The Spell of the Sensuous
• The Acoustic Ecology Institute: Speaking with Animal Tongues [7]
• Interview with David Abram [8] on the spell of literacy
References
[1] See, for example, Ted Toadvine, "Limits of the Flesh: The Role of Reflection in David Abram's
Ecophenomenology" and David Abram, "Between the Body and the Breathing Earth: A Reply to Ted Toadvine"
in Environmental Ethics, summer 2005 issue. See also Meg Holden, "Phenomenology versus Pragmatism:
Seeking a Restoration Environmental Ethic." Spring 2001 issue (and Abram's reply in the Fall 2001 issue).
[2] Chelsea Green Press, 2007.
[3] David Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-than-Human World, New York:
Vintage, 2007.
[4] See "100 Visionaries," Utne Reader, Jan/Feb 1995; and "The Loose Canon: 150 Great Works to Set Your
Imagination On Fire," Utne Reader, May/June 1998.
[5] http:/ / www. wildethics. org/
[6] http:/ / www. primitivism. com/ ecology-magic. htm
[7] http:/ / www. acousticecology. org/ writings/ animaltongues. html
[8] http:/ / www. childrenofthecode. org/ interviews/ abram. htm
Mircea Eliade 384
Mircea Eliade
Mircea Eliade
Nationality Romanian
Mircea Eliade (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈmirt ͡ʃe̯a eliˈade]; March 13 [O.S. February 28] 1907 –
April 22, 1986) was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and
professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience,
who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day. His theory that
hierophanies form the basis of religion, splitting the human experience of reality into
sacred and profane space and time, has proven influential.[1] One of his most influential
contributions to religious studies was his theory of Eternal Return, which holds that myths
and rituals do not simply commemorate hierophanies, but, at least to the minds of the
religious, actually participate in them. In academia, the Eternal Return has become one of
the most widely accepted ways of understanding the purpose of myth and ritual.[1]
His literary works belong to the fantasy and autobiographical genres. The best known are
the novels Maitreyi ("La Nuit Bengali" or "Bengal Nights"), Noaptea de Sânziene ("The
Forbidden Forest"), Isabel şi apele diavolului ("Isabel and the Devil's Waters") and the
Novel of the Nearsighted Adolescent, the novellas Domnişoara Christina ("Miss Christina")
and Tinereţe fără tinereţe ("Youth Without Youth"), and the short stories Secretul
doctorului Honigberger ("The Secret of Dr. Honigberger") and La Ţigănci ("With the Gypsy
Girls").
Mircea Eliade 385
Early in his life, Eliade was a noted journalist and essayist, a disciple of Romanian far right
philosopher and journalist Nae Ionescu, and member of the literary society Criterion. He
also served as cultural attaché to the United Kingdom and Portugal. Several times during
the late 1930s, Eliade publicly expressed his support for the Iron Guard, a fascist and
antisemitic political organization. His political involvement at the time, as well as his other
far right connections, were the frequent topic of criticism after World War II.
Remarkable for his vast erudition, Eliade had fluent command of five languages (Romanian,
French, German, Italian, and English) and a reading knowledge of three others (Hebrew,
Persian, and Sanskrit). He was elected a posthumous member of the Romanian Academy.
Biography
Childhood
Born in Bucharest, he was the son of Romanian Land Forces officer Gheorghe Eliade
(whose original surname was Ieremia)[2] [3] and Jeana née Vasilescu.[4] An Orthodox
believer, Gheorghe Eliade registered his son's birth four days before the actual date, to
coincide with the liturgical calendar feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste.[3] Mircea Eliade
had a sister, Corina, the mother of semiologist Sorin Alexandrescu.[5] [6] His family moved
between Tecuci and Bucharest, ultimately settling in the capital in 1914,[2] and purchasing
a house on Melodiei Street, near Piaţa Rosetti, where Mircea Eliade resided until late in his
teens.[6]
Eliade kept a particularly fond memory of his childhood and, later in life, wrote about the
impact various unusual episodes and encounters had on his mind. In one instance during
the World War I Romanian Campaign, when Eliade was about ten years of age, he
witnessed the bombing of Bucharest by German zeppelins and the patriotic fervor in the
occupied capital at news that Romania was able to stop the Central Powers' advance into
Moldavia.[7] He notably described this stage in his life as marked by an unrepeatable
epiphany.[8] [9] Recalling his entrance into a drawing room that an "eerie iridescent light"
had turned into "a fairy-tale palace", he wrote,
"I practiced for many years [the] exercise of recapturing that epiphanic moment,
and I would always find again the same plenitude. I would slip into it as into a
fragment of time devoid of duration—without beginning, middle, or end. During
my last years of lycée, when I struggled with profound attacks of melancholy, I
still succeeded at times in returning to the golden green light of that afternoon.
[...] But even though the beatitude was the same, it was now impossible to bear
because it aggravated my sadness too much. By this time I knew the world to
which the drawing room belonged [...] was a world forever lost."[10]
Robert Ellwood, a professor of religion who did his graduate studies under Mircea
Eliade,[11] saw this type of nostalgia for the past as one of the most characteristic themes in
Eliade's life and academic writings.[9]
Mircea Eliade 386
Eliade's scholarly works began after a long period of study in British India, at the University
of Calcutta. Finding that the Maharaja of Kassimbazar sponsored European scholars to
study in India, Eliade applied and was granted an allowance for four years, which was later
doubled by a Romanian scholarship.[17] In autumn 1928, he sailed for Calcutta to study
Sanskrit and philosophy under Surendranath Dasgupta, a Bengali Cambridge alumnus and
professor at Calcutta University, the author of a five volume History of Indian Philosophy.
Before reaching the Indian subcontinent, Eliade also made a brief visit to Egypt.[2] Once
there, he visited large areas of the region, and spent a short period at a Himalayan
ashram.[18]
He studied the basics of Indian philosophy, and, in parallel, learned Sanskrit, Pali and
Bengali under Dasgupta's direction.[19] At the time, he also became interested in the
actions of Mahatma Gandhi, whom he met personally,[20] and the Satyagraha as a
phenomenon; later, Eliade adapted Gandhist ideas in his discourse on spirituality and
Romania.[20] In 1930, while living with Dasgupta, Eliade fell in love with his daughter,
Maitreyi Devi, later writing a barely-disguised autobiographical novel Maitreyi (also known
as "La Nuit Bengali" or "Bengal Nights"), in which he claimed that he carried on a physical
relationship with her.[21]
Eliade received his PhD in 1933, with a thesis on Yoga practices.[3] [6] [22] [23] The book,
which was translated into French three years later,[24] had significant impact in academia,
both in Romania and abroad.[6] He later recalled that the book was an early step for
understanding not just Indian religious practices, but also Romanian spirituality.[25] During
the same period, Eliade began a correspondence with the Ceylonese-born philosopher
Ananda Coomaraswamy.[26] In 1936-1937, he functioned as honorary assistant for Ionescu's
course, lecturing in Metaphysics.[27]
In 1933, Mircea Eliade had a physical relationship with the actress Sorana Ţopa, while
falling in love with Nina Mareş, whom he ultimately married.[5] [6] [28] The latter, introduced
to him by his new friend Mihail Sebastian, already had a daughter, Giza, from a man who
had divorced her.[6] Eliade subsequently adopted Giza,[29] and the three of them moved to
an apartment at 141 Dacia Boulevard.[6] He left his residence in 1936, during a trip he
made to the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany, when he first visited London, Oxford and
Berlin.[2]
Church"),[45] which he opposed to, among others, the secular nationalism of Constantin
Rădulescu-Motru;[46] referring to this particular ideal as "Romanianism", Eliade was, in
1934, still viewing it as "neither fascism, nor chauvinism".[47] Eliade was especially
dissatisfied with the incidence of unemployment among intellectuals, whose careers in
[48]
state-financed institutions had been rendered uncertain by the Great Depression.
In 1936, Eliade was the focus of a campaign in the far right press, being targeted for having
authored "pornography" in his Domnişoara Christina and Isabel şi apele diavolului (similar
accusations were aimed at other cultural figures, including Tudor Arghezi and Geo
Bogza).[49] Assessments of Eliade's work were in sharp contrast to one another: also in
1936, Eliade accepted an award from the Romanian Writers' Society, of which he had been
a member since 1934.[50] In summer 1937, through an official decision which came as a
result of the accusations, and despite student protests, he was stripped of his position at
the University.[51] Eliade decided to sue the Ministry of Education, asking for a symbolic
compensation of 1 leu.[52] He won the trial, and regained his position as Nae Ionescu's
assistant.[53]
Nevertheless, by 1937, he gave his intellectual support to the Iron Guard, in which he saw
"a Christian revolution aimed at creating a new Romania",[54] and a group able "to reconcile
Romania with God".[55] His articles of the time, published in Iron Guard papers such as
Sfarmă Piatră and Buna Vestire, contain ample praises of the movement's leaders (Corneliu
Zelea Codreanu, Ion Moţa, Vasile Marin, and Gheorghe Cantacuzino-Grănicerul).[56] [57] The
transition he went through was similar to that of his fellow generation members and close
collaborators—among the notable exceptions to this rule were Petru Comarnescu,
sociologist Henri H. Stahl and future dramatist Eugène Ionesco, as well as Sebastian.[58]
He eventually enrolled in the Totul pentru Ţară ("Everything for the Fatherland" Party), the
political expression of the Iron Guard,[3] [59] and contributed to its 1937 electoral campaign
in Prahova County—as indicated by his inclusion on a list of party members with
county-level responsibilities (published in Buna Vestire).[60]
Romanian state.[28] In February 1941, weeks after the bloody Legionary Rebellion was
crushed by Antonescu, Iphigenia was staged by the National Theater Bucharest—the play
soon raised doubts that it owed inspiration to the Iron Guard's ideology, and even that its
inclusion in the program was a Legionary attempt at subversion.[32]
In 1942, Eliade authored a volume in praise of the Estado Novo, established in Portugal by
António de Oliveira Salazar,[67] [68] [69] claiming that "The Salazarian state, a Christian and
totalitarian one, is first and foremost based on love".[68] On July 7 of the same year, he was
received by Salazar himself, who asked assigned Eliade the task of warning Antonescu to
withdraw the Romanian Army from the Eastern Front ("[In his place], I would not be
grinding it in Russia").[70] Eliade also claimed that such contacts with the leader of a
neutral country had made him the target for Gestapo surveillance, but that he had managed
to communicate Salazar's advice to Mihai Antonescu, Romania's Foreign Minister.[20] [70]
In autumn 1943, he traveled to occupied France, where he rejoined Emil Cioran, also
meeting with scholar Georges Dumézil and the collaborationist writer Paul Morand.[28] At
the same time, he applied for a position of lecturer at the University of Bucharest, but
withdrew from the race, leaving Constantin Noica and Ion Zamfirescu to dispute the
position, in front of a panel of academics comprising Lucian Blaga and Dimitrie Gusti
(Zamfirescu's eventual selection, going against Blaga's recommendation, was to be the
topic of a controversy).[71] In his private notes, Eliade wrote that he took no further interest
in the office, because his visits abroad had convinced him that he had "something great to
say", and that he could not function within the confines of "a minor culture".[28] Also during
the war, Eliade traveled to Berlin, where he met and conversed with controversial political
theorist Carl Schmitt,[6] [28] and frequently visited Francoist Spain, where he notably
attended the 1944 Lusitano-Spanish scientific congress in Córdoba.[28] [72] [73] It was during
his trips to Spain that Eliade met philosophers José Ortega y Gasset and Eugeni d'Ors. He
maintained a friendship with d'Ors, and met him again on several occasions after the
war.[72]
Nina Eliade fell ill with uterine cancer and died during their stay in Lisbon, in late 1944. As
the widower later wrote, the disease was probably caused by an abortion procedure she
[28]
had undergone at an early stage of their relationship. He came to suffer with clinical
depression, which increased as Romania and her Axis allies suffered major defeats on the
Eastern Front.[28] [73] Contemplating a return to Romania as a soldier or a monk,[28] he was
on a continuous search for effective antidepressants, medicating himself with passion
flower extract, and, eventually, with methamphetamine.[73] This was probably not his first
experience with drugs: vague mentions in his notebooks have been read as indication that
Mircea Eliade was taking opium during his travels to Calcutta.[73] Later, discussing the
works of Aldous Huxley, Eliade wrote that the British author's use of mescaline as a source
of inspiration had something in common with his own experience, indicating 1945 as a date
of reference and adding that it was "needless to explain why that is".[73]
Early exile
At signs that the Romanian communist regime was about to take hold, Eliade opted not to
return to the country. On September 16, 1945, he moved to France with his adoptive
daughter Giza.[2] [28] Once there, he resumed contacts with Dumézil, who helped him
recover his position in academia.[6] On Dumézil's recommendation, he taught at the École
Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris.[29] It was estimated that, at the time, it was not
Mircea Eliade 391
uncommon for him to work 15 hours a day.[23] Eliade married a second time, to the
Romanian exile Christinel Cotescu.[6] [74] His second wife, the descendant of boyars, was
the sister-in-law of prestigious conductor Ionel Perlea.[74]
Together with Emil Cioran and other Romanian expatriates, Eliade rallied with the former
diplomat Alexandru Busuioceanu, helping him publicize anti-communist opinion to the
Western European public.[75] He was also briefly involved in publishing a
Romanian-language magazine, titled Luceafărul ("The Morning Star"),[75] and was again in
contact with Mihail Şora, who had been granted a scholarship to study in France, and by
Şora's wife Mariana.[29] In 1947, he was facing material constraints, and Ananda
Coomaraswamy found him a job as a French-language teacher in the United States, at a
school in Arizona; the arrangement ended upon Coomaraswamy's death in September.[76]
Beginning in 1948, he was a collaborator for the journal Critique, edited by French thinker
Georges Bataille.[2] The following year, he went on a visit to Italy, where he wrote the first
300 pages of his novel Noaptea de Sânziene (he visited the country a third time in 1952).[2]
He collaborated with Carl Jung and the Eranos circle after Henry Corbin recommended him
in 1949,[77] and wrote for the Antaios magazine (edited by Ernst Jünger).[23] In 1950, Eliade
began attending Eranos conferences, meeting Jung, Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn, Gershom Scholem
and Paul Radin.[78] He described Eranos as "one of the most creative cultural experiences
of the modern Western world."[79]
In October 1956, he moved to the United States, settling in Chicago the following year.[2] [6]
He had been invited by Joachim Wach to give a series of lectures at Wach's home
institution, the University of Chicago.[80] Eliade and Wach are generally admitted to be the
founders of the "Chicago school" that basically defined the study of religions for the second
half of the 20th century.[81] Upon Wach's death before the lectures were delivered, Eliade
was appointed as his replacement, becoming, in 1964, the Sewell Avery Distinguished
Service Professor of the History of Religions.[2] Beginning in 1954, with the first edition of
his volume on Eternal Return, Eliade also enjoyed commercial success: the book went
through several editions under different titles, which sold over 100,000 copies.[82]
In 1966, Mircea Eliade became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[2]
He also worked as editor-in-chief of Macmillan Publishers' Encyclopedia of Religion, and, in
1968, lectured in religious history at the University of California, Santa Barbara.[83] It was
also during that period that Mircea Eliade completed his voluminous and influential History
of Religious Ideas, which grouped together the overviews of his main original
interpretations of religious history.[6] He occasionally traveled out of the United States,
notably attending the Congress for the History of Religions in Marburg (1960) and visiting
Sweden and Norway (1970).[2]
Securitate, also portrayed Eliade as a spy for the British Secret Intelligence Service and a
former agent of the Gestapo.[86]
He was slowly rehabilitated at home beginning in the early 1960s, under the rule of
Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej.[87] In the 1970s, Eliade was approached by the Nicolae
Ceauşescu regime in several ways, in order to have him return.[6] The move was prompted
by the officially-sanctioned nationalism and Romania's claim to independence from the
Eastern Bloc, as both phenomena came to see Eliade's prestige as an asset. An
unprecedented event occurred with the interview that was granted by Mircea Eliade to poet
Adrian Păunescu, during the latter's 1970 visit to Chicago; Eliade complimented both
Păunescu's activism and his support for official tenets, expressing a belief that
"the youth of Eastern Europe is clearly superior to that of Western Europe. [...] I am
convinced that, within ten years, the young revolutionary generation shan't be
behaving as does today the noisy minority of Western contesters. [...] Eastern youth
have seen the abolition of traditional institutions, have accepted it [...] and are not yet
content with the structures enforced, but rather seek to improve them".[88]
Păunescu's visit to Chicago was followed by those of the nationalist official writer Eugen
Barbu and by Eliade's friend Constantin Noica (who had since been released from jail).[57]
At the time, Eliade contemplated returning to Romania, but was eventually persuaded by
fellow Romanian intellectuals in exile (including Radio Free Europe's Virgil Ierunca and
Monica Lovinescu) to reject Communist proposals.[57] In 1977, he joined other exiled
Romanian intellectuals in signing a telegram protesting the repressive measures newly
enforced by the Ceauşescu regime.[3] Writing in 2007, Romanian anthropologist Andrei
Oişteanu recounted how, around 1984, the Securitate unsuccessfully pressured to become
an agent of influence in Eliade's Chicagoan circle.[89]
During his later years, Eliade's fascist past was progressively exposed publicly, the stress of
which probably contributed to the decline of his health.[3] By then, his writing career was
hampered by severe arthritis.[29] The last academic honors bestowed upon him were the
French Academy's Bordin Prize (1977) and the title of Doctor Honoris Causa, granted by
the University of Washington (1985).[2]
Mircea Eliade died at the Bernard Mitchell Hospital in April 1986. Eight days previously, he
suffered a stroke while reading Emil Cioran's Exercises of Admiration, and had
subsequently lost his speech function.[8] Four months before, a fire had destroyed part of
his office at the Meadville Lombard Theological School (an event which he had interpreted
as an omen).[3] [8] Eliade's Romanian disciple Ioan Petru Culianu, who recalled the scientific
community's reaction to the news, described Eliade's death as "a mahaparanirvana", thus
comparing it to the passing of Gautama Buddha.[8] His body was cremated in Chicago, and
the funeral ceremony was held on University grounds, at the Rockefeller Chapel.[2] [8] It
was attended by 1,200 people, and included a public reading of Eliade's text in which he
recalled the epiphany of his childhood—the lecture was given by novelist Saul Bellow,
Eliade's colleague at the University.[8]
Mircea Eliade 393
The scholar
Coincidentia oppositorum
Eliade claims that many myths, rituals, and mystical experiences involve a "coincidence of
opposites", or coincidentia oppositorum. In fact, he calls the coincidentia oppositorum "the
mythical pattern".[112] Many myths, Eliade notes, "present us with a twofold revelation":
"they express on the one hand the diametrical opposition of two divine figures
sprung from one and the same principle and destined, in many versions, to be
reconciled at some illud tempus of eschatology, and on the other, the coincidentia
oppositorum in the very nature of the divinity, which shows itself, by turns or
even simultaneously, benevolent and terrible, creative and destructive, solar and
serpentine, and so on (in other words, actual and potential)."[113]
Eliade argues that "Yahweh is both kind and wrathful; the God of the Christian mystics and
theologians is terrible and gentle at once".[114] He also thought that the Indian and Chinese
mystic tried to attain "a state of perfect indifference and neutrality" that resulted in a
coincidence of opposites in which "pleasure and pain, desire and repulsion, cold and heat
[...] are expunged from his awareness".[114]
According to Eliade, the coincidentia oppositorum’s appeal lies in "man's deep
dissatisfaction with his actual situation, with what is called the human condition".[115] In
Mircea Eliade 396
many mythologies, the end of the mythical age involves a "fall", a fundamental "ontological
change in the structure of the World".[116] Because the coincidentia oppositorum is a
contradiction, it represents a denial of the world's current logical structure, a reversal of
the "fall".
Also, traditional man's dissatisfaction with the post-mythical age expresses itself as a
feeling of being "torn and separate".[115] In many mythologies, the lost mythical age was a
Paradise, "a paradoxical state in which the contraries exist side by side without conflict,
and the multiplications form aspects of a mysterious Unity".[116] The coincidentia
oppositorum expresses a wish to recover the lost unity of the mythical Paradise, for it
presents a reconciliation of opposites and the unification of diversity:
"On the level of pre-systematic thought, the mystery of totality embodies man's
endeavor to reach a perspective in which the contraries are abolished, the Spirit
of Evil reveals itself as a stimulant of Good, and Demons appear as the night
aspect of the Gods."[116]
However, Judaism and Christianity do not see time as a circle endlessly turning on itself;
nor do they see such a cycle as desirable, as a way to participate in the Sacred. Instead,
these religions embrace the concept of linear history progressing toward the Messianic Age
or the Last Judgment, thus initiating the idea of "progress" (humans are to work for a
Paradise in the future).[118] However, Eliade's understanding of Judaeo-Christian
eschatology can also be understood as cyclical in that the "end of time" is a return to God:
"The final catastrophe will put an end to history, hence will restore man to eternity and
Mircea Eliade 397
beatitude".[119]
The pre-Islamic Persian religion of Zoroastrianism, which made a notable "contribution to
the religious formation of the West",[120] also has a linear sense of time. According to
Eliade, the Hebrews had a linear sense of time before being influenced by
Zoroastrianism.[120] In fact, Eliade identifies the Hebrews, not the Zoroastrians, as the first
culture to truly "valorize" historical time, the first to see all major historical events as
episodes in a continuous divine revelation.[121] However, Eliade argues, Judaism elaborated
its mythology of linear time by adding elements borrowed from Zoroastrianism—including
ethical dualism, a savior figure, the future resurrection of the body, and the idea of cosmic
progress toward "the final triumph of Good".[120]
The Dharmic religions of the East generally retain a cyclic view of time—for instance, the
Hindu doctrine of kalpas. According to Eliade, most religions that accept the cyclic view of
time also embrace it: they see it as a way to return to the sacred time. However, in
Buddhism, Jainism, and some forms of Hinduism, the Sacred lies outside the flux of the
material world (called maya, or "illusion"), and one can only reach it by escaping from the
cycles of time.[122] Because the Sacred lies outside cyclic time, which conditions humans,
people can only reach the Sacred by escaping the human condition. According to Eliade,
Yoga techniques aim at escaping the limitations of the body, allowing the soul (atman) to
rise above maya and reach the Sacred (nirvana, moksha). Imagery of "freedom", and of
death to one's old body and rebirth with a new body, occur frequently in Yogic texts,
representing escape from the bondage of the temporal human condition.[123] Eliade
discusses these themes in detail in Yoga: Immortality and Freedom.
Mircea Eliade 398
According to the logic of the eternal return, the site of each such symbolic Center will
actually be the Center of the World:
"It may be said, in general, that the majority of the sacred and ritual trees that we
meet with in the history of religions are only replicas, imperfect copies of this
exemplary archetype, the Cosmic Tree. Thus, all these sacred trees are thought of
as situated at the Centre of the World, and all the ritual trees or posts [...] are, as
it were, magically projected into the Centre of the World."[131]
According to Eliade's interpretation, religious man apparently feels the need to live not only
near, but at, the mythical Center as much as possible, given that the Center is the point of
communication with the Sacred.[132]
Thus, Eliade argues, many traditional societies share common outlines in their mythical
geographies. In the middle of the known world is the sacred Center, "a place that is sacred
above all";[133] this Center anchors the established order.[134] Around the sacred Center lies
Mircea Eliade 399
the known world, the realm of established order; and beyond the known world is a chaotic
and dangerous realm, "peopled by ghosts, demons, [and] 'foreigners' (who are [identified
with] demons and the souls of the dead)".[135] According to Eliade, traditional societies
place their known world at the Center because (from their perspective) their known world
is the realm that obeys a recognizable order, and it therefore must be the realm in which
the Sacred manifests itself; the regions beyond the known world, which seem strange and
foreign, must lie far from the Center, outside the order established by the Sacred.[136]
Shamanism
Overview
"he is believed to cure, like all doctors, and to perform miracles of the fakir type,
like all magicians [...] But beyond this, he is a psychopomp, and he may also be a
priest, mystic, and poet".[153]
If we define shamanism this way, Eliade claims, we find that the term covers a collection of
phenomena that share a common and unique "structure" and "history".[154] (When thus
defined, shamanism tends to occur in its purest forms in → hunting and pastoral societies
like those of Siberia and Central Asia, which revere a celestial High God "on the way to
becoming a deus otiosus".[155] Eliade takes the shamanism of those regions as his most
representative example.)
In his examinations of shamanism, Eliade emphasizes the shaman's attribute of regaining
man's condition before the "Fall" out of sacred time: "The most representative mystical
experience of the archaic societies, that of shamanism, betrays the Nostalgia for Paradise,
the desire to recover the state of freedom and beatitude before 'the Fall'."[156] This
concern—which, by itself, is the concern of almost all religious behavior, according to
Eliade—manifests itself in specific ways in shamanism.
rebirth on a more symbolic level: in many hunting and herding societies, the bone
represents the source of life, so reduction to a skeleton "is equivalent to re-entering the
womb of this primordial life, that is, to a complete renewal, a mystical rebirth".[159] Eliade
considers this return to the source of life essentially equivalent to the eternal return.[160]
Third, the shamanistic phenomenon of repeated death and resurrection also represents a
transfiguration in other ways. The shaman dies not once but many times: having died
during initiation and risen again with new powers, the shaman can send his spirit out of his
body on errands; thus, his whole career consists of repeated deaths and resurrections. The
shaman's new ability to die and return to life shows that he is no longer bound by the laws
of profane time, particularly the law of death: "the ability to 'die' and come to life again [...]
denotes that [the shaman] has surpassed the human condition".[161]
Having risen above the human condition, the shaman is not bound by the flow of history.
Therefore, he enjoys the conditions of the mythical age. In many myths, humans can speak
with animals; and, after their initiations, many shamans claim to be able to communicate
with animals. According to Eliade, this is one manifestation of the shaman's return to "the
illud tempus described to us by the paradisiac myths".[162]
The shaman can descend to the underworld or ascend to heaven, often by climbing the
World Tree, the cosmic pillar, the sacred ladder, or some other form of the axis mundi.[163]
Often, the shaman will ascend to heaven to speak with the High God. Because the gods
(particularly the High God, according to Eliade's deus otiosus concept) were closer to
humans during the mythical age, the shaman's easy communication with the High God
represents an abolition of history and a return to the mythical age.[164]
Because of his ability to communicate with the gods and descend to the land of the dead,
the shaman frequently functions as a psychopomp and a medicine man.[165]
Eliade's philosophy
Early contributions
In addition to his political essays, the young Mircea Eliade authored ones philosophical in
content. Connected with the ideology of Trăirism, they were often prophetic in tone, and
saw Eliade being hailed as a herald by various representatives of his generation.[7] When
Eliade was 21 years old and publishing his Itinerar spiritual, literary critic Şerban
Cioculescu described him as "the column leader of the spiritually mystical and Orthodox
youth."[7] Cioculescu discussed his "impressive erudition", but argued that it was
"occasionally plethoric, poetically inebriating itself through abuse".[7] Cioculescu's
colleague Perpessicius saw the young author and his generation as marked by "the specter
of war", a notion he connected to various essays of the 1920s and 30s in which Eliade
threatened the world with the verdict that a new conflict was looming (while asking that
young people be allowed to manifest their will and fully experience freedom before
perishing).[7]
One of Eliade's noted contributions in this respect was the 1932 Soliloquii ("Soliloquies"),
which explored existential philosophy. George Călinescu who saw in it "an echo of Nae
Ionescu's lectures",[166] traced a parallel with the essays of another of Ionescu's disciples,
Emil Cioran, while noting that Cioran's were "of a more exulted tone and written in the
aphoristic form of Kierkegaard".[167] Călinescu recorded Eliade's rejection of objectivity,
citing the author's stated indifference towards any "naivite" or "contradictions" that the
Mircea Eliade 402
reader could possibly reproach him, as well as his dismissive thoughts of "theoretical data"
and mainstream philosophy in general (Eliade saw the latter as "inert, infertile and
pathogenic").[166] Eliade thus argued, "a sincere brain is unassailable, for it denies itself to
any relationship with outside truths."[168]
The young writer was however careful to clarify that the existence he took into
consideration was not the life of "instincts and personal idiosyncrasies", which he believed
determined the lives of many humans, but that of a distinct set comprising
"personalities".[168] He described "personalities" as characterized by both "purpose" and "a
much more complicated and dangerous alchemy".[168] This differentiation, George
Călinescu believed, echoed Ionescu's metaphor of man, seen as "the only animal who can
fail at living", and the duck, who "shall remain a duck no matter what it does".[169]
According to Eliade, the purpose of personalities is infinity: "consciously and gloriously
bringing [existence] to waste, into as many skies as possible, continuously fulfilling and
polishing oneself, seeking ascent and not circumference."[168]
In Eliade's view, two roads await man in this process. One is glory, determined by either
work or procreation, and the other the asceticism of religion or magic—both, Călinescu
believed, where aimed at reaching the absolute, even in those cases where Eliade described
the latter as an "abyssal experience" into which man may take the plunge.[166] The critic
pointed out that the addition of "a magical solution" to the options taken into consideration
seemed to be Eliade's own original contributions to his mentor's philosophy, and proposed
that it may have owed inspiration to Julius Evola and his disciples.[166] He also recorded
that Eliade applied this concept to human creation, and specifically to artistic creation,
citing him describing the latter as "a magical joy, the victorious break of the iron circle" (a
reflection of imitatio dei, having salvation for its ultimate goal).[166]
Philosopher of religion
"When the Son of God incarnated and became the Christ, he had to speak
Aramaic; he could only conduct himself as a Hebrew of his times [...] His religious
message, however universal it might be, was conditioned by the past and present
history of the Hebrew people. If the Son of God had been born in India, his spoken
language would have had to conform itself to the structure of the Indian
languages."[173]
However, Eliade argues against those he calls "historicist or existentialist philosophers"
who do not recognize "man in general" behind particular men produced by particular
situations[173] (Eliade cites Immanuel Kant as the likely forerunner of this kind of
"historicism").[174] He adds that human consciousness transcends (is not reducible to) its
historical and cultural conditioning,[175] and even suggests the possibility of a
"transconscious".[176] By this, Eliade does not necessarily mean anything supernatural or
mystical: within the "transconscious", he places religious motifs, symbols, images, and
nostalgias that are supposedly universal and whose causes therefore cannot be reduced to
historical and cultural conditioning.[177]
Eliade indicates that, if repetitions of mythical events provided sacred value and meaning
for history in the eyes of ancient man, modern man has denied the Sacred and must
therefore invent value and purpose on his own. Without the Sacred to confer an absolute,
objective value upon historical events, modern man is left with "a relativistic or nihilistic
view of history" and a resulting "spiritual aridity".[203] In chapter 4 ("The Terror of History")
of The Myth of the Eternal Return and chapter 9 ("Religious Symbolism and the Modern
Man's Anxiety") of Myths, Dreams, and Mysteries, Eliade argues at length that the rejection
of religious thought is a primary cause of modern man's anxieties.
In Eliade's view, traditional man sees time as an endless repetition of mythical archetypes.
In contrast, modern man has abandoned mythical archetypes and entered linear, historical
time—in this context, unlike many other religions, Christianity attributes value to historical
time. Thus, Eliade concludes, "Christianity incontestably proves to be the religion of 'fallen
man'", of modern man who has lost "the paradise of archetypes and repetition".[220]
Mircea Eliade 408
Overgeneralization
Eliade cites a wide variety of myths and rituals to support his theories. However, he has
been accused of making over-generalizations: many scholars think he lacks sufficient
evidence to put forth his ideas as universal, or even general, principles of religious thought.
According to one scholar, "Eliade may have been the most popular and influential
contemporary historian of religion", but "many, if not most, specialists in anthropology,
sociology, and even history of religions have either ignored or quickly dismissed" Eliade's
works.[234]
The classicist G. S. Kirk criticizes Eliade's insistence that Australian Aborigines and ancient
Mesopotamians had concepts of "being", "non-being", "real", and "becoming", although they
lacked words for them. Kirk also believes that Eliade overextends his theories: for example,
Eliade claims that the modern myth of the "noble savage" results from the religious
tendency to idealize the primordial, mythical age.[235] According to Kirk, "such
extravagances, together with a marked repetitiousness, have made Eliade unpopular with
many anthropologists and sociologists".[236] In Kirk's view, Eliade derived his theory of
eternal return from the functions of Australian Aboriginal mythology and then proceeded to
apply the theory to other mythologies to which it did not apply. For example, Kirk argues
that the eternal return does not accurately describe the functions of Native American or
Greek mythology.[237] Kirk concludes, "Eliade's idea is a valuable perception about certain
myths, not a guide to the proper understanding of all of them".[238]
Even Wendy Doniger, Eliade's successor at the University of Chicago, claims (in an
introduction to Eliade's own Shamanism) that the eternal return does not apply to all myths
and rituals, although it may apply to many of them.[1] However, although Doniger agrees
that Eliade made over-generalizations, she notes that his willingness to "argue boldly for
universals" allowed him to see patterns "that spanned the entire globe and the whole of
human history".[239] Whether they were true or not, she argues, Eliade's theories are still
useful "as starting points for the comparative study of religion". She also argues that
Eliade's theories have been able to accommodate "new data to which Eliade did not have
access".[240]
In contrast, Professor Kees W. Bolle of the University of California, Los Angeles argues that
"Professor Eliade's approach, in all his works, is empirical":[244] Bolle sets Eliade apart for
what he sees as Eliade's particularly close "attention to the various particular motifs" of
different myths.[244] French researcher Daniel Dubuisson places doubt on Eliade's
scholarship and its scientific character, citing the Romanian academic's alleged refusal to
accept the treatment of religions in their historical and cultural context, and proposing that
Eliade's notion of hierophany refers to the actual existence of a supernatural level.[67]
Ronald Inden, a historian of India and University of Chicago professor, criticized Mircea
Eliade, alongside other intellectual figures (Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell among them),
for an encouraging a "romantic view" of Hinduism.[245] He argued that their approach to
the subject relied mainly on an Orientalist approach, and made Hinduism seem like "a
private realm of the imagination and the religious which modern, Western man lacks but
needs."[245]
sometimes been, he claims, the three mythologists were often "apolitical if not antipolitical,
scorning any this-worldly salvation".[253] Moreover, the connection between mythology and
politics differs for each of the mythologists in question: in Eliade's case, Ellwood believes, a
strong sense of nostalgia ("for childhood, for historical times past, for cosmic religion, for
[254]
paradise"), influenced not only the scholar's academic interests, but also his political
views.
Because Eliade stayed out of politics during his later life, Ellwood tries to extract an
implicit political philosophy from Eliade's scholarly works. Ellwood argues that the later
Eliade's nostalgia for ancient traditions did not make him a political reactionary, even a
quiet one. He concludes that the later Eliade was, in fact, a "radical modernist".[255]
According to Ellwood,
"Those who see Eliade's fascination with the primordial as merely reactionary in
the ordinary political or religious sense of the word do not understand the mature
Eliade in a sufficiently radical way. [...] Tradition was not for him exactly Burkean
'prescription' or sacred trust to be kept alive generation after generation, for
Eliade was fully aware that tradition, like men and nations, lives only by changing
and even occultation. The tack is not to try fruitlessly to keep it unchanging, but
to discover where it is hiding."[256]
According to Eliade, religious elements survive in secular culture, but in new,
"camouflaged" forms.[257] Thus, Ellwood believes that the later Eliade probably thought
modern man should preserve elements of the past, but should not try to restore their
original form through reactionary politics.[258] He suspects that Eliade would have favored
"a minimal rather than a maximalist state" that would allow personal spiritual
transformation without enforcing it.[259]
Many scholars have accused Eliade of "essentialism", a type of over-generalization in which
one incorrectly attributes a common "essence" to a whole group—in this case, all "religious"
or "traditional" societies. Furthermore, some see a connection between Eliade's
essentialism with regard to religion and fascist essentialism with regard to races and
nations.[260] To Ellwood, this connection "seems rather tortured, in the end amounting to
little more than an ad hominem argument which attempts to tar Eliade's entire [scholarly]
work with the ill-repute all decent people feel for storm troopers and the Iron Guard".[261]
However, Ellwood admits that common tendencies in "mythological thinking" may have
caused Eliade, as well as Jung and Campbell, to view certain groups in an "essentialist"
way, and that this may explain their purported antisemitism: "A tendency to think in
generic terms of peoples, races, religions, or parties, which as we shall see is undoubtedly
the profoundest flaw in mythological thinking, including that of such modern mythologists
as our three, can connect with nascent anti-Semitism, or the connection can be the other
way."[262]
Literary works
Generic traits
Many of Mircea Eliade's literary works, in particular his earliest ones, are noted for their
eroticism and their focus on subjective experience. Modernist in style, they have drawn
comparisons to the contemporary writings of Mihail Sebastian,[263] I. Valerian,[264] and Ion
Biberi.[265] Alongside Honoré de Balzac and Giovanni Papini, his literary passions included
Mircea Eliade 412
Aldous Huxley and Miguel de Unamuno,[29] as well as André Gide.[7] Eliade also read with
interest the prose of Romain Rolland, Henrik Ibsen, and the Enlightenment thinkers
Voltaire and Denis Diderot.[7] As a youth, he read the works of Romanian authors such as
Liviu Rebreanu and Panait Istrati; initially, he was also interested in Ionel Teodoreanu's
[7]
prose works, but later rejected them and criticized their author.
Investigating the works' main characteristics, George Călinescu stressed that Eliade owed
much of his style to the direct influence of French author André Gide, concluding that,
alongside Camil Petrescu and a few others, Eliade was among Gide's leading disciples in
Romanian literature.[4] He commented that, like Gide, Eliade believed that the artist "does
not take a stand, but experiences good and evil while setting himself free from both,
maintaining an intact curiosity."[4] A specific aspect of this focus on experience is sexual
experimentation—Călinescu notes that Eliade's fiction works tend to depict a male figure
"possessing all practicable women in [a given] family".[266] He also considered that, as a
rule, Eliade depicts woman as "a basic means for a sexual experience and repudiated with
harsh egotism."[266]
For Călinescu, such a perspective on life culminated in "banality", leaving authors gripped
by the "cult of the self" and "a contempt for literature".[4] Polemically, Călinescu proposed
that Mircea Eliade's supposed focus on "aggressive youth" and served to instill his interwar
Romanian writers with the idea that they had a common destiny as a generation apart.[4]
He also commented that, when set in Romania, Mircea Eliade's stories lacked the
"perception of immediate reality", and, analyzing the non-traditional names the writer
tended to ascribe to his Romanian characters, that they did not depict "specificity".[267]
Additionally, in Călinescu's view, Eliade's stories were often "sensationalist compositions of
the illustrated magazine kind."[268] Mircea Eliade's assessment of his own pre-1940 literary
contributions oscillated between expressions of pride[28] and the bitter verdict that they
were written for "an audience of little ladies and high school students".[66]
A secondary but unifying feature present in most of Eliade's stories is their setting, a
magical and part-fictional Bucharest.[6] In part, they also serve to illustrate or allude to
Eliade's own research in the field of religion, as well as to the concepts he introduced.[6]
Thus, commentators such as Matei Călinescu and Carmen Muşat have also argued that a
main characteristic of Eliade's fantasy prose is a substitution between the supernatural and
the mundane: in this interpretation, Eliade turns the daily world into an incomprehensible
place, while the intrusive supernatural aspect promises to offer the sense of life.[269] The
notion was in turn linked to Eliade's own thoughts on transcendence, and in particular his
idea that, once "camouflaged" in life or history, miracles become "unrecognizable".[269]
initiator of a twelve-year old girl and the lover of a much older woman, the character also
attempts to seduce Isabel. Although she falls in love, the young woman does not give in to
his pressures, but eventually allows herself to be abused and impregnated by another
character, letting the object of her affection know that she had thought of him all along.[271]
One of Eliade's best-known works, the novel Maitreyi, dwells on Eliade's own experience,
comprising camouflaged details of his relationships with Surendranath Dasgupta and
Dasgupta's daughter Maitreyi Devi. The main character, Allan, is an Englishman who visits
the Indian engineer Narendra Sen and courts his daughter, herself known as Maitreyi. The
narrative is again built on "notebooks" to which Allan adds his comments. This technique
Călinescu describes as "boring", and its result "cynical".[271]
Allan himself stands alongside Eliade's male characters, whose focus is on action, sensation
and experience—his chaste contacts with Maitreyi are encouraged by Sen, who hopes for a
marriage which is nonetheless abhorred by his would-be European son-in-law.[271] Instead,
Allan is fascinated to discover Maitreyi's Oriental version of Platonic love, marked by
spiritual attachment more than by physical contact.[272] However, their affair soon after
turns physical, and she decides to attach herself to Allan as one would to a husband, in
what is an informal and intimate wedding ceremony (which sees her vowing her love and
invoking an earth goddess as the seal of union).[267] Upon discovering this, Narendra Sen
becomes enraged, rejecting their guest and keeping Maitreyi in confinement. As a result,
his daughter decides to have intercourse with a lowly stranger, becoming pregnant in the
hope that her parents would consequently allow her to marry her lover. However, the story
also casts doubt on her earlier actions, reflecting rumors that Maitreyi was not a virgin at
the time she and Allan first met, which also seems to expose her father as a hypocrite.[267]
George Călinescu objected to the narrative, arguing that both the physical affair and the
father's rage seemed artificial, while commenting that Eliade placing doubt on his Indian
characters' honesty had turned the plot into a piece of "ethnological humor".[267] Noting
that the work developed on a classical theme of miscegenation, which recalled the prose of
François-René de Chateaubriand and Pierre Loti,[271] the critic proposed that its main merit
was in introducing the exotic novel to local literature.[267]
Mircea Eliade's other early works include Şantier ("Building Site"), a part-novel, part-diary
account of his Indian sojourn. George Călinescu objected to its "monotony", and, noting that
it featured a set of "intelligent observations", criticized the "banality of its ideological
conversations."[267] Şantier was also noted for its portrayal of drug addiction and
intoxication with opium, both of which could have referred to Eliade's actual travel
experience.[73]
Portraits of a generation
In his earliest novel, titled Novel of the Nearsighted Adolescent and written in the first
person, Eliade depicts his experience through high school.[7] It is proof of the influence
exercised on him by the literature of Giovanni Papini, and in particular by Papini's story Un
uomo finito.[7] Each of its chapters reads like an independent novella, and, in all, the work
experiments with the limits traced between novel and diary.[7] Literary critic Eugen Simion
called it "the most valuable" among Eliade's earliest literary attempts, but noted that, being
"ambitious", the book had failed to achieve "an aesthetically satisfactory format".[7]
According to Simion, the innovative intent of the Novel... was provided by its technique, by
its goal of providing authenticity in depicting experiences, and by its insight into adolescent
Mircea Eliade 414
Fantasy literature
Mircea Eliade's earliest works, most of which were published at later stages, belong to the
fantasy genre. One of the first such literary exercises to be printed, the 1921 Cum am găsit
piatra filosofală, showed its adolescent author's interest in themes that he was to explore
throughout his career, in particular esotericism and alchemy.[7] Written in the first person,
it depicts an experiment which, for a moment, seems to be the discovery of the
philosophers' stone.[7] These early writings also include two sketches for novels: Minunata
călătorie a celor cinci cărăbuşi in ţara furnicilor roşii ("The Wonderful Journey of the Five
Beetles into the Land of the Red Ants") and Memoriile unui soldat de plumb ("The Memoirs
of a Lead Soldier").[7] In the former, a company of beetle spies is sent among the red
ants—their travel offers a setting for satirical commentary.[7] Eliade himself explained that
Memoriile unui soldat de plumb was an ambitious project, designed as a fresco to include
the birth of the Universe, abiogenesis, human evolution, and the entire world history.[7]
Eliade's fantasy novel Domnişoara Christina, was, on its own, the topic of a scandal.[266]
The novel deals with the fate of an eccentric family, the Moscus, who are haunted by the
ghost of a murdered young woman, known as Christina. The apparition shares
characteristics with vampires and with strigoi: she is believed to be drinking the blood of
cattle and that of a young family member.[266] The young man Egor becomes the object of
Christina's desire, and is shown to have intercourse with her.[266] Noting that the plot and
setting reminded one of horror fiction works by the German author Hanns Heinz Ewers,
and defending Domnişoara Christina in front of harsher criticism, Călinescu nonetheless
argued that the "international environment" in which it took place was "upsetting".[266] He
also depicted the plot as focused on "major impurity", summarizing the story's references to
necrophilia, menstrual fetish and ephebophilia.[266]
Eliade's short story Şarpele ("The Snake") was described by George Călinescu as
"hermetic".[266] While on a trip to the forest, several persons witness a feat of magic
performed by the male character Andronic, who summons a snake from the bottom of a
river and places it on an island. At the end of the story, Andronic and the female character
Dorina are found on the island, naked and locked in a sensual embrace.[266] Călinescu saw
the piece as an allusion to Gnosticism, to the Kabbalah, and to Babylonian mythology, while
linking the snake to the Greek mythological figure and major serpent symbol Ophion.[266]
He was however dissatisfied with this introduction of iconic images, describing it as
"languishing".[268]
The short story Un om mare ("A Big Man"), which Eliade authored during his stay in
Portugal, shows a common person, the engineer Cucoanes, who grows steadily and
uncontrollably, reaching immense proportions and ultimately disappearing into the
wilderness of the Bucegi Mountains.[277] Eliade himself referenced the story and Aldous
Huxley's experiments in the same section of his private notes, a matter which allowed Matei
Călinescu to propose that Un om mare was a direct product of its author's experience with
drugs.[73] The same commentator, who deemed Un om mare "perhaps Eliade's most
memorable short story", connected it with the uriaşi characters present in Romanian
folklore.[277]
Mircea Eliade 416
Other writings
Eliade's reinterpreted the Greek mythological figure Iphigeneia in his eponymous 1941
play. Here, the maiden falls in love with Achilles, and accepts to be sacrificed on the pyre as
a means to ensure both her lover's happiness (as predicted by an oracle) and her father
Agamemnon's victory in the Trojan War.[278] Discussing the association Iphigenia's
character makes between love and death, Romanian theater critic Radu Albala noted that it
was a possible echo of Meşterul Manole legend, in which a builder of the Curtea de Argeş
Monastery has to sacrifice his wife in exchange for permission to complete work.[278] In
contrast with early renditions of the myth by authors such as Euripides and Jean Racine,
Eliade's version ends with the sacrifice being carried out in full.[278]
In addition to his fiction, the exiled Eliade authored several volumes of memoirs and diaries
and travel writings. They were published sporadically, and covered various stages of his
life. One of the earliest such pieces was India, grouping accounts of the travels he made
through the Indian subcontinent.[72] Writing for the Spanish journal La Vanguardia,
commentator Sergio Vila-Sanjuán described the first volume of Eliade's Autobiography
(covering the years 1907 to 1937) as "a great book", while noting that the other main
volume was "more conventional and insincere."[6] In Vila-Sanjuán's view, the texts reveal
Mircea Eliade himself as "a Dostoyevskyian character", as well as "an accomplished person,
a Goethian figure".[6]
A work that drew particular interest was his Jurnal portughez ("Portuguese Diary"),
completed during his stay in Lisbon and published only after its author's death. A portion of
it dealing with his stay in Romania is believed to have been lost.[5] The travels to Spain,
partly recorded in Jurnal portughez, also led to a separate volume, Jurnal cordobez
("Cordoban Diary"), which Eliade compiled from various independent notebooks.[72] Jurnal
portughez shows Eliade coping with clinical depression and political crisis, and has been
described by Andrei Oişteanu as "an overwhelming [read], through the immense suffering it
exhales."[73] Literary historian Paul Cernat argued that part of the volume is "a masterpiece
of its time", while concluding that some 700 pages were passable for the "among others"
section of Eliade's bibliography.[28] Noting that the book featured parts where Eliade spoke
of himself in eulogistic terms, notably comparing himself favorably to Goethe and
Romania's national poet Mihai Eminescu, Cernat accused the writer of "egolatry", and
deduced that Eliade was "ready to step over dead bodies for the sake of his spiritual
'mission' ".[28] The same passages led philosopher and journalist Cătălin Avramescu to
argue that Eliade's behavior was evidence of "megalomania".[66]
Eliade also wrote various essays of literary criticism. In his youth, alongside his study on
Julius Evola, he published essays which introduced the Romanian public to representatives
of modern Spanish literature and philosophy, among them Adolfo Bonilla San Martín,
Miguel de Unamuno, José Ortega y Gasset, Eugeni d'Ors, Vicente Blasco Ibáñez and
Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo.[72] He also wrote an essay on the works of James Joyce,
connecting it with his own theories on the eternal return ("[Joyce's literature is] saturated
with nostalgia for the myth of the eternal repetition"), and deeming Joyce himself an
anti-historicist "archaic" figure among the modernists.[279] In the 1930s, Eliade edited the
collected works of Romanian historian Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu.[7]
Mircea Eliade 417
Early statements
The early years in Eliade's public career show him to have been highly tolerant of Jews in
general, and of the Jewish minority in Romania in particular. His early condemnation of
Nazi antisemitic policies was accompanied by his caution and moderation in regard to Nae
Ionescu's various anti-Jewish attacks.[32] [280]
Late in the 1930s, Mihail Sebastian was marginalized by Romania's antisemitic policies, and
came to reflect on his Romanian friend's association with the far right. The subsequent
ideological break between him and Eliade has been compared by writer Gabriela
Adameşteanu with that between Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus.[275] In his Journal,
published long after his 1945 death, Sebastian claimed that Eliade's actions during the
1930s show him to be an antisemite. According to Sebastian, Eliade had been friendly to
him until the start of his political commitments, after which he severed all ties.[32] [281]
Before their friendship came apart, however, Sebastian claimed that he took notes on their
conversations (which he later published) during which Eliade was supposed to have
expressed antisemitic views. According to Sebastian, Eliade said in 1939:
"The Poles' resistance in Warsaw is a Jewish resistance. Only yids are capable of the
blackmail of putting women and children in the front line, to take advantage of the
Germans' sense of scruple. The Germans have no interest in the destruction of
Romania. Only a pro-German government can save us.... What is happening on the
frontier with Bukovina is a scandal, because new waves of Jews are flooding into the
country. Rather than a Romania again invaded by kikes, it would be better to have a
German protectorate."[282]
The friendship between Eliade and Sebastian drastically declined during the war: the latter
writer, fearing for his security during the pro-Nazi Ion Antonescu regime (see Romania
during World War II), hoped that Eliade, by then a diplomat, could intervene in his favor;
however, upon his brief return to Romania, Eliade did not see or approach Sebastian.[6] [32]
Later, Mircea Eliade expressed his regret at not having had the chance to redeem his
friendship with Sebastian before the latter was killed in a car accident.[28] [70] Paul Cernat
notes that Eliade's statement includes an admission that he "counted on [Sebastian's]
support, in order to get back into Romanian life and culture", and proposes that Eliade may
have expected his friend to vouch for him in front of hostile authorities.[28] Some of
Sebastian's late recordings in his diary show that their author was reflecting with nostalgia
on his relationship with Eliade, and that he deplored the outcome.[6] [32]
Eliade provided two distinct explanations for not having met with Sebastian: one was
related to his claim of being followed around by the Gestapo, and the other, expressed in
his diaries, was that the shame of representing a regime that humiliated Jews had made
him avoid facing his former friend.[32] Another take on the matter was advanced in 1972 by
the Israeli magazine Toladot, who claimed that, as an official representative, Eliade was
aware of Antonescu's agreement to implement the Final Solution in Romania and of how
this could affect Sebastian (see Holocaust in Romania).[32] In addition, rumors were
sparked that Sebastian and Nina Mareş had a physical relationship, one which could have
contributed to the clash between the two literary figures.[6]
Beyond his involvement with a movement known for its antisemitism, Eliade did not usually
comment on Jewish issues. However, an article titled Piloţii orbi ("The Blind Pilots"),
Mircea Eliade 418
contributed to the journal Vremea in 1936, showed that he supported at least some Iron
Guard accusations against the Jewish community:
"Since the war [that is, World War I], Jews have occupied the villages of Maramureş
and Bukovina, and gained the absolute majority in the towns and cities in
Bessarabia.[283] [...] It would be absurd to expect Jews to resign themselves in order to
become a minority with certain rights and very many duties — after they have tasted
the honey of power and conquered as many command positions as they have. Jews are
currently fighting with all forces to maintain their positions, expecting a future
offensive — and, as far as I am concerned, I understand their fight and admire their
vitality, tenacity, genius."[284]
One year later, a text, accompanied by his picture, was featured as answer to an inquiry by
the Iron Guard's Buna Vestire about the reasons he had for supporting the movement. A
short section of it summarizes an anti-Jewish attitude:
"Can the Romanian nation end its life in the saddest decay witnessed by history,
undermined by misery and syphilis, conquered by Jews and torn to pieces by
foreigners, demoralized, betrayed, sold for a few million lei?"[32] [285]
According to the literary critic Z. Ornea, in the 1980s Eliade denied authorship of the text.
He explained the use of his signature, his picture, and the picture's caption, as having been
applied by the magazine's editor, Mihail Polihroniade, to a piece the latter had written after
having failed to obtain Eliade's contribution; he also claimed that, given his respect for
Polihroniade, he had not wished to publicize this matter previously.[286]
Posterity
Alongside the arguments introduced by Daniel Dubuisson, criticism of Mircea Eliade's
political involvement with antisemitism and fascism came from Adriana Berger, Leon
Volovici, Alexandra Lagniel-Lavastine, Florin Ţurcanu and others, who have attempted to
trace Eliade's antisemitism throughout his work and through his associations with
contemporary antisemites, such as the Italian fascist occultist Julius Evola. Volovici, for
example, is critical of Eliade not only because of his support for the Iron Guard, but also for
spreading antisemitism and anti-Masonry in 1930s Romania.[300] In 1991, exiled novelist
Norman Manea published an essay firmly condemning Eliade's attachment to the Iron
Guard.[6]
Other scholars, like Bryan S. Rennie, have claimed that there is, to date, no evidence of
Eliade's membership, active services rendered, or of any real involvement with any fascist
or totalitarian movements or membership organizations, nor that there is any evidence of
his continued support for nationalist ideals after their inherently violent nature was
Mircea Eliade 420
revealed. They further assert that there is no imprint of overt political beliefs in Eliade's
scholarship, and also claim that Eliade's critics are following political agendas.[20] [301]
Romanian scholar Mircea Handoca, editor of Eliade's writings, argues that the controversy
surrounding Eliade was encouraged by a group of exiled writers, of whom Manea was a
main representative, and believes that Eliade's association with the Guard was a
conjectural one, determined by the young author's Christian values and → conservative
stance, as well as by his belief that a Legionary Romania could mirror Portugal's Estado
Novo.[6] Handoca opined that Eliade changed his stance after discovering that the
Legionaries had turned violent, and argued that there was no evidence of Eliade's actual
affiliation with the Iron Guard as a political movement.[6] Additionally, Joaquín Garrigós,
who translated Eliade's works into Spanish, claimed that none of Eliade's texts he ever
encountered show him to be an antisemite.[6] Mircea Eliade's nephew and commentator
Sorin Alexandrescu himself proposed that Eliade's politics were essentially conservative
and patriotic, in part motivated by a fear of the Soviet Union which he shared with many
other young intellectuals.[6] Based on Mircea Eliade's admiration for Gandhi, various other
authors assess that Eliade remained committed to nonviolence.[6]
Robert Ellwood also places Eliade's involvement with the Iron Guard in relation to scholar's
conservatism, and connects this aspect of Eliade's life with both his nostalgia and his study
of primal societies. According to Ellwood, the part of Eliade that felt attracted to the
"freedom of new beginnings suggested by primal myths" is the same part that felt attracted
to the Guard, with its almost mythological notion of a new beginning through a "national
resurrection".[302] On a more basic level, Ellwood describes Eliade as a "instinctively
spiritual" person who saw the Iron Guard as a spiritual movement.[303] In Ellwood's view,
Eliade was aware that the "golden age" of antiquity was no longer accessible to secular
man, that it could be recalled but not re-established. Thus, a "more accessible" object for
nostalgia was a "secondary silver age within the last few hundred years"—the Kingdom of
Romania's 19th century cultural renaissance.[304] To the young Eliade, the Iron Guard
seemed like a path for returning to the silver age of Romania's glory, being a movement
"dedicated to the cultural and national renewal of the Romanian people by appeal to their
spiritual roots".[305] Ellwood describes the young Eliade as someone "capable of being fired
up by mythological archetypes and with no awareness of the evil that was to be
unleashed".[306]
Because of Eliade's withdrawal from politics, and also because the later Eliade's religiosity
was very personal and idiosyncratic,[307] Ellwood believes the later Eliade probably would
have rejected the "corporate sacred" of the Iron Guard.[308] According to Ellwood, the later
Eliade had the same desire for a Romanian "resurrection" that had motivated the early
Eliade to support the Iron Guard, but he now channeled it apolitically through his efforts to
"maintain the culture of a free Romania" abroad.[309] In one of his writings, Eliade says,
"Against the terror of History there are only two possibilities of defense: action or
contemplation."[310] According to Ellwood, the young Eliade took the former option, trying
to reform the world through action, whereas the older Eliade tried to resist the terror of
history intellectually.[311]
Eliade's own version of events, presenting his involvement in far right politics as marginal,
was judged to contain several inaccuracies and unverifiable claims.[57] [312] For instance,
Eliade depicted his arrest as having been solely caused by his friendship with Nae
Ionescu.[313] On another occasion, answering Gershom Scholem's query, he is known to
have explicitly denied ever having contributed to Buna Vestire.[57] According to Sorin
Mircea Eliade 421
Antohi, "Eliade died without ever clearly expressing regret for his Iron Guard
sympathies".[314] Z. Ornea noted that, in a short section of his Autobiography where he
discusses the Einaudi incident, Eliade speaks of "my imprudent acts and errors committed
in youth", as "a series of malentendus that would follow me all my life."[315] Ornea
commented that this was the only instance where the Romanian academic spoke of his
political involvement with a dose of self-criticism, and contrasted the statement with
Eliade's usual refusal to discuss his stances "pertinently".[316] Reviewing the arguments
brought in support of Eliade, Sergio Vila-Sanjuán concluded: "Nevertheless, Eliade's
pro-Legionary columns endure in the newspaper libraries, he never showed his regret for
this connection [with the Iron Guard] and always, right up to his final writings, he invoked
the figure of his teacher Nae Ionescu."[6]
In his Felix Culpa, Manea directly accused Eliade of having embellished his memoirs in
order to minimize an embarrassing past.[6] A secondary debate surrounding Eliade's alleged
unwillingness to dissociate with the Guard took place after Jurnalul portughez saw print.
Sorin Alexandrescu expressed a belief that notes in the diary show Eliade's "break with his
far right past".[5] Cătălin Avramescu defined this conclusion as "whitewashing", and,
answering to Alexandrescu's claim that his uncle's support for the Guard was always
superficial, argued that Jurnal portughez and other writings of the time showed Eliade's
disenchantment with the Legionaries' Christian stance in tandem with his growing
sympathy for Nazism and its pagan messages.[66] Paul Cernat, who stressed that it was the
only one of Eliade's autobiographical works not to have been reworked by its author,
concluded that the book documented Eliade's own efforts to "camouflage" his political
sympathies without rejecting them altogether.[28]
Oişteanu argued that, in old age, Eliade moved away from his earlier stances and even
came to sympathize with the non-Marxist Left and the hippie youth movement.[317] [89] He
noted that Eliade initially felt apprehensive about the consequences of hippie activism, but
that the interests they shared, as well as their advocacy of communalism and free love had
made him argue that hippies were "a quasi-religious movement" that was "rediscovering
the sacrality of Life".[318] Andrei Oişteanu, who proposed that Eliade's critics were divided
into a "maximalist" and a "minimalist" camp (trying to, respectively, enhance or shadow the
impact Legionary ideas had on Eliade), argued in favor of moderation, and indicated that
Eliade's fascism needed to be correlated to the political choices of his generation.[319]
political affiliations.[32]
A special debate was sparked by Un om mare. Culianu viewed it as a direct reference to
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu and his rise in popularity, an interpretation partly based on the
similarity between, on one hand, two monikers ascribed to the Legionary leader (by,
respectively, his adversaries and his followers), and, on the other, the main character's
name (Cucoanes).[277] Matei Călinescu did not reject Culianu's version, but argued that, on
its own, the piece was beyond political interpretations.[277] Commenting on this dialog,
literary historian and essayist Mircea Iorgulescu objected to the original verdict, indicating
his belief that there was no historical evidence to substantiate Culianu's point of view.[277]
Alongside Eliade's main works, his attempted novel of youth, Minunata călătorie a celor
cinci cărăbuşi in ţara furnicilor roşii, which depicts a population of red ants living in a
totalitarian society and forming bands to harass the beetles, was seen as a potential
allusion to the Soviet Union and to communism.[7] Despite Eliade's ultimate reception in
Communist Romania, this writing could not be published during the period, after censors
singled out fragments which they saw as especially problematic.[7]
Cultural legacy
Tributes
An endowed chair in the History of Religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School
was named after Eliade in recognition of his wide contribution to the research on this
subject; the current (and first incumbent) holder of this chair is Wendy Doniger.
To evaluate the legacy of Eliade and Joachim Wach within the discipline of the history of
religions, the University of Chicago chose 2006 (the intermediate year between the 50th
anniversary of Wach's death and the 100th anniversary of Eliade's birth), to hold a two-day
conference in order to reflect upon their academic contributions and their political lives in
their social and historical contexts, as well as the relationship between their works and
their lives.[81]
In 1990, after the Romanian Revolution, Eliade was elected posthumously to the Romanian
Academy. In Romania, Mircea Eliade's legacy in the field of the history of religions is
mirrored by the journal Archaeus (founded 1997, and affiliated with the University of
Bucharest Faculty of History). The 6th European Association for the Study of Religion and
International Association for the History of Religions Special Conference on Religious
History of Europe and Asia took place from September 20 to September 23, 2006, in
Bucharest. An important section of the Congress was dedicated to the memory of Mircea
Eliade, whose legacy in the field of history of religions was scrutinized by various scholars,
some of whom were his direct students at the University of Chicago.[320]
As Antohi noted, Eliade, Emil Cioran and Constantin Noica "represent in Romanian culture
ultimate expressions of excellence, [Eliade and Cioran] being regarded as proof that
Romania's interwar culture (and, by extension, Romanian culture as a whole) was able to
reach the ultimate levels of depth, sophistication and creativity."[314] A Romanian Television
1 poll carried out in 2006 nominated Mircea Eliade as the 7th Greatest Romanian in
history; his case was argued by the writer Dragoş Bucurenci (see 100 greatest Romanians).
His name was given to a boulevard in the northern Bucharest area of Primăverii, to a street
in Cluj-Napoca, and to high schools in Bucharest, Sighişoara, and Reşiţa. The Eliades' house
on Melodiei Street was torn down during the communist regime, and an apartment block
Mircea Eliade 423
was raised in its place; his second residence, on Dacia Boulevard, features a memorial
plaque in his honor.[6]
Eliade's image in contemporary culture also has political implications. Historian Irina
Livezeanu proposed that the respect he enjoys in Romania is marched by that of other
"nationalist thinkers and politicians" who "have reentered the contemporary scene largely
as heroes of a pre- and anticommunist past", including Nae Ionescu and Cioran, but also Ion
Antonescu and Nichifor Crainic.[321] In parallel, according to Oişteanu (who relied his
assessment on Eliade's own personal notes), Eliade's interest in the American hippie
community was reciprocated by members of the latter, some of whom reportedly viewed
Eliade as "a guru".[322]
Eliade has also been hailed as an inspiration by German representatives of the Neue
Rechte, claiming legacy from the Conservative Revolutionary movement (among them is the
controversial magazine Junge Freiheit and the essayist Karlheinz Weißmann).[323] In 2007,
Florin Ţurcanu's biographical volume on Eliade was issued in a German translation by the
Antaios publishing house, which is mouthpiece for the Neue Rechte.[323] The edition was
not reviewed by the mainstream German press.[323] Other sections of the European far
right also claim Eliade as an inspiration, and consider his contacts with the Iron Guard to
be a merit—among their representatives are the Italian neofascist Claudio Mutti and
Romanian groups who trace their origin to the Legionary Movement.[324]
or referring to, his works, include: Mircea Eliade et la redécouverte du Sacré (1987), part
of the television series Architecture et Géographie sacrée, by Paul Barbă Neagră;
Domnişoara Christina (1996), by Viorel Sergovici; Eu Adam (1996), by Dan Piţa; Youth
Without Youth (2007), by Francis Ford Coppola.
Eliade's Iphigenia was again included in theater programs during the late years of the
Nicolae Ceauşescu regime: in January 1982, a new version, directed by Ion Cojar,
premiered at the National Theater Bucharest, starring Mircea Albulescu, Tania Filip and
Adrian Pintea in some of the main roles.[278] Dramatizations based on his work include La
Ţigănci, which has been the basis for two theater adaptations: Cazul Gavrilescu ("The
Gavrilescu Case"), directed by Gelu Colceag and hosted by the Nottara Theater,[328] and an
eponymous play by director Alexandru Hausvater, first staged by the Odeon Theater in
2003 (starring, among others, Adriana Trandafir, Florin Zamfirescu, and Carmen
Tănase).[329] In March 2007, on Eliade's 100th birthday, the Romanian Radio Broadcasting
Company hosted the Mircea Eliade Week, during which radio drama adaptations of several
works were broadcast.[330] In September of that year, director and dramatist Cezarina
Udrescu staged a multimedia performance based on a number of works Mircea Eliade
wrote during his stay in Portugal; titled Apocalipsa după Mircea Eliade ("The Apocalypse
According to Mircea Eliade"), and shown as part of a Romanian Radio cultural campaign, it
starred Ion Caramitru, Oana Pellea and Răzvan Vasilescu.[331] Domnişoara Christina has
been the subject of two operas: the first, carrying the same Romanian title, was authored by
Romanian composer Şerban Nichifor and premiered in 1981 at the Romanian Radio;[332]
the second, titled La señorita Cristina, was written by Spanish composer Luis de Pablo and
premiered in 2000 at the Teatro Real in Madrid.[72]
See also
• Bibliography of Mircea Eliade
References
• Mircea Eliade:
• A History of Religious Ideas, Vol. 1 (trans. Willard R. Trask), University of Chicago
Press, Chicago, 1978
• Images and Symbols: Studies in Religious Symbolism (trans. Philip Mairet), Princeton
University Press, Princeton, 1991
• Myth and Reality (trans. Willard R. Trask), Harper & Row, New York, 1963
• Myths, Dreams and Mysteries (trans. Philip Mairet), Harper & Row, New York, 1967
• Myths, Rites, Symbols: A Mircea Eliade Reader, Vol. 2, Ed. Wendell C. Beane and
William G. Doty, Harper Colophon, New York, 1976
• Patterns in Comparative Religion, Sheed & Ward, New York, 1958
• Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, Princeton University Press, Princeton,
2004
• The Myth of the Eternal Return: Cosmos and History (trans. Willard R. Trask),
Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1971
• "The Quest for the 'Origins' of Religion", in History of Religions 4.1 (1964), p. 154-169
• The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion (trans. Willard R. Trask), Harper
Torchbooks, New York, 1961
Mircea Eliade 425
• Final Report [333] of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania, Polirom,
Iaşi, 2004. ISBN 973-681-989-2; retrieved October 8, 2007
• Sorin Antohi, "Commuting to Castalia: Noica's 'School', Culture and Power in Communist
Romania", preface to Gabriel Liiceanu, The Păltiniş Diary: A Paideic Model in Humanist
Culture, Central European University Press, Budapest, 2000, p.vii-xxiv. ISBN
9639116890
• George Călinescu, Istoria literaturii române de la origini până în prezent ("The History of
Romanian Literature from Its Origins to Present Times"), Editura Minerva, Bucharest,
1986
• John Daniel Dadosky, The Structure of Religious Knowing: Encountering the Sacred in
Eliade and Lonergan, State University of New York Press, Albany, 2004
• Robert Ellwood, The Politics of Myth: A Study of C. G. Jung, Mircea Eliade, and Joseph
Campbell, State University of New York Press, Albany, 1999
• Victor Frunză, Istoria stalinismului în România ("The History of Stalinism in Romania"),
Humanitas, Bucharest, 1990
• Roger Griffin, The Nature of Fascism, Routledge, London, 1993
• () Mircea Handoca, Convorbiri cu şi despre Mircea Eliade ("Conversations with and
about Mircea Eliade") [334] on Autori ("Published Authors") [335] page of the Humanitas
publishing house
• Furio Jesi, Mito, Mondadori, Milan, 1980
• G. S. Kirk,
• Myth: Its Meaning and Functions in Ancient and Other Cultures, University of
California Press, Berkeley, 1973
• The Nature of Greek Myths, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1974
• William McGuire, Bollingen: An Adventure in Collecting the Past, Princeton University
Press, Princeton, 1982. ISBN 0691018855
• Lucian Nastasă, "Suveranii" universităţilor româneşti ("The 'Sovereigns' of Romanian
Universities"), Editura Limes, Cluj-Napoca, 2007 (available online [336] at the Romanian
Academy's George Bariţ Institute of History [337])
• Andrei Oişteanu,
• () "Angajamentul politic al lui Mircea Eliade" ("Mircea Eliade's Political Affiliation")
[338]
, in 22, Nr. 891, March-April 2007; retrieved November 15, 2007; retrieved
January 17, 2008
• () "Mircea Eliade şi mişcarea hippie" ("Mircea Eliade and the Hippie Movement") [339],
in Dilema Veche, Vol. III, May 2006; retrieved November 7, 2007
• Z. Ornea, Anii treizeci. Extrema dreaptă românească ("The 1930s: The Romanian Far
Right"), Editura Fundaţiei Culturale Române, Bucharest, 1995
• Mihail Sebastian, Journal, 1935-1944: The Fascist Years, Ivan R. Dee, Chicago, 2000.
ISBN 1-56663-326-5
Mircea Eliade 426
Further reading
• Alexandrescu, Sorin. 2007. Mircea Eliade, dinspre Portugalia. Bucharest: Humanitas.
ISBN 973-50-1220-0
• Băicuş, Iulian, 2009, Mircea Eliade. Literator şi mitodolog. În căutarea Centrului pierdut.
Bucharest: Editura Universităţii Bucureşti
• Călinescu, Matei. 2002. Despre Ioan P. Culianu şi Mircea Eliade. Amintiri, lecturi,
reflecţii. Iaşi: Polirom. ISBN 973-681-064-X
• Carrasco, David and Law, Jane Marie (eds.). 1985. Waiting for the Dawn. Boulder:
Westview Press.
• Culianu, Ioan Petru. 1978. Mircea Eliade. Assisi: Citadela Editrice
• Dubuisson, Daniel. 2005. Impostures et pseudo-science. L'œvre de Mircea Eliade.
Villeneuve d'Ascq: Presses Universitaires du Septentrion
• Dudley, Guilford. 1977. Religion on Trial: Mircea Eliade & His Critics. Philadelphia:
Temple University Press.
• Idinopulos, Thomas A., Yonan, Edward A. (eds.) 1994. Religion and Reductionism: Essays
on Eliade, Segal, and the Challenge of the Social Sciences for the Study of Religion,
Leiden: Brill Publishers. ISBN 9004067884
• Laignel-Lavastine, Alexandra. 2002. Cioran, Eliade, Ionesco - L'oubli du fascisme. Paris:
Presses Universitaires de France-Perspectives critiques.
• McCutcheon, Russell T. 1997. Manufacturing Religion: The Discourse on Sui Generis
Religion and the Politics of Nostalgia. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Oişteanu, Andrei. 2007. Religie, politică şi mit. Texte despre Mircea Eliade şi Ioan Petru
Culianu. Iaşi: Polirom.
• Olson, Carl. 1992. The Theology and Philosophy of Eliade: A Search for the Centre. New
York: St Martins Press.
• Pals, Daniel L. 1996. Seven Theories of Religion. USA: Oxford University Press. ISBN
0-19-508725-9
• Posada, Mihai. 2006. Opera publicistică a lui Mircea Eliade. Bucharest: Editura Criterion.
ISBN 978-973-8982-14-7
• Rennie, Bryan S. 1996. Reconstructing Eliade: Making Sense of Religion. Albany: State
University of New York Press.
• Rennie, Bryan S. (ed.). 2001. Changing Religious Worlds: The Meaning and End of
Mircea Eliade. Albany: State University of New York Press.
• Rennie, Bryan S. 2007. The International Eliade. Albany: State University of New York
Press. ISBN 0791470873
• Simion, Eugen. 2001. Mircea Eliade: A Spirit of Amplitude. Boulder: East European
Monographs.
• Strenski, Ivan. 1987. Four Theories of Myth in Twentieth-Century History: Cassirer,
Eliade, Levi Strauss and Malinowski. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.
• Tolcea, Marcel. 2002. Eliade, ezotericul. Timişoara: Editura Mirton.
• Ţurcanu, Florin. 2003. Mircea Eliade. Le prisonnier de l'histoire. Paris: Editions La
Découverte.
• Wasserstrom, Steven M. 1999. Religion after Religion: Gershom Scholem, Mircea Eliade,
and Henry Corbin at Eranos. Princeton: Princeton University Press
Mircea Eliade 427
External links
• Biography of Mircea Eliade [340]
• Books and Writers: Mircea Eliade [341]
• Mircea Eliade International Literary Society [342]
• Mircea Eliade, From Primitives to Zen [343]
• List of Terms Used in Mircea Eliade's The Sacred and The Profane [344]
• Bryan S. Rennie on Mircea Eliade [345]
[346]
• Joseph G. Muthuraj, The Significance of Mircea Eliade for Christian Theology
[347]
• () Mircea Eliade presentation on the "100 Greatest Romanians" site
[348]
• () Archaeus magazine
• Claudia Guggenbühl, Mircea Eliade and Surendranath Dasgupta. The History Of Their
Encounter [349]
References
[1] Wendy Doniger, "Foreword to the 2004 Edition", Eliade, Shamanism, p.xiii
[2] Biografie, in Handoca
[3] () Silviu Mihai, "A doua viaţă a lui Mircea Eliade" ("Mircea Eliade's Second Life") (http:/ / www. cotidianul. ro/
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July 31, 2007
[4] Călinescu, p.956
[5] () Simona Chiţan, "Nostalgia după România" ("Nostalgia for Romania"), interview with Sorin Alexandrescu
(http:/ / www. evz. ro/ article. php?artid=263139), in Evenimentul Zilei, June 24, 2006; retrieved January 23,
2008
[6] () Sergio Vila-Sanjuán, "Paseo por el Bucarest de Mircea Eliade" ("Passing through Mircea Eliade's
Bucharest") (http:/ / www. lavanguardia. es/ lv24h/ 20070530/ 51355796343. html), in La Vanguardia, May 30,
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[7] () Ion Hadârcă, "Mircea Eliade la începuturi" ("Mircea Eliade at His Beginnings") (http:/ / www. sud-est. md/
numere/ 20070428/ article_3/ ), in Revista Sud-Est, 1/2007; retrieved January 21, 2008
[8] () Ioan P. Culianu, "Mahaparanirvana" (http:/ / www. elhilodeariadna. org/ articulos/ volumen2/ art17_pensa.
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[9] Ellwood, p.98-99
[10] Eliade, Autobiography, in Ellwood, p.98-99
[11] Ellwood, p.5
[12] Steinhardt, in Handoca
[13] () Veronica Marinescu, " 'Am luat din întâmplarile vieţii tot ce este mai frumos', spune cercetatorul operei
brâncuşiene" (" 'I Took the Best Out of Life's Occurrences', Says Researcher of Brancusi's Work") (http:/ / www.
curierulnational. ro/ Specializat/ 2004-03-13/ âAm+ luat+ din+ intamplarile+ vietii+ tot+ ce+ este+ mai+
frumosâ,+ spune+ cercetatorul+ operei+ brancusiene), interview with Barbu Brezianu, in Curierul Naţional,
March 13, 2004; retrieved February 22, 2008
[14] () Maria Vlădescu, "100 de ani de cercetaşi" ("100 Years of Scouting") (http:/ / www. evz. ro/ article.
php?artid=316465), in Evenimentul Zilei, August 2, 2007; retrieved January 21, 2008
[15] Constantin Roman, Continental Drift: Colliding Continents, Converging Cultures, CRC Press, Institute of
Physics Publishing, Bristol and Philadelphia, 2000, p.60 ISBN 0750306866
[16] Călinescu, p.954, 955; Nastasă, p.76
[17] Nastasă, p.237
[18] McGuire, p.150; Nastasă, p.237
[19] Nastasă, p.237
[20] Kelley L. Ross, Mircea Eliade (http:/ / www. friesian. com/ eliade. htm), on friesian.com (http:/ / www. friesian.
com/ ); retrieved July 16, 2007
[21] Ginu Kamani, "A Terrible Hurt: The Untold Story behind the Publishing of Maitreyi Devi" (http:/ / www. press.
uchicago. edu/ Misc/ Chicago/ 143651. html), at the University of Chicago Press website; retrieved July 16,
2007
[22] Biografie, in Handoca; Nastasă, p.237
Mircea Eliade 428
[23] () Albert Ribas, "Mircea Eliade, historiador de las religiones" ("Mircea Eliade, Historian of Religions") (http:/
/ www. inicia. es/ de/ aribas/ eliadee. html), in El Ciervo. Revista de pensamiento y cultura, Año 49, Núm. 588
(Marzo 2000), p.35-38; retrieved July 29, 2007
[24] Nastasă, p.237
[25] Eliade, in Nastasă, p.238
[26] McGuire, p.150
[27] Nastasă, p.442; Ornea, p.452
[28] () Paul Cernat, "Jurnalul unui om mare" ("The Diary of A Big Man") (http:/ / www. observatorcultural. ro/
informatiiarticol. phtml?xid=16282& print=true), in Observator Cultural, Nr. 338, September 2006; retrieved
January 23, 2008
[29] Şora, in Handoca
[30] Ornea, p.150-151, 153
[31] Ornea, p.174-175
[32] () Andrei Oişteanu, "Mihail Sebastian şi Mircea Eliade: cronica unei prietenii accidentate" ("Mihail Sebastian
and Mircea Eliade: the Chronicle of an Abrupt Friendship)" (http:/ / www. revista22. ro/ html/ index.
php?nr=2007-12-05& art=4157), in 22, Nr. 926, December 2007; retrieved January 18, 2008
[33] Eliade, 1934, in Ornea, p.408; see also Ellwood, p.85
[34] Eliade, 1934, in Ornea, p.408-409
[35] Eliade, 1936, in Ornea, p.410
[36] Eliade, 1933, in Ornea, p.167
[37] Ornea, Chapter IV
[38] () Stelian Tănase, "Belu Zilber", Part II (http:/ / www. revista22. ro/ html/ index. php?art=569&
nr=2003-08-18), in 22, Nr. 701, August 2003; retrieved October 4, 2007
[39] () Paul Cernat, "Eliade în cheie ezoterică" ("Eliade in Esoterical Key") (http:/ / www. observatorcultural. ro/
informatiiarticol. phtml?xid=8679& print=true), review of Marcel Tolcea, Eliade, ezotericul ("Eliade, the
Esoteric"), in Observator Cultural, Nr. 175, July 2003; retrieved July 16, 2007
[40] () Paul Cernat, "Recuperarea lui Ionathan X. Uranus" ("The Recuperation of Ionathan X. Uranus") (http:/ /
www. observatorcultural. ro/ informatiiarticol. phtml?xid=14626), in Observator Cultural, Nr. 299, December
2005; retrieved November 22, 2007
[41] Eliade, 1933, in Ornea, p.32
[42] Eliade, 1936, in Ornea, p.32
[43] Eliade, 1937, in Ornea, p.53
[44] Eliade, 1937, in Ornea, p.53
[45] Eliade, 1927, in Ornea, p.147
[46] Eliade, 1935, in Ornea, p.128
[47] Eliade, 1934, in Ornea, p.136
[48] Eliade, 1933, in Ornea, p.178, 186
[49] Ornea, p.445-455
[50] Nastasă, p.525-526
[51] Nastasă, p.86; Ornea, p.452-453; Şora, in Handoca
[52] Ornea, p.453
[53] Ornea, p.453
[54] Eliade, 1937, in Ornea, p.203
[55] Eliade, 1937, in Ornea, p.203
[56] Ornea, p.202-206
[57] () Ovidiu Şimonca, "Mircea Eliade şi 'căderea în lume'" ("Mircea Eliade and 'the Descent into the World'")
(http:/ / www. observatorcultural. ro/ informatiiarticol. phtml?xid=14834), review of Florin Ţurcanu, Mircea
Eliade. Le prisonnier de l'histoire ("Mircea Eliade. The Prisoner of History"), in Observator Cultural, Nr. 305,
January-February 2006; retrieved July 16, 2007
[58] Ornea, p.180
[59] Ornea, p.207
[60] Ornea, p.207
[61] Ornea, p.208-209
[62] Ornea, p.209
[63] Ornea, p.209
[64] Ornea, p.209
[65] Biografie, in Handoca; Nastasă, p.442
[66] () Cătălin Avramescu, "Citim una, înţelegem alta" ("We Read One Thing and Understand Another") (http:/ /
www. dilemaveche. ro/ index. php?nr=135& cmd=articol& id=3508), in Dilema Veche, Vol. III, August 2006;
Mircea Eliade 429
[300] Leon Volovici, Nationalist Ideology and Antisemitism: The Case of Romanian Intellectuals in the 1930s,
Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1991, p.104–105, 110–111, 120–126, 134
[301] Bryan S. Rennie, Reconstructing Eliade: Making Sense of Religion, State University of New York Press,
Albany, 1996, p.149-177. ISBN 0-7914-2763-3
[302] Ellwood, p.100-101
[303] Ellwood, p.86
[304] Ellwood, p.xiv
[305] Ellwood, p.83
[306] Ellwood, p.91
[307] Ellwood, p.120
[308] Ellwood, p.120
[309] Ellwood, p.115
[310] Eliade, The Forbidden Forest, in Ellwood, p.101
[311] Ellwood, p.101
[312] Ornea, p.202, 208-211, 239-240
[313] Ornea, p.202, 209
[314] Antohi, preface to Liiceanu, p.xxiii
[315] Eliade, in Ornea, p.210
[316] Ornea, p.210
[317] Oişteanu, "Mircea Eliade şi mişcarea hippie"
[318] Eliade, in Oişteanu, "Mircea Eliade şi mişcarea hippie"
[319] Oişteanu, "Angajamentul..."
[320] The Sixth EASR and IAHR Special Conference (http:/ / rahr. ro/ RAHR/ Conference2006/ index. htm);
retrieved July 29, 2007
[321] Irina Livezeanu, Cultural Politics in Greater Romania: Regionalism, Nation Building and Ethnic Struggle,
1918-1930, Cornell University Press, New York City, 1995, p.x. ISBN 0801486882
[322] Oişteanu, "Mircea Eliade şi mişcarea hippie"
[323] () "Biografia lui Mircea Eliade la o editură germană radicală de dreapta" ("Mircea Eliade's Biography at a
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[324] Oişteanu, "Angajamentul..."
[325] Oişteanu, "Angajamentul..."; Ornea, p.19, 181
[326] () Mircea Iorgulescu, "Portretul artistului ca delincvent politic" ("The Portrait of the Artist as a Political
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[327] () Antoaneta Ralian, interviewed on the occasion of Saul Bellow's death (http:/ / www. hotnews. ro/
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[328] () Irina-Margareta Nistor, "Un cuplu creator de teatru - Gelu şi Roxana Colceag" ("A Theater Producing
Couple - Gelu and Roxana Colceag") (http:/ / agenda. liternet. ro/ articol/ 5148/ Irina-Margareta-Nistor/
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[329] () "La ţigănci... cu Popescu" (To the Gypsy Girls... with Popescu") (http:/ / www. adevarul. ro/ index.
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[330] () "Săptămâna Mircea Eliade la Radio România" ("The Mircea Eliade Week on Radio Romania") (http:/ /
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[331] () "Scrieri de Eliade şi Vişniec, în cadrul festivalului Enescu" ("Texts by Eliade and Vişniec, as Part of the
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[332] () Săptămâna Internaţională a Muzicii Noi. Ediţia a 14-a - 23-30 Mai 2004. Detalii festival ("The
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[333] http:/ / www. inshr-ew. ro/ pdf/ Final_Report. pdf
[334] http:/ / autori. humanitas. ro/ eliade/ despre. php
[335] http:/ / autori. humanitas. ro
Mircea Eliade 435
[336] http:/ / www. history-cluj. ro/ Istorie/ cercet/ Nastasa/ SuveraniiUniversitatilorI. pdf
[337] http:/ / www. history-cluj. ro/
[338] http:/ / www. revista22. ro/ html/ index. php?art=3610& nr=2007-04-06
[339] http:/ / www. dilemaveche. ro/ index. php?nr=120& cmd=articol& id=615
[340] http:/ / www. westminster. edu/ staff/ brennie/ eliade/ mebio. htm
[341] http:/ / www. kirjasto. sci. fi/ eliade. htm
[342] http:/ / www. geocities. com/ mircea_eliade/ meils. htm
[343] http:/ / www. mircea-eliade. com/ from-primitives-to-zen/ index. html
[344] http:/ / www. friesian. com/ vocab. htm
[345] http:/ / www. scils. rutgers. edu/ ~mjoseph/ rennie. html
[346] http:/ / www. religion-online. org/ showarticle. asp?title=1901
[347] http:/ / www. mariromani. ro/ personaj. php?id=147
[348] http:/ / www. rahr. ro/
[349] http:/ / archiv. ub. uni-heidelberg. de/ savifadok/ volltexte/ 2008/ 149/ pdf/
Guggenbuehl_Eliade_DasGupta_Gesamt2. pdf
Vandana Shiva 436
Vandana Shiva
Vandana Shiva
Vandana Shiva (Hindi: वन्दना शिवा; b. November 5, 1952, Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand, India), is a
physicist, environmental activist, eco feminist and author of several books.[1] Shiva,
currently based in Delhi, is author of over 300 papers in leading scientific and technical
journals.
Shiva participated in the nonviolent Chipko movement during the 1970s. The movement,
whose main participants were women, adopted the tactic of hugging trees to prevent their
felling. She is one of the leaders of the International Forum on Globalization, (along with →
Jerry Mander, Edward Goldsmith, Ralph Nader, Jeremy Rifkin, et al.), and a figure of the
global solidarity movement known as the alter-globalization movement. She has argued for
the wisdom of many traditional practices, as is evident from her interview in the book Vedic
Ecology (by Ranchor Prime) that draws upon India's Vedic heritage.
Career
Shiva has fought for changes in the practice and paradigms of agriculture and food.
Intellectual property rights, biodiversity, biotechnology, bioethics, genetic engineering are
among the fields where Shiva has contributed intellectually and through activist campaigns.
She has assisted grassroots organizations of the Green movement in Africa, Asia, Latin
America, Ireland, Switzerland and Austria with campaigns against genetic engineering. In
1982, she founded the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology, which
led to the creation of Navdanya. Her book, "Staying Alive" helped redefine perceptions of
third world women. Shiva has also served as an adviser to governments in India and abroad
as well as non governmental organisations, including the International Forum on
Globalisation, the Women's Environment & Development Organization and the Third World
Network.
Vandana Shiva participated in the Stock Exchange of Visions project in 2007.
Film
Shiva is interviewed in the international documentary *One Water (documentary), directed
by Sanjeev Chatterjee and Ali Habashi. (http:/ / www. onewaterthemovie. org/ ). "One
Water," an award-winning documentary [4] about the world’s changing relationship to
water, was filmed in 15 countries and produced at the University of Miami as a
collaboration among the School of Communication [5], College of Engineering and the Frost
School of Music.
Shiva stars in the feature documentary Blue Gold: World Water Wars by Sam Bozzo.
Shiva is featured in Irena Salina's documentary Flow: For Love of Water that was in
competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
Shiva is featured in the documentary Dirt! The Movie that was in competition at the 2009
Sundance Film Festival.
She is featured in the documentary The Corporation protesting against large corporations
as a seed activist, and she is also featured in the documentary "Fed up!:Genetic
Engineering, Industrial Agriculture and Sustainable Alternatives."
Recently, she has been featured in the documentary The World According to Monsanto, a
film made by a French independent journalist Marie-Monique Robin.
Shiva is also featured in the feature documentary film about the Dalai Lama, entitled Dalai
Lama Renaissance.[6]
Shiva is featured on the PBS NOW documentary entitled On Thin Ice.[7]
Recognition
In 1993, Shiva received the Right Livelihood Award (also known as the Alternative Nobel
Prize) "...For placing women and ecology at the heart of modern development discourse."[8]
Other awards she has received include the Global 500 Award of the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1993,[9] and the Earth Day International Award of the
United Nations (UN) for her dedicated commitment to the preservation of the planet as
demonstrated by her actions, leadership and by setting an example for the rest of the
world.
Additional awards include:
Vandana Shiva 438
Ecofeminism
Vandana Shiva plays a major role in the global Ecofeminist movement. According to her
article Empowering Women, Shiva suggests that a more sustainable and productive
approach to agriculture can be achieved through reinstating a system of farming in India
that is more centered around engaging women. She advocates against the prevalent
"patriarchal logic of exclusion," claiming that a woman-focused system would change the
current system in an extremely positive manner.[10]
"Agriculture systems, which are women centered and earth centered, are also more
productive. 300 units of inputs produce 100 units of output in industrial agriculture, while
ecological systems in which women participate use only 5 units of input to produce 100
units of output."[11]
In this way, Indian and global food security, can only benefit from a focus on empowering
women through integrating them into the agricultural system.[12]
Vandana Shiva 439
Publications
• 1981, Social Economic and Ecological Impact of Social Forestry in Kolar, Vandana Shiva,
H.C. Sharatchandra, J. Banyopadhyay, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
• 1988, Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Survival in India, Zed Press, New Delhi, ISBN
0-86232-823-3
• 1991, Ecology and the Politics of Survival: Conflicts Over Natural Resources in India,
Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, California, ISBN 0-8039-9672-1
• 1992, The Violence of the Green Revolution: Ecological degradation and political conflict
in Punjab, Zed Press, New Delhi
• 1992, Biodiversity: Social and Ecological Perspectives (editor); Zed Press, United
Kingdom
• 1993, Women, Ecology and Health: Rebuilding Connections [13] (editor), Dag
Hammarskjöld Foundation and Kali for Women, New Delhi
• 1993, Monocultures of the Mind: Biodiversity, Biotechnology and Agriculture, Zed Press,
New Delhi
• 1993, Ecofeminism, Maria Mies and Vandana Shiva, Fernwood Publications, Halifax,
Nova Scotia, Canada, ISBN 1-895686-28-8
• 1994, Close to Home: Women Reconnect Ecology, Health and Development Worldwide,
Earthscan, London, ISBN 0-86571-264-6
• 1995, Biopolitics (with Ingunn Moser), Zed Books, United Kingdom
• 1997, Biopiracy: the Plunder of Nature and Knowledge, South End Press, Cambridge
Massachusetts, I ISBN 1-896357-11-3
• 1999, Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply, South End Press,
Cambridge Massachusetts, ISBN 0-89608-608-9
• 2000, Tomorrow's Biodiversity, Thames and Hudson, London, ISBN 0-500-28239-0
• 2001, Patents, Myths and Reality, Penguin India
• 2002, Water Wars; Privatization, Pollution, and Profit, South End Press, Cambridge
Massachusetts
• 2005, Globalization's New Wars: Seed, Water and Life Forms Women Unlimited, New
Delhi, ISBN 81-88965-17-0
• 2005, Breakfast of Biodiversity: the Political Ecology of Rain Forest Destruction, ISBN
0-935028-96-X
• 2005, Earth Democracy; Justice, Sustainability, and Peace, South End Press, ISBN
0-89608-745-X
• 2007, Manifestos on the Future of Food and Seed, editor, South End Press ISBN
978-0-89608-777-4
Vandana Shiva 440
See also
• Biopiracy
• Green revolution
External links
• http:/ / www. vandanashiva. org Vandana Shiva's US website
• Video of Vandana Shiva with the Dalai Lama [14] from the documentary "Dalai Lama
Renaissance"
• Video: "Creating Food Democracy" [15] - 2006 Lecture at Emory University's Center for
Ethics
• On Air chicago public radio -rebroadcast on 3-2-08 [16]
• Vandana Shiva's South End Press HomePage [17]
• Navdanya - Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE) founded
by Dr. Shiva [18]
• Stock Exchange Of Visions: Visions of Vandana Shiva [19]
• Interview with Vandana Shiva by Paolo Scopacasa [20], EcoWorld, March 2004
[21]
• Vandana Shiva biography , Right Livelihood Award homepage
[22]
• In the Footsteps of Gandhi - An Interview with Vandana Shiva by Scott London (From
the Radio Series 'Insight & Outlook').
• Vandana Shiva page [23], Third World Traveler.
• Vandana Shiva on McDonald's, Exploitation and the Global Economy [24], One-Off
Productions, 1997.
• Whose Freedom? Which Freedom? [25], Working TV, June 15, 1998.
• Vandana Shiva. Corporate Terrorism [26], Resurgence Magazine, January 2002.
• Vandana Shiva. Privatizing water will lead to war [27], Resurgence Magazine, July 2003.
• Amy Goodman. An Hour With Vandana Shiva [28], Democracy Now, November 27, 2003.
• Vandana Shiva. Gift of Food [29], Resurgence Magazine, January 2005.
• Vandana Shiva. Celebrating Food Economies [30], Resurgence Magazine, March 2005.
• Shiva on Coca-Cola's involvement in water depletion and contamination in India [31],
NOW with Bill Moyers. September 5, 2003.
• Video of Shiva's lecture at Michigan State University [32], Internet Archive, April 7, 2005.
• Vandana Shiva. Two Myths That Keep The World Poor [33], Ode Magazine, October 2005.
(accessed 2007 Oct 19)
• Feature on Vandana Shiva's work on seed saving [34] by the International Museum of
Women.
• VIDEO: The Future of Food and Seed [35], keynote talk by Vandana Shiva at the
Organicology Conference in Portland, Oregon, February 28, 2009.
Vandana Shiva 441
References
[1] Who's Who of Women and the Environment - Vandana Shiva (http:/ / www. unep. org/ women_env/ w_details.
asp?w_id=107) United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
[2] " Seeds of Self-Reliance (http:/ / www. time. com/ time/ 2002/ greencentury/ heroes/ index_shiva. html)". .
Retrieved on March 2 2007.
[3] Theses Canada record (http:/ / amicus. collectionscanada. ca/ s4-bin/ Main/ ItemDisplay?l=0& l_ef_l=-1&
id=128534. 1506233& v=1& lvl=1& coll=18& rt=1& itm=3151438& rsn=S_WWWzaaa3SWAn& all=1&
dt=NW+ |shiva|& spi=-& rp=1& vo=1)
[4] http:/ / knight. miami. edu/ index. php/ site/ story/ one_water_wins_another_top_international_award/
[5] http:/ / com. miami. edu
[6] http:/ / www. dalailamafilm. com
[7] http:/ / www. pbs. org/ now/ shows/ 516/ index. html
[8] http:/ / www. rightlivelihood. se/ recip1993_3. html
[9] http:/ / www. global500. org/ ViewLaureate. asp?ID=191
[10] Vandana Shiva: Empowering Women (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ worldservice/ trust/ 2015/ story/ 2004/ 06/
040609_vandana_shiva. shtml) by BBC News
[11] Vandana Shiva: Empowering Women (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ worldservice/ trust/ 2015/ story/ 2004/ 06/
040609_vandana_shiva. shtml) by BBC News
[12] Vandana Shiva: Empowering Women (http:/ / www. bbc. co. uk/ worldservice/ trust/ 2015/ story/ 2004/ 06/
040609_vandana_shiva. shtml) by BBC News
[13] http:/ / www. dhf. uu. se/ FMPro?-db=pub1. fp5& -format=%2fpublications%2fdd%2fapubdddetail. html&
-lay=weblayout& -sortfield=pubyear& -sortorder=descend& -sortfield=pubissuewithoutcolon&
-sortorder=descend& pubtype=development& -max=2147483647& -recid=3& -find=
[14] http:/ / dalailamafilm. com/ cast-vandana-shiva/
vandana-shiva-biography-physicist-environmental-activist-alter-globalization-movement. html
[15] http:/ / realaudio. service. emory. edu/ ramgen/ ETHICS/ food_democracy. rm
[16] http:/ / www. alternativeradio. org/ programs/ SHIV011. shtml
[17] http:/ / southendpress. org/ authors/ 17
[18] http:/ / www. navdanya. org/
[19] http:/ / www. stockexchangeofvisions. org/ speaker. php?id=31
[20] http:/ / www. ecoworld. com/ Home/ Articles2. cfm?TID=346
[21] http:/ / www. rightlivelihood. org/ recip/ v-shiva. htm
[22] http:/ / www. scottlondon. com/ interviews/ shiva. html
[23] http:/ / www. thirdworldtraveler. com/ Vandana_Shiva/ Vandana_Shiva_page. html
[24] http:/ / www. mcspotlight. org/ people/ interviews/ vandana_transcript. html
[25] http:/ / www. workingtv. com/ vandana. html
[26] http:/ / www. resurgence. org/ resurgence/ issues/ shiva210. htm
[27] http:/ / www. resurgence. org/ resurgence/ issues/ shiva219. htm
[28] http:/ / www. democracynow. org/ article. pl?sid=03/ 11/ 28/ 0228247
[29] http:/ / www. resurgence. org/ 2005/ shiva228. htm
[30] http:/ / www. resurgence. org/ 2005/ shiva229. htm
[31] http:/ / www. pbs. org/ now/ transcript/ transcript_shiva. html
[32] http:/ / www. archive. org/ details/ vandana-shiva-msu-04072005-mm
[33] http:/ / www. odemagazine. com/ doc/ 28/ two_myths_that_keep_the_world_poor
[34] http:/ / www. imow. org/ wpp/ stories/ viewStory?storyId=1236
[35] http:/ / www. pdxjustice. org/ node/ 48
Daniel Quinn 442
Daniel Quinn
Disambiguation: For the fictional character see Daniel Quinn (City of Glass).
Daniel Quinn
[1]
Official website
Biography
Daniel Quinn studied at Saint Louis University, University of Vienna, Austria, and Loyola
University, receiving a bachelor's degree in English, cum laude, in 1957.
In 1975, he abandoned his career as a publisher to become a freelance writer. Quinn is best
known for his book Ishmael (1992), which won the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship Award in
1991. This fellowship was established to encourage authors to seek "creative and positive
solutions to global problems". Ishmael is the first of a trilogy including The Story of B, and
My Ishmael. The 1999 film Instinct started from parts of this story.
Ishmael and its sequels brought ever-increasing fame to Quinn throughout the 1990s, and
he became a very well-known author to certain segments of the environmental movement,
the → simplicity movement, the anarchist movement and → Anarcho-primitivism
movements. Quinn has traveled widely to lecture and discuss his books.
Daniel Quinn offers readers a way out of the dilemma between inattention and blame. It is
tough to hold the attention on global problems and still imagine solutions and reasons for
hope. Some blame humanity in general, and claim "human nature" necessarily leads to
species loss and habitat degradation. In the writings of Daniel Quinn, one can find a
perspective that is pro-sustainability and pro-human, a refreshing antidote to views of
humans as inherently toxic to the world.
Daniel Quinn 443
While response to Ishmael was mostly very positive, Quinn inspired a great deal of
controversy with his claim (most explicitly discussed in the appendix section of The Story of
B) that since population growth is a function of food supply, sustained food aid to
impoverished nations merely puts off and dramatically worsens a massive
population-environment crisis. This crisis is born of a disconnect between local humans and
the local habitat with its food. Quinn points out that ending this disconnect is a proven way
to avoid famines.
Some say his argument is a modified version of → Thomas Malthus, although Quinn states
the problem is not a food shortage, pointing out an excess of food, which does not go to
feeding those who are starving. He suggests that current population growth is
unsustainable both for human beings and other species, and that apparently benevolent
policies now will wreak havoc when considered from a longer-term view. As evidence of
this, he points to the extinction of 200 species a day currently being caused by human
beings. Quinn has also suggested that the low fertility rates of developed nations are
irrelevant as counter-evidence to his thesis, because the food production of developed
nations is what is driving population growth in the Third World.
Quinn repeatedly states in his books that he speaks to a population as a whole, and not
some artificial subsection (say, Germany). His argument is simple: more food, more
humans. Not necessarily more humans in Nebraska, for example, but wherever the extra
food from Nebraska is going. His argument rests on the physical fact that more food eaten
directly translates to more human mass. He specifically states that starvation in problem
areas is not necessary, provided the humans are allowed to move to areas that can sustain
them. He objects to nonemergency food aid that simply keeps an already unsustainable
population growing in place, a place that will never feed that many.
In 1998 Quinn collaborated with environmental biologist Alan D. Thornhill, PhD, in
producing Food Production and Population Growth, a 2 hour 40 minute video (later DVD)
elaborating in depth the ideas presented in his books.
Quinn's book Tales of Adam was released in 2005 after a long bankruptcy scuffle with its
initially scheduled publisher. It is designed to be a look through the animist's eyes in seven
short tales.
Related authors include Jean Liedloff, → Derrick Jensen, → John Zerzan, Jack Forbes,
Edward Goldsmith, and → Fredy Perlman.
Quinn currently lives in Houston, Texas with his wife Rennie.
Bibliography
• (1988) Dreamer
• (1992) Ishmael
• (1996) The Story of B
• (1996) Providence: The Story of a 50 Year Vision Quest (autobiography)
• (1997) My Ishmael
• (1997) A Newcomer's Guide to the Afterlife (with Tom Whalen)
• (1999) An Animist Testament (audio cassette of Quinn reading The Tales of Adam and
The Book of the Damned)
• (2000) Beyond Civilization
• (2001) The Man Who Grew Young (graphic novel)
• (2001) After Dachau
Daniel Quinn 444
Key concepts
• New tribalists
• Food Race
• → Overpopulation
• Law of Limited Competition
External links
• Ishmael.org [1] - The Ishmael community, Daniel Quinn's official website
• The Friends of Ishmael Society [2]
• Read Ishmael [3] - a website devoted to encouraging people to read Ishmael
• Ishthink.org [4] - thinking about Ishmael
References
[1] http:/ / www. ishmael. org
[2] http:/ / www. friendsofishmael. org
[3] http:/ / www. readishmael. com
[4] http:/ / ishthink. org
Ivan Illich 445
Ivan Illich
Western philosophy
Contemporary philosophy
Ivan Illich (pronounced /ɪˈvɑːn ˈɪlɪtʃ/[1] ) (Vienna, 4 September 1926 – Bremen, 2 December
2002) was an Austrian philosopher, social critic, and defrocked Roman Catholic priest. He
authored a series of critiques of the institutions of contemporary western culture and their
effects of the provenance and practice of education, medicine, work, energy use, and
economic development.
Personal life
Illich was born in Vienna to a Croatian father and Sephardic-Jewish mother and had Italian,
French and German as native languages.[2] He later learned Croatian, the language of his
grandfathers, then Ancient Greek and Latin, in addition to Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi,
English, and other languages.[2] Thereafter, he studied histology and crystallography at the
University of Florence (Italy) as well as theology and philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian
University in the Vatican (from 1942 to 1946), and medieval history in Salzburg.[2]
He wrote a dissertation focusing on the historian Arnold J. Toynbee and would return to
that subject in his later years. In 1951, he was assigned as an assistant parish priest in New
York City[2] after which he was appointed in 1956, at the age of 30, as the vice rector of the
Catholic University of Puerto Rico.[2] It was in Puerto Rico that Illich met Everett Reimer
and the two began to analyze their own functions as "educational" leaders. In 1959, he
traveled throughout South America on foot and by bus.[2]
In 1961, Illich founded the Centro Intercultural de Documentación (CIDOC, or Intercultural
Documentation Center) at Cuernavaca in Mexico, ostensibly a research center offering
language courses to missionaries from North America and volunteers of the Alliance for
Progress program[2] initiated by John F. Kennedy. His real intent was to document the
participation of the Vatican in the "modern development" of the so-called Third World. Illich
Ivan Illich 446
looked askance at the liberal pity or conservative imperiousness that motivated the rising
tide of global industrial development. He viewed such emissaries as a form of industrial
hegemony and, as such, an act of "war on subsistence." He sought to teach missionaries
dispatched by the Church not to impose their own cultural values[3] and to identify
themselves instead as guests of the host country.
After ten years, critical analysis from the CIDOC of the institutional actions by the Church
brought the organization into conflict with the Vatican. Illich was called to Rome for
questioning, due in part to a report from the CIA.[2] In 1976, Illich, apparently concerned by
the influx of formal academics and the potential side effects of its own "institutionalization,"
shut the center down with consent from the other members of the CIDOC. Several of the
members subsequently continued language schools in Cuernavaca, of which some still exist.
Illich himself resigned from the active priesthood in the late 1960s (having attained the
rank of monsignor), but continued to identify as a priest and occasionally performed private
masses.
In the 1970s, Illich was popular among leftist intellectuals in France, his thesis having been
discussed in particular by André Gorz. However, his influence declined after the 1981
election of François Mitterrand as he was considered too pessimistic at a time when the
French Left took control of the government.[2]
In the 1980s and beyond, Illich traveled extensively, mainly splitting his time between the
United States, Mexico, and Germany. He held an appointment as a Visiting Professor of
Philosophy, Science, Technology and Society at Penn State. He also taught at the University
of Bremen.
During his later years, he suffered from a cancerous growth on his face that, in accordance
with his critique of professionalized medicine, was treated with traditional methods. He
regularly smoked opium to deal with the pain caused by this tumor. At an early stage, he
consulted a doctor about having the tumor removed, but was told that there was too great a
chance of losing his ability to speak, and so he lived with the tumor as best he could. He
called it "my mortality."
Deschooling Society
The book that brought Ivan Illich to public attention was Deschooling Society (1971), a
critical discourse on education as practised in "modern" economies. Full of detail on
then-current programs and concerns, the book's core assertions and propositions remain as
radical today as they were at the time. Giving real-world examples of the ineffectual nature
of institutionalized education, Illich posited self-directed education, supported by
intentional social relations, in fluid, informal arrangements:
Universal education through schooling is not feasible. It would be no more feasible if it
were attempted by means of alternative institutions built on the style of present
schools. Neither new attitudes of teachers toward their pupils nor the proliferation of
educational hardware or software (in classroom or bedroom), nor finally the attempt to
expand the pedagogue's responsibility until it engulfs his pupils' lifetimes will deliver
universal education. The current search for new educational funnels must be reversed
into the search for their institutional inverse: educational webs which heighten the
opportunity for each one to transform each moment of his living into one of learning,
sharing, and caring. We hope to contribute concepts needed by those who conduct
such counterfoil research on education--and also to those who seek alternatives to
Ivan Illich 447
Medical Nemesis
In his Medical Nemesis, first published in 1975, also known as Limits to Medicine, Illich
subjected contemporary western medicine to detailed attack. He argued that the
medicalization in recent decades of so many of life's vicissitudes—birth and death, for
example—frequently caused more harm than good and rendered many people in effect
lifelong patients. He marshalled a body of statistics to show what he considered the
shocking extent of post-operative side-effects and drug-induced illness in advanced
industrial society. He was the first to introduce to a wider public the notion of iatrogenic
disease. [8] Others have since voiced similar views, but none so trenchantly, perhaps, as
Illich.[9]
Ivan Illich 448
List of works
• Die philosophischen Grundlagen der Geschichtsschreibung bei Arnold J. Toynbee (1951),
Diss. Salzburg
• Celebration of Awareness (1971) ISBN 0-7145-0837-3
• Deschooling Society (1971) ISBN 0060121394
• Tools for Conviviality (1973) ISBN 0-06-080308-8 ISBN 0-06-012138-6
• Energy and Equity (1974) ISBN 0061361535
• Medical Nemesis (1975) ISBN 0-394-71245-5 ISBN 0-7145-1095-5 ISBN 0-7145-1096-3
• The Right to Useful Unemployment (1978) ISBN 0-7145-2628-2
• Toward a History of Needs (1978) ISBN 0-394-41040-8 ISBN 0-394-73501-3
• Shadow Work (1981) ISBN 0-7145-2711-4 ISBN 0-7145-2710-6
• Gender (1982) ISBN 0-394-52732-1
• H2O and the Waters of Forgetfulness (1985) ISBN 0-911005-06-4
• ABC: The Alphabetization of the Popular Mind (1988) ISBN 0-86547-291-2
• In the Mirror of the Past (1992) ISBN 0-7145-2937-0
• In the Vineyard of the Text: A Commentary to Hugh's Didascalicon (1993) ISBN
0-226-37235-9
• Blasphemy: A Radical Critique of Our Technological Culture (We the People Series) (July
1995) ISBN 978-1882206025 (Morristown, NJ: Aaron Press)
• Ivan Illich in Conversation interviews with Cayley, David. (1992) (Toronto: Anansi Press).
• The Rivers North of the Future - The Testament of Ivan Illich as told to David Cayley
(2005) ISBN 0-88784-714-5 (Toronto: Anansi Press)
• Corruption of Christianity Illich, Ivan (Author) Cayley, David (Editor) (2000) ISBN
0-660-18099-5
Bibliography
• Power in the Highest Degree : Professionals and the Rise of a New Mandarin Order by
Charles Derber, William A. Schwartz, and Yale Magrass, Oxford University Press, 1990.
• Silencing Ivan Illich : A Foucauldian Analysis of Intellectual Exclusion. Gabbard, D. A.
New York: Austin & Winfield, 1993, ISBN 1880921170
See also
• Credentialism
• Critical pedagogy
• Critique of technology
• Development criticism
• Ecopedagogy
• Holistic education
Ivan Illich 449
Further reading
• Profiles : The Rules of the Game by Francine Du Plessix Gray, New Yorker magazine,
April 25, 1970, pp. 40–92.
External links
General
• Thinking After Illich [10]
• Collection of Illich Resources, including MP3s [11]
• Ivan Illich Archives [12]
• Full text of Tools for Conviviality [13]
• Illich's writing on the web [14] at The Preservation Institute
• Text of To Hell With Good Intentions [15] - Cuernavaca, Mexico, on April 20, 1968
• Ivan Illich with Jerry Brown [16], KPFA - March 22, 1996
• An extensive set of Illich's writings and recordings [17]
• Article in The encyclopaedia of informal education [18]
[19]
• American Educational Research Association Ivan Illich Special Interest Group website
• The International Journal of Illich Studies [20]
Obituaries
• A Turbulent Priest in the Global Village [21] by Richard Wall, lewrockwell.com
• Obituary from The Guardian [22]
• Remembering Ivan Illich [23] Whole Earth Magazine, Spring 2003
References
[1] See inogolo:pronunciation of Ivan Illich (http:/ / inogolo. com/ pronunciation/ d96/ Ivan_Illich).
[2] Thierry Paquot, The Non-Conformist (http:/ / mondediplo. com/ 2003/ 01/ 15illich), Le Monde diplomatique,
January 2003 () ( French version freely-available (http:/ / www. monde-diplomatique. fr/ 2003/ 01/ PAQUOT/
9866), and Portuguese and Esperanto translations available)
[3] Profiles : Rules of the Game by Francine Du Plessix Gray, New Yorker magazine, April 25, 1970, pp.44 & 49.
[4] http:/ / www. ecotopia. com/ webpress/ deschooling. htm
[5] Ivan Illich, Tools for Conviviality (1973) ISBN 0-06-080308-8 ISBN 0-06-012138-6
[6] <http:/ / www. techno-science. net/ ?onglet=glossaire& definition=1048
[7] Convivial Cybernetic Devices, From Vacuum Tube Flip-Flops to the Singing Altair, An Interview with Lee
Felsenstein (Part 1), The Analytical Engine (Newsletter of the Computer History Association of California, ISSN
1071-6351), Volume 3, Number 1, November 1995, http:/ / opencollector. org/ history/ homebrew/ engv3n1.
html
Illich Ivan (1974). Medical Nemesis. London: Calder & Boyars. ISBN 0714510963. OCLC
224760852 (http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 224760852).
[9] [[Neil Postman Postman Neil (1992). Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology. New York: Knopf.
OCLC 24694343 (http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 24694343).
[10] http:/ / www. pudel. uni-bremen. de/ 420en_beteiligte. html
[11] http:/ / altruists. org/ ivan_illich
[12] http:/ / ournature. org/ ~novembre/ illich/
[13] http:/ / todd. cleverchimp. com/ tools_for_conviviality/
[14] http:/ / www. preservenet. com/ theory/ Illich. html
[15] http:/ / www. swaraj. org/ illich_hell. htm
[16] http:/ / www. wtp. org/ archive/ transcripts/ ivan_illich_jerry. html
[17] http:/ / www. davidtinapple. com/ illich/
[18] http:/ / www. infed. org/ thinkers/ et-illic. htm
Ivan Illich 450
Wolfi Landstreicher
Wolfi Landstreicher is the current nom de plume of a contemporary anarchist involved in
theoretical and practical activity. He edited the anarchist publication Willful Disobedience,
which was published from 1996 until 2005, and currently publishes a variety of anarchist,
radical, surrealist and poetic pamphlets and booklets through his project, Venomous
Butterfly Publication. His ideas are influenced by insurrectionary anarchism, Max Stirner's
egoism, surrealism, the Situationist International and non-primitivist critiques of
civilization. He previously published under the pen name Feral Faun. "Landstreicher" is
the German word for vagabond, tramp.
Selected publications
• Against the Logic of Submission [1]
[2]
• Autonomous Self-Organization and Anarchist Intervention
• Critical Thinking as an Anarchist Weapon [3]
• Feral Revolution [4] (as Feral Faun)
• the Network of Domination [5]
• Consuming Fire [6]
See also
• → Green Anarchy
• → John Zerzan
• → Post-left anarchy
References
• Lacey, Anita (2005). "Networked Communities: Social Centers and Activist Spaces in
Contemporary Britain [7]". Space and Culture 8 (3): 286–301.
doi:10.1177/1206331205277350 [8]. http:/ / sac. sagepub. com/ cgi/ reprint/ 8/ 3/ 286.
Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
Wolfi Landstreicher 451
External links
• An incomplete archive of written work [9]
• Introduction to Landstreicher's perspective [10]
• Against the Logic of Submission [11] free audiobook from the Audio Anarchy project
References
[1] http:/ / www. anti-politics. net/ distro/ download/ againstthelogic-imposed. pdf
[2] http:/ / www. anti-politics. net/ distro/ download/ autoselforg-imposed. pdf
[3] http:/ / www. anti-politics. net/ distro/ download/ criticalthinking-imposed. pdf
[4] http:/ / www. anti-politics. net/ distro/ download/ feral-revolution. pdf
[5] http:/ / www. anti-politics. net/ distro/ download/ networkofdomination-imposed. pdf
[6] http:/ / www. anti-politics. net/ distro/ download/ consumingfire-imposed. pdf
[7] http:/ / sac. sagepub. com/ cgi/ reprint/ 8/ 3/ 286
[8] http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1177%2F1206331205277350
[9] http:/ / www. geocities. com/ kk_abacus/ vbutterfly. html
[10] http:/ / www. geocities. com/ kk_abacus/ vb/ wd12persp. html
[11] http:/ / audioanarchy. org/ submission. php
Theodore Kaczynski
Theodore John Kaczynski (pronounced /kəˈzɪnski/; born May 22, 1942), also known as the
Unabomber, is a United States murderer, mathematician, and neo-Luddite social critic
who carried out a campaign of mail bombings. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, where, as
an intellectual child prodigy, he excelled academically from an early age. Kaczynski
received an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and earned a PhD in
mathematics from the University of Michigan. He became an assistant professor at the
University of California, Berkeley at age 25 but resigned two years later.
In 1971, he moved to a remote cabin without electricity or running water, in Lincoln,
Montana, where he began to learn survival skills in an attempt to become self-sufficient.[1]
He decided to start a bombing campaign after watching the wilderness around his home get
destroyed by development.[1] From 1978 to 1995, Kaczynski sent 16 bombs to targets
including universities and airlines, killing three people and injuring 23. Kaczynski sent a
letter to The New York Times on April 24, 1995 and promised "to desist from terrorism" if
the Times or The Washington Post published his manifesto. In his Industrial Society and Its
Future (also called the "Unabomber Manifesto"), he argued that his bombings were
extreme but necessary to attract attention to the erosion of human freedom necessitated by
modern technologies requiring large-scale organization.
The Unabomber was the target of one of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) most
costly investigations. Before Kaczynski's identity was known, the FBI used the handle
"UNABOM" ("UNiversity and Airline BOMber") to refer to his case, which resulted in the
media calling him the Unabomber. Despite the FBI's efforts, he was not caught as a result
of this investigation. Instead, his brother recognized Ted's style of writing and beliefs from
the manifesto, and tipped off the FBI. To avoid the death penalty, Kaczynski's lawyers
entered into a plea agreement, under which he pled guilty and was sentenced to life in
prison with no possibility of parole. Theodore Kaczynski has been designated a "domestic
terrorist" by the FBI. [2] Some anarchist authors, such as → John Zerzan and → John Moore,
have come to his defense, while holding some reservations over his actions and ideas.[3] [4]
Theodore Kaczynski 452
[5]
Early life
Kaczynski was born in a family of Jewish descent on May 22, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois to
second-generation Polish Americans Theodore Richard Kaczynski and wife Wanda
Dombek.[6] From grades one through four, Kaczynski attended Sherman Elementary School
in Chicago. He attended grades five through eight at Evergreen Park Central school.[7] As a
result of testing conducted in the fifth grade which determined he had an intelligence
quotient of 167,[8] he was allowed to skip the sixth grade and enroll in the seventh grade.
Kaczynski described this as a pivotal event in his life. He recalled not fitting in with the
older children and being subjected to their verbal abuse and teasing. As a child, Kaczynski
had a fear of people and buildings, and played beside other children rather than interacting
with them. His mother was so worried by his poor social development that she considered
entering him in a study for autistic children led by Bruno Bettelheim.[7]
He attended high school at Evergreen Park Community High School. Kaczynski was
described as anti-social and many of his classmates recall him as a quiet loner. Kaczynski
did well academically, but found the mathematics too simple during his sophomore year.
During this period of his life, Kaczynski became obsessed with mathematics, spending
prolonged hours locked in his room practicing differential equations. He was subsequently
placed in a more advanced math class, yet still felt intellectually restricted. Kaczynski
quickly mastered the material, and skipped the eleventh grade. With the help of a summer
school course for English, he completed his high school education when he was 15. He was
encouraged to apply to Harvard University, and was subsequently accepted as a student
beginning in Fall 1958 at the age of 16. While at Harvard, Kaczynski was taught by famed
logician Willard Quine, scoring at the top of Quine's class with a 98.9% final grade. He also
participated in a multiple-year personality study conducted by Dr. Henry Murray, an expert
on stress interviews.[7]
Students in Murray's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)-sponsored study were told they
would be debating personal philosophy with a fellow student.[9] Instead, they were
subjected to the stress test, which was an extremely stressful and prolonged psychological
attack by an anonymous attorney. During the test, students were strapped into a chair and
connected to electrodes that monitored their physiological reactions, while facing bright
lights and a two-way mirror. This was filmed, and students' expressions of impotent rage
were played back to them several times later in the study. According to Chase, Kaczynski's
records from that period suggest he was emotionally stable when the study began.
Kaczynski's lawyers attributed some of his emotional instability and dislike of mind control
to his participation in this study.[9] [10]
Theodore Kaczynski 453
Career
Kaczynski graduated from Harvard in 1962 and
subsequently attended the University of Michigan,
where he earned a master's degree and a PhD in
mathematics.[7] Kaczynski's specialty was a branch of
complex analysis known as geometric function theory.
He earned his PhD with his thesis entitled "Boundary
Functions" by solving, in less than a year, a math
problem that was unsolved by one of his professors at
Michigan, George Piranian, who later commented on Kaczynski as a young professor at
Kaczynski by saying, "It is not enough to say he was Berkeley, 1968
[11]
smart." Maxwell Reade, a retired math professor
who served on Kaczynski's dissertation committee, also commented on his thesis by noting,
"I would guess that maybe 10 or 12 people in the country understood or appreciated it."[12]
In 1967, Kaczynski won the University of Michigan's $100 Sumner B. Myers Prize, which
recognized his dissertation as the school's best in mathematics that year.[12] While a
graduate student at Michigan, he held a National Science Foundation fellowship and taught
undergraduates for three years. He also published two articles related to his dissertation in
mathematical journals, and four more after leaving Michigan later.[13]
Life In Montana
In Summer 1969, Kaczynski moved into his
parents' small residence in Lombard,
Illinois. Two years later, he moved into a
remote cabin he built himself in Lincoln,
Montana where he lived a → simple life on
very little money, without electricity or
running water. Kaczynski worked odd jobs
and received financial support from his
family, which he used to purchase his land
and, without their knowledge, would later
use to fund his bombing campaign. In 1978,
The cabin that Kaczynski built and lived in, located
he worked very briefly with his father and
outside of Lincoln, Montana
brother at a foam-rubber factory.[12]
Kaczynski's original goal was to move out to a secluded place and become self-sufficient so
that he could live autonomously. He began to teach himself survival skills such as tracking,
Theodore Kaczynski 454
edible plant identification, and how to construct primitive technologies such as bow drills.[1]
However, he quickly realized that it was not possible for him to live that way, as a result of
watching the wild land around him get destroyed by development and industry.[1] He
performed isolated acts of → monkeywrenching initially, targeted at the developments near
his cabin. The ultimate catalyst which drove him to begin his campaign of bombings, was
when he went out for a walk to one of his favorite wild spots and it had been destroyed and
replaced with a road. About this, he said:
The best place, to me, was the largest remnant of this plateau that dates from the
tertiary age. It's kind of rolling country, not flat, and when you get to the edge of it you
find these ravines that cut very steeply in to cliff-like drop-offs and there was even a
waterfall there. It was about a two days hike from my cabin. That was the best spot
until the summer of 1983. That summer there were too many people around my cabin
so I decided I needed some peace. I went back to the plateau and when I got there I
found they had put a road right through the middle of it" His voice trails off; he pauses,
then continues, "You just can't imagine how upset I was. It was from that point on I
decided that, rather than trying to acquire further wilderness skills, I would work on
getting back at the system. Revenge.
—Ted Kaczynski, [1]
He began dedicating himself to reading about sociology and books on political philosophy,
such as the works of → Jacques Ellul and also stepped up his campaign of
monkeywrenching. He soon came to the conclusion however, that more violent methods
would be the only solution to what he saw as the problem of industrial civilization. He says
that he lost faith in the idea of reform, and saw violent collapse as the only way to bring
down the techno-industrial system.[1] About the idea of a peaceful, reformist means of
taking it down he said:
I don't think it can be done. In part because of the human tendency, for most people,
there are exceptions, to take the path of least resistance. They'll take the easy way out,
and giving up your car, your television set, your electricity, is not the path of least
resistance for most people. As I see it, I don't think there is any controlled or planned
way in which we can dismantle the industrial system. I think that the only way we will
get rid of it is if it breaks down and collapses ... The big problem is that people don't
believe a revolution is possible, and it is not possible precisely because they do not
believe it is possible. To a large extent I think the eco-anarchist movement is
accomplishing a great deal, but I think they could do it better... The real
revolutionaries should separate themselves from the reformers… And I think that it
would be good if a conscious effort was being made to get as many people as possible
introduced to the wilderness. In a general way, I think what has to be done is not to try
and convince or persuade the majority of people that we are right, as much as try to
increase tensions in society to the point where things start to break down. To create a
situation where people get uncomfortable enough that they’re going to rebel. So the
question is how do you increase those tensions?
—Ted Kaczynski, [1]
Theodore Kaczynski 455
Bombings
Initial bombings
The first mail bomb was sent in late May 1978 to
materials engineering professor Buckley Crist at
Northwestern University. The package was found in a
parking lot at the University of Illinois at Chicago, with
Crist's return address. The package was "returned" to
Crist. However, when Crist received the package, he
An FBI reproduction of a bomb created
by the Unabomber on display at the
noticed that it had not been addressed in his own
Newseum in Washington, D.C. handwriting. Suspicious of a package he had not sent,
he contacted campus policeman Terry Marker, who
opened the package—it exploded immediately. Although Marker only received minimal
injuries, his left hand was damaged enough to require medical assistance at Evanston
Hospital.[16]
The bomb was made of metal that could have come from a home workshop. The primary
component was a piece of metal pipe, about 1 inch (25 mm) in diameter and 9 inches
(230 mm) long. The bomb contained smokeless explosive powders, and the box and the
plugs that sealed the pipe ends were handcrafted from wood. In comparison, most pipe
bombs usually use threaded metal ends that can be bought in many hardware stores.
Wooden ends do not have the strength to allow a large amount of pressure to build within
the pipe, explaining why the bomb did not cause severe damage. The primitive trigger
device that the bomb employed was a nail, tensioned by rubber bands designed to slam into
six common match heads when the box was opened. The match heads would immediately
burst into flame and ignite the explosive powders. However, when the trigger hit the match
heads, only three ignited. A more efficient technique, later employed by Kaczynski, would
be to use batteries and heat filament wire to ignite the explosives faster and more
effectively.[17]
The initial 1978 bombing was followed by bombs sent to airline officials, and in 1979 a
bomb was placed in the cargo hold of American Airlines Flight 444, a Boeing 727 flying
from Chicago to Washington, D.C. The bomb began smoking, forcing the pilot to make an
emergency landing. Many of the passengers were treated for smoke inhalation. Only a
faulty timing mechanism prevented the bomb from exploding. Authorities said it had
enough firepower to "obliterate the plane."[16]
As bombing an airliner is a federal crime in the United States, the FBI became involved
after this incident and came up with the code name UNABOM (UNiversity and Airline
BOMber). It also called the suspect the Junkyard Bomber because of the material used to
make the bombs. In 1980, chief agent John Douglas working with agents in the FBI's
Behavioral Sciences Unit issued a psychological profile of the unidentified bomber which
described the offender as a man with above-average intelligence with connections to
academia. This profile was later refined to characterize the offender as a → neo-Luddite
holding an academic degree in the hard sciences, but this psychologically based profile was
discarded in 1993 in favor of an alternative theory developed by FBI analysts concentrating
on the physical evidence in recovered bomb fragments. In this rival profile, the bomber
suspect was characterized as a blue-collar airplane mechanic.[18] A hot line at
Theodore Kaczynski 456
1-800-701-BOMB was set up by the UNABOM Task Force to take any calls related to the
Unabomber investigation, with a $1 million reward for anyone who could provide
information leading to the Unabomber's capture.[19]
Casualties
The first serious injury occurred in 1985, when John Hauser, a graduate student and
Captain in the United States Air Force, lost four fingers and vision in one eye.[20] The
bombs were all handcrafted and made with wooden parts.[21] Inside the bombs, certain
parts carried the inscription "FC". Kaczynski later asserted that the initials stood for
"Freedom Club". In 1985, a California computer store owner, 38-year-old Hugh Scrutton,
was killed by a nail-and-splinter-loaded bomb, placed in the parking lot of his store. A
similar attack against a computer store occurred in Salt Lake City, Utah on February 20,
1987. The bomb, which was disguised as a piece of lumber, injured Gary Wright when he
attempted to remove it from the store's parking lot. The explosion severed nerves in
Wright's left arm and propelled more than 200 pieces of shrapnel into his body. Kaczynski's
brother, David—who would play a vital role in Ted's looming capture, by alerting federal
authorities to the prospect of his brother being involved in the Unabomber cases,—sought
out and became friends with Wright after Ted was detained in 1996. David Kaczynski and
Wright have remained friends and occasionally conduct speaking engagements on
reconciliation together.[22]
After a six-year break, Kaczynski struck again in 1993, mailing a bomb to David Gelernter, a
computer science professor at Yale University. Though critically injured, he eventually
recovered. Another bomb mailed in the same weekend was sent to the home of geneticist
Charles Epstein from University of California, San Francisco, whom lost multiple fingers
upon opening it. Kaczynski then called Gelernter's brother, Joel Gelernter, a behavioral
geneticist, and threatened, "[y]ou are next". Geneticist Phillip Sharp at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology also received a threatening letter two years later.[23] Kaczynski
wrote a letter to The New York Times claiming that his "group", called FC, was responsible
for the attacks. In 1994, Burson-Marsteller executive Thomas J. Mosser was killed by a mail
bomb sent to his North Caldwell, New Jersey home. In another letter to The New York
Times Kaczynski claimed that FC "blew up Thomas Mosser because [...] Burston-Marsteller
[sic] helped Exxon clean up its public image after the Exxon Valdez incident" and, more
importantly, because "its business is the development of techniques for manipulating
people's attitudes."[24] This was followed by the 1995 murder of Gilbert Murray, president
of the timber industry lobbying group California Forestry Association, by a mail bomb
actually addressed to previous president William Dennison, who had retired.[23]
In all, 16 bombs—which injured 23 people and killed three—were attributed to Kaczynski.
While the devices varied widely through the years, all but the first few contained the initials
"FC". Latent fingerprints on some of the devices did not match the fingerprints found on
letters attributed to Kaczynski. As stated in the FBI affidavit:
203. Latent fingerprints attributable to devices mailed and/or placed by the UNABOM
subject were compared to those found on the letters attributed to Theodore Kaczynski.
According to the FBI Laboratory no forensic correlation exists between those
samples.[25]
One of Kaczynski's tactics was leaving false clues in every bomb. He would make them hard
to find so as to purposely mislead investigators into thinking they had a clue. The first clue
Theodore Kaczynski 457
was a metal plate stamped with the initials "FC" hidden somewhere (usually in the pipe end
cap) in every bomb.[25] One false clue he left was a note in a bomb that failed to go off that
said, "Wu—It works! I told you it would—RV".[26] A more obvious clue was the Eugene
O'Neill $1 stamps used to send his boxes.[27] One of his bombs was sent embedded in a
[16]
copy of Sloan Wilson’s novel, Ice Brothers.
List of bombings
1982 May 5 Vanderbilt University, Janet Smith, severe injury to hands requiring
Nashville, Tennessee university secretary extensive rehabilitative treatment
July 2 University of California, Diogenes Angelakos, right hand and face; near
Berkeley, California professor complete recovery
1985 May 15 University of California, John Hauser, partial loss of vision in left eye,
Berkeley graduate student loss of four fingers on right hand
November Ann Arbor, Michigan James V. McConnell McConnell: hearing loss; Suino:
15 and Nicklaus Suino shrapnel wounds
1993 June 22 Tiburon, California Charles Epstein, destroyed both eardrums, lost
University of parts of three fingers
California geneticist
June 24 Yale University, New David Gelernter, right hand and right eye
Haven, Connecticut computer science
professor
[28] [29]
References:
Theodore Kaczynski 458
Manifesto
In 1995, Kaczynski mailed several letters, some to his former victims, outlining his goals
and demanding that his 35,000-word paper Industrial Society and Its Future (also called the
"Unabomber Manifesto") be printed verbatim by a major newspaper or journal; he stated
that he would then end his terrorism campaign.[30] There was a great deal of controversy as
to whether it should be done. A further letter threatening to kill more people was sent, and
the United States Department of Justice recommended publication out of concern for public
safety. The pamphlet was then published by The New York Times and The Washington Post
on September 19, 1995, with the hope that someone would recognize the writing style.
Prior to The New York Times' decision to publish the manifesto, Bob Guccione of Penthouse
volunteered to publish it, but Kaczynski replied that, since Penthouse was less
"respectable" than the other publications, he would in that case "reserve the right to plant
one (and only one) bomb intended to kill, after our manuscript has been published."[31]
Throughout the manuscript, produced on a typewriter without the capacity for italics,
Kaczynski capitalizes entire words in order to show emphasis. He always refers to himself
as either "we" or "FC" (Freedom Club), though he appears to have acted alone. Writer
Henry Holt notes that Kaczynski's writing, despite its irregular hyphenation, is virtually free
of any spelling or grammatical error, in spite of its production on a manual typewriter
without the benefit of a word processor or spell-checker.[32]
Industrial Society and Its Future begins with Kaczynski's assertion that "the Industrial
Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race."[33] The first
sections of the text are devoted to psychological analysis of various groups—primarily
leftists and scientists—and of the psychological consequences for the individual of life
within the "industrial-technological system".[33] The later sections speculate about the
future evolution of this system, argue that it will inevitably lead to the end of human
freedom, call for a "revolution against technology", and attempt to indicate how that might
be accomplished.[34]
Psychological analysis
In his opening and closing sections, Kaczynski addresses Leftism as a movement and
analyzes the psychology of leftists, arguing that they are "True Believers in Eric Hoffer's
sense" who participate in a powerful social movement to compensate for their lack of
personal power. He further claims that leftism as a movement is led by a particular minority
of leftists whom he calls "oversocialized":
The moral code of our society is so demanding that no one can think, feel and act in a
completely moral way. [...] Some people are so highly socialized that the attempt to
think, feel and act morally imposes a severe burden on them. In order to avoid feelings
of guilt, they continually have to deceive themselves about their own motives and find
moral explanations for feelings and actions that in reality have a non-moral origin. We
use the term "oversocialized" to describe such people.[35]
He goes on to explain how the nature of leftism is determined by the psychological
consequences of "oversocialization." Kaczynski "attribute[s] the social and psychological
problems of modern society to the fact that society requires people to live under conditions
radically different from those under which the human race evolved and to behave in ways
that conflict with the patterns of behavior that the human race developed while living under
the earlier conditions." He further specifies the primary cause of a long list of social and
Theodore Kaczynski 459
psychological problems in modern society as the disruption of the "power process", which
he defines as having four elements:
The three most clear-cut of these we call goal, effort and attainment of goal. (Everyone
needs to have goals whose attainment requires effort, and needs to succeed in
attaining at least some of his goals.) The fourth element is more difficult to define and
may not be necessary for everyone. We call it autonomy and will discuss it later.[36] [...]
We divide human drives into three groups: (1) those drives that can be satisfied with
minimal effort; (2) those that can be satisfied but only at the cost of serious effort; (3)
those that cannot be adequately satisfied no matter how much effort one makes. The
power process is the process of satisfying the drives of the second group.[37]
Kaczynski goes on to claim that "[i]n modern industrial society natural human drives tend
to be pushed into the first and third groups, and the second group tends to consist
increasingly of artificially created drives." Among these drives are "surrogate activities",
activities "directed toward an artificial goal that people set up for themselves merely in
order to have some goal to work toward, or let us say, merely for the sake of the
'fulfillment' that they get from pursuing the goal".[38] He claims that scientific research is a
surrogate activity for scientists, and that for this reason "science marches on blindly,
without regard to the real welfare of the human race or to any other standard, obedient
only to the psychological needs of the scientists and of the government officials and
corporation executives who provide the funds for research."[39]
Historical analysis
In the last sections of the manifesto, Kaczynski carefully defines what he means by
freedom[40] and provides an argument that it would "be hopelessly difficult [...] to reform
the industrial system in such a way as to prevent it from progressively narrowing our
sphere of freedom".[41] He says that "in spite of all its technical advances relating to human
behavior the system to date has not been impressively successful in controlling human
beings" and predicts that "[i]f the system succeeds in acquiring sufficient control over
human behavior quickly enough, it will probably survive. Otherwise it will break down" and
that "the issue will most likely be resolved within the next several decades, say 40 to 100
years." He gives various dystopian possibilities for the type of society which would evolve in
the former case.[42] He claims that revolution, unlike reform, is possible, and calls on
sympathetic readers to initiate such revolution using two strategies: to "heighten the social
stresses within the system so as to increase the likelihood that it will break down" and to
"develop and propagate an ideology that opposes technology".[43] He gives various tactical
recommendations, including avoiding the assumption of political power, avoiding all
collaboration with leftists, and supporting free trade agreements in order to bind the world
economy into a more fragile, unified whole.[34]
He concludes by noting that his manifesto has "portrayed leftism in its modern form as a
phenomenon peculiar to our time and as a symptom of the disruption of the power process"
but that he is "not in a position to assert confidently that no such movements have existed
prior to modern leftism" and says that "[t]his is a significant question to which historians
ought to give their attention."[44]
Theodore Kaczynski 460
Related works
As a critique of technological society, the manifesto echoed contemporary critics of
technology and industrialization, such as → John Zerzan, Herbert Marcuse, Max Weber, →
Fredy Perlman, → Jacques Ellul (whose book The Technological Society was referenced in
an unnamed Kaczynski essay, written in 1971),[45] → Lewis Mumford, Neil Postman, and →
Derrick Jensen.[46] Its idea of the "disruption of the power process" similarly echoed social
critics emphasizing the lack of meaningful work as a primary cause of social problems,
including Mumford, Paul Goodman, and Eric Hoffer (whom Kaczynski explicitly
references).[46] [47] The general theme was also addressed by Aldous Huxley in his
dystopian novel Brave New World, which Kaczynski references.[48] The ideas of
"oversocialization" and "surrogate activities" recall Freud's Civilization and Its Discontents
and his theories of rationalization and sublimation (the latter term being used three times
in the manifesto, twice in quotes, to describe surrogate activities).[49]
In a Wired article on the dangers of technology, titled "Why The Future Doesn't Need Us,"
Bill Joy, cofounder of Sun Microsystems, quoted Ray Kurzweil's The Age of Spiritual
Machines, which quoted a passage by Kaczynski on types of society that might develop if
human labor were entirely replaced by artificial intelligence. Joy wrote that, although
Kaczynski's actions were "murderous, and, in my view, criminally insane", that "as difficult
as it is for me to acknowledge, I saw some merit in the reasoning in this single passage. I
felt compelled to confront it."[50]
Search
Before the publication of the manifesto, Theodore Kaczynski's
brother, David Kaczynski, had been pushed by his wife to follow
up on suspicions that Theodore was the Unabomber.[51] David
Kaczynski was at first dismissive, but progressively began to
take the likelihood more seriously after reading the manifesto a
week after it was published in September 1995. David
Kaczynski browsed through old family papers and found letters
dating back to the 1970s written by Ted and sent to
newspapers protesting the abuses of technology and which
contained phrasing similar to what was found in the
Unabomber Manifesto.[52]
Prior to the publishing of the manifesto, the FBI held numerous The widely disseminated
forensic sketch of the
press conferences enlisting the help of the public in identifying
Unabomber, by Jeanne
the Unabomber. They were convinced that the bomber was Boylan
from the Chicago area (where he began his bombings), had
worked or had some connection in Salt Lake City, and by the 1990s was associated with the
San Francisco Bay Area. This geographical information, as well as the wording in excerpts
from the manifesto that were published before the entire manifesto was published, was
what had persuaded David Kaczynski's wife, Linda, to urge her husband to read the
manifesto.[53]
After the manifesto was published, the FBI received over a thousand calls a day for months
in response to the offer of a $1 million reward for information leading to the identity of the
Unabomber. There were also large numbers of letters mailed to the UNABOM Task Force
Theodore Kaczynski 461
that purported to be from the Unabomber, and thousands of suspect leads were sifted
through. While the FBI was occupied with new leads, David Kaczynski first hired private
investigator Susan Swanson in Chicago to investigate Ted's activities discreetly. The
Kaczynski brothers had become estranged in 1990, and David had not seen Ted for ten
years. David later hired Washington, D.C. attorney Tony Bisceglie to organize evidence
acquired by Swanson and make contact with the FBI, given the likely difficulty in attracting
the FBI's attention. He wanted to protect his brother from the danger of an FBI raid, like
Ruby Ridge or the Waco Siege, since he knew Ted would not take kindly to being contacted
by the FBI and would likely react irrationally or violently.[54]
In early 1996, former FBI hostage negotiator and profiler Clinton R. Van Zandt was
contacted by Tony Bisceglie. Bisceglie asked Van Zandt to compare the manifesto to
type-written copies of hand-written letters David had received from his brother. Van
Zandt's analysis determined that there was a "50/50 chance" that the same person had
written the letters as well as the manifesto, which had been in public circulation for half a
year. He recommended that Bisceglie's client contact the FBI.[54]
In February 1996, Bisceglie provided a copy of the 1971 essay written by Ted Kaczynski to
the FBI. At the UNABOM Task Force headquarters in San Francisco, Supervisory Special
Agent Joel Moss immediately recognized similarities in the writings. David Kaczynski had
attempted to remain anonymous at the outset but he was swiftly identified, and within a few
days, an FBI agent team was dispatched to interview David and his wife with their attorney
in Washington, D.C. At this and subsequent meetings with the team, David provided letters
written by his brother in their original envelopes, so the use of postmark dates enabled the
enhancement of the timeline of Ted Kaczynski's activities being developed by the Task
Force. David developed a respectful relationship with the primary Task Force behavioral
analyst, Special Agent Kathleen M. Puckett, with whom he met many times in Washington,
D.C.; Texas; Chicago; and Schenectady, New York over the nearly two months before the
behaviorally-based federal search warrant was served on Theodore Kaczynski's cabin.[55]
Arrest
Agents arrested Theodore Kaczynski on April 3, 1996 at
his remote cabin outside Lincoln, Montana, where he
was found in an unkempt state. Among the evidence
found in the cabin was a live bomb and what appeared
to be the original typed manuscript of the manifesto.[56]
The Unabomber was the target of one of the most
expensive investigations in the FBI's history.[57]
Turchie and his small cadre of FBI agents that included Moss and Puckett—who were
convinced Theodore Kaczynski was the Unabomber—from the rest of the UNABOM Task
Force and the FBI in general:
204. Your affiant is aware that other individuals have conducted analyses of the
UNABOM Manuscript __ determined that the Manuscript was written by another
individual, not Kaczynski, who had also been a suspect in the investigation.
205. Numerous other opinions from experts have been provided as to the identity of
the unabomb subject. None of those opinions named Theodore Kaczynski as a possible
author.[25]
David had once admired and emulated his elder brother, but had later decided to leave the
survivalist lifestyle behind.[58] He had received assurances from the FBI that he would
remain anonymous and that his brother would not learn who had turned him in, but his
identity was leaked to CBS News in early April 1996. CBS anchorman Dan Rather called
FBI director Louis Freeh, who requested 24 hours before CBS broke the story on the
evening news. The FBI scrambled to finish the search warrant and have it issued by a
federal judge in Montana; afterwards, an internal leak investigation was conducted by the
FBI, but the source of the leak was never identified.[58] David donated the reward money,
less his expenses, to families of his brother's victims.[58]
Court proceedings
Kaczynski's lawyers, headed by Montana federal defender Michael Donahoe, attempted to
enter an insanity defense to save Kaczynski's life, but Kaczynski rejected this plea. A
court-appointed psychiatrist diagnosed Kaczynski as suffering from paranoid
schizophrenia,[59] and declared him competent to stand trial. Kaczynski's family said he
would psychologically "shut down" when pressured.[60]
A federal grand jury indicted Kaczynski in April 1996, on 10 counts of illegally transporting,
mailing, and using bombs. He was also charged with killing two people in California and a
third person in New Jersey.[61] On January 7, 1998, Kaczynski attempted to hang himself.
Initially, the government prosecution team indicated that it would seek the death penalty
for Kaczynski after it was authorized by United States Attorney General Janet Reno. David
Kaczynski's attorney asked the former FBI agent who made the match between the
Unabomber's manifesto and Kaczynski to ask for leniency—he was horrified to think that
turning his brother in might result in his brother's death. Eventually, Kaczynski was able to
avoid the death penalty by pleading guilty to all the government's charges, on January 22,
1998. Later, Kaczynski attempted to withdraw his guilty plea, arguing it was involuntary.
Judge Garland Ellis Burrell Jr. denied his request. The United States Court of Appeals for
the Ninth Circuit upheld that decision.[62]
The early hunt for the Unabomber in the United States portrayed a perpetrator far different
from the eventual suspect. The Unabomber Manifesto consistently uses "we" and "our"
throughout, and at one point in 1993 investigators sought an individual whose first name
was "Nathan", due to a fragment of a note found in one of the bombs.[26] However, when
the case was finally presented to the public, authorities denied that there was ever anyone
other than Kaczynski involved in the crimes. Explanations were later presented as to why
Kaczynski targeted some of the victims he selected.[51]
On August 10, 2006, Judge Garland Burrell Jr. ordered that personal items seized in 1996
from Kaczynski's Montana cabin should be sold at a "reasonably advertised Internet
Theodore Kaczynski 463
Life in prison
Kaczynski is serving a life sentence without the
possibility of parole as prisoner number 04475–046 in
ADX Florence, the federal Administrative Maximum
Facility supermax in Florence, Colorado.[64] When
asked if he was afraid of losing his mind in prison,
Kaczynski replied:
In a letter dated October 7, 2005, Kaczynski offered to donate two rare books to the
Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies at Northwestern University's campus in
Evanston, Illinois, the location of the first two attacks. The recipient, David Easterbrook,
turned the letter over to the university's archives. Northwestern rejected the offer, noting
[70]
that the library already owned the volumes in English and did not desire duplicates.
Kaczynski wrote a one paragraph letter that criticized a book review by István Deák; the
letter appeared in the New York Review of Books.[71]
He has never replied to monthly letters from his family, who turned him in to the
authorities.[51]
See also
• → Anarcho-primitivism, an anarchist movement encompassing many of Kaczynski's views
• CLODO, a 1980s group of neo-Luddite saboteurs from France
• Propaganda by deed, anarchist concept that sees action as being a form of propaganda
• → Green Anarchy, an anarchist magazine that published some of Kaczynski's writings,
including the Ship of Fools short story
• → John Zerzan, an anarcho-primitivist philosopher who defended Kaczynski's writings
and was a confidant to him during his trial
• Unabomber for President, a political campaign which aimed to elect the Unabomber in
the 1996 United States presidential election
References
[72]
• F.C. (October 1995). The Unabomber Manifesto: Industrial Society & Its Future . Jolly
Roger Pr. ISBN 0963420526. http:/ / en. wikisource. org/ wiki/
Industrial_Society_and_Its_Future.
External links
[73]
• Ted Kaczynski - The Unabomber article at the Crime Library
• Kaczynski's letter to the writers of the book, American Terrorist [74]
• Text of Unabomber's Letter Received by N.Y. Times April 26, 1995 [75]
• Text of Letter from Unabomber to Dr. David Gelernter [76]
• Giants at Heart [77] Letter Kaczynski sent from prison, published in The New York Review
of Books
• Published Works of Theodore Kaczynski [78] — mathematical papers
Theodore Kaczynski 465
References
[1] " Interview with Ted Kaczynski, Administrative Maximum Facility Prison, Florence, Colorado, USA (http:/ /
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[2] Solomon (Special Agent in Charge, Miami Division), Jonathan (February 6, 2008). " Major Executive Speeches
(http:/ / www. fbi. gov/ pressrel/ speeches/ solomon020608. htm)". Federal Bureau of Investigation. .
[3] Moore, John. " Beyond the Fragments - A reaction to Industrial Society and Its Future (http:/ / lemming.
mahost. org/ johnmoore/ fragments. htm)". Green Anarchist. .
[4] http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ whoseunabomber. htm
[5] http:/ / www. crimethinc. com/ texts/ days/ unabomber. php
[6] " Ancestry of Ted Kaczynski (http:/ / www. wargs. com/ other/ kaczynski. html)". United States Census Bureau.
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[7] " Pysychological Evaluation of Theodore Kaczynski (http:/ / www. courttv. com/ trials/ unabomber/ documents/
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[8] Elder, Robert K. (May 17, 2008). " A brother lost, a brotherhood found (http:/ / www. chicagotribune. com/
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[9] Chase, Alston (June 2000). " Harvard and the Making of the Unabomber (http:/ / www. theatlantic. com/ issues/
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[11] Ostrom, Carol M. (April 6, 1996). " Unabomber Suspect Is Charged -- Montana Townsfolk Showed Tolerance
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[12] McFadden, Robert D. (May 26, 1996). " Prisoner of Rage – A special report.; From a Child of Promise to the
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[13] Howe, Peter J. and Dembner, Alice (April 5, 1996). " Meteoric Talent that Burned Out (http:/ / www.
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[14] Perez-Pena, Richard (April 5, 1996). " On the Suspect's Trail: the Suspect; Memories of His Brilliance, And
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[15] Morris, Willy (April 6, 1996). "Kaczynski Ended Career in Math with no Explanation". Buffalo News.
[16] " The Unabomber: A Chronology (1978–1982) (http:/ / www. courttv. com/ trials/ unabomber/ chronology/
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[17] Johnston, David (April 16, 1996). " Cabin's Inventory Provides Insight (http:/ / query. nytimes. com/ gst/
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[18] Franks, Lucinda (July 22, 1996). " Don't Shoot (http:/ / www. newyorker. com/ archive/ 1996/ 07/ 22/
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[19] Labaton, Stephen (October 7, 1993). " Clue and $1 Million Reward In Case of the Serial Bomber (http:/ /
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[20] " The Unabomber: A Chronology (1985–1987) (http:/ / www. courttv. com/ trials/ unabomber/ chronology/
chron_8587. html)". Court TV. . Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
[21] Claiborne, William (April 11, 1996). "Kaczynski Beard May Confuse Witness". The Washington Post: p. §A, p.
A11.
[22] Lavandera, Ed (June 6, 2008). " Unabomber's brother, victim forge unique friendship (http:/ / www. cnn. com/
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[23] " The Unabomber: A Chronology (1988–1995) (http:/ / www. courttv. com/ trials/ unabomber/ chronology/
chron_8895. html)". Court TV. . Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
[24] " U.S. v. Kaczynski Trial Transcripts (http:/ / www. courttv. com/ trials/ unabomber/ transcripts/ 012298.
html)". Court TV. . Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
[25] " Affidavit of Assistant Special Agent in Charge (http:/ / www. courttv. com/ archive/ casefiles/ unabomber/
documents/ affidavit. html)". Court TV. . Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
[26] Blumenthal, Ralph; Kleinfield, N. R. (December 18, 1994). " Death in the Mail -- Tracking a Killer (http:/ /
query. nytimes. com/ gst/ fullpage. html?res=9D06E0DC1238F93BA25751C1A962958260& pagewanted=all)".
The New York Times. . Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
Theodore Kaczynski 466
[27] " The end of anon: literary sleuthing from Shakespeare to Unabomber (http:/ / books. guardian. co. uk/ lrb/
articles/ 0,6109,537856,00. html)". The Guardian. August 16, 2001. . Retrieved on July 5, 2008.
[28] " The Unabomber's Targets: An Interactive Map (http:/ / www. cnn. com/ SPECIALS/ 1997/ unabomb/ victims/
)". CNN. 1997. . Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
[29] Lardner, George; Adams, Lorraine (April 14, 1996). " To Unabomb Victims, a Deeper Mystery (http:/ / www.
washingtonpost. com/ wp-srv/ national/ longterm/ unabomber/ bkgrdstories. victims. htm)". The Washington
Post. A01. . Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
[30] " Excerpts From Letter by 'Terrorist Group,' FC, Which Says It Sent Bombs (http:/ / query. nytimes. com/ gst/
fullpage. html?res=990CE0D6103CF935A15757C0A963958260& sec=& spon=& pagewanted=all)". The New
York Times. April 26, 1995. . Retrieved on January 21, 2009.
[31] Elson, John (July 10, 1995). " Murderer's Manifesto (http:/ / www. time. com/ time/ printout/
0,8816,983142,00. html)". Time. . Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
[32] Holt, Henry (2000). "The Bard’s fingerprints". Lingua Franca: 29–39.
[33] F.C. 1995, §Introduction
[34] F.C. 1995, §Strategy
[35] F.C. 1995, §Oversocialization
[36] F.C. 1995, §The Power Process
[37] F.C. 1995, §Disruption of the Power Process in Modern Society
[38] F.C. 1995, §Surrogate Activities
[39] F.C. 1995, §The Motives of Scientists
[40] F.C. 1995, §The Nature of Freedom
[41] F.C. 1995, §Industrial-Technological Society Cannot be Reformed
[42] F.C. 1995, §The Future
[43] F.C. 1995, §Human Race At A Crossroads
[44] F.C. 1995, §Final Note
[45] Kaczynski, Theodore (1971). Unnamed Essay.
[46] Sale, Kirkpatrick (September 25, 1995). " Unabomber's Secret Treatise (http:/ / w2. eff. org/ Censorship/
Terrorism_militias/ sale_unabomber. analysis)". Nation. . Retrieved on April 23, 2009.
[47] F.C. 1995, §The danger of leftism
[48] F.C. 1995, §Human suffering
[49] Wright, Robert (August 28, 1995). " The Evolution of Despair (http:/ / www. time. com/ time/ magazine/
article/ 0,9171,983355,00. html)". Time. . Retrieved on July 6, 2008.
[50] " Why the future doesn't need us (http:/ / www. wired. com/ wired/ archive/ 8. 04/ joy. html)". Wired. April
2000. . Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
[51] Kaczynski, David (September 9, 2007). " Programme 9: September 9, 2007 (http:/ / www. rte. ie/ radio1/
whistleblowers/ 1160076. html)". RTÉ Radio 1. . Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
[52] Johnston, David (April 5, 1996). " On the Suspect's Trail: the Investigation; Long and Twisting Trail Led To
Unabom Suspect's Arrest (http:/ / query. nytimes. com/ gst/ fullpage.
html?res=9A01E2DC1339F936A35757C0A960958260& pagewanted=all)". The New York Times. . Retrieved on
July 4, 2008.
[53] Perez-Pena, Richard (April 7, 1996). " Tapestry of Links in the Unabom Inquiry (http:/ / query. nytimes. com/
gst/ fullpage. html?res=9A03E4D61339F934A35757C0A960958260& pagewanted=all)". The New York Times. .
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[54] " In Unabom Case, Pain for Suspect's Family (http:/ / query. nytimes. com/ gst/ fullpage.
html?res=9902E3DB1039F933A25757C0A960958260& pagewanted=all)". The New York Times. . Retrieved on
July 5, 2008.
[55] Johnston, David (May 5, 1998). " 17-Year Search, an Emotional Discovery and Terror Ends (http:/ / query.
nytimes. com/ gst/ fullpage. html?res=9E01E2DE1631F936A35756C0A96E958260& pagewanted=all)". The
New York Times. . Retrieved on July 6, 2008.
[56] " Unabomber suspect is caught, ending eight-year man-hunt (http:/ / edition. cnn. com/ EVENTS/ 1996/ year.
in. review/ topten/ unabomb/ unabomb. index. html)". CNN. 1996. . Retrieved on January 25, 2009.
[57] " The Unabomb Trial (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20060618112917/ http:/ / edition. cnn. com/ SPECIALS/
1997/ unabomb/ )". CNN. 1997. . Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
[58] Dubner, Stephen J. (October 18, 1999). " "I Don't Want To Live Long. I Would Rather Get The Death Penalty
Than Spend The Rest Of My Life In Prison" (http:/ / stephenjdubner. com/ journalism/ 101899. html)". Time. .
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[59] Corey, Scott (January 21, 1998). " Revolutionary suicide (http:/ / www. salon. com/ news/ 1998/ 01/ 21news.
html)". Salon. . Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
Theodore Kaczynski 467
[60] Ferguson, Paul (1997). " A loner from youth (http:/ / www. cnn. com/ SPECIALS/ 1997/ unabomb/ accused/
early/ )". CNN. . Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
[61] " Unabomber (http:/ / encarta. msn. com/ encyclopedia_761585870/ Unabomber. html)". MSN Encarta. .
Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
[62] " The Unabomber: A Chronology (The Trial) (http:/ / www. courttv. com/ trials/ unabomber/ chronology/ )".
Court TV. . Retrieved on July 5, 2008.
[63] Taylor, Michael (August 12, 2006). " Unabomber's journal, other items to be put up for auction online (http:/ /
www. sfgate. com/ cgi-bin/ article. cgi?f=/ c/ a/ 2006/ 08/ 12/ BAG1AKHEHF1. DTL)". San Francisco Chronicle. .
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[64] Kovaleski, Serge F. (January 22, 2007). " Unabomber Wages Legal Battle to Halt the Sale of Papers (http:/ /
www. nytimes. com/ 2007/ 01/ 22/ us/ 22unabomber. html)". The New York Times. . Retrieved on July 3, 2008.
[65] " Labadie Manuscripts (http:/ / www. lib. umich. edu/ spec-coll/ labadie/ labadiemanuscripts. html#K)".
University of Michigan Library. . Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
[66] Trescott, Jacqueline (August 13, 2008). " Unabomber Objects to Newseum's Exhibit (http:/ / www.
washingtonpost. com/ wp-dyn/ content/ article/ 2008/ 08/ 12/ AR2008081202660. html)". The Washington Post. .
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[67] " Unabomber's items can be acutioned (http:/ / www. sfgate. com/ cgi-bin/ article. cgi?f=/ c/ a/ 2009/ 01/ 09/
BABJ1573QM. DTL)". San Francisco Chronicle. January 9, 2009. . Retrieved on January 11, 2009.
[68] Walsh, Denny (May 5, 2003). " Unabomber's (http:/ / findarticles. com/ p/ articles/ mi_qn4176/ is_20030505/
ai_n14550345)". Oakland Tribune. . Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
[69] Zongker, Brett (June 19, 2008). " Newseum Exhibit Features 'Unabomber' Cabin (http:/ / abcnews. go. com/
Entertainment/ wireStory?id=5203272)". ABC News. . Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
[70] Pond, Lauren (October 31, 2005). " NU rejects Unabomber's offer of rare African books (http:/ / media. www.
dailynorthwestern. com/ media/ storage/ paper853/ news/ 2005/ 10/ 31/ Campus/ Nu. Rejects. Unabombers.
Offer. Of. Rare. African. Books-1919796. shtml)". The Daily Northwestern. . Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
[71] " Giants at Heart (http:/ / www. nybooks. com/ articles/ 18123)". The New York Review of Books. . Retrieved
on July 3, 2008.
[72] http:/ / en. wikisource. org/ wiki/ Industrial_Society_and_Its_Future
[73] http:/ / www. trutv. com/ library/ crime/ terrorists_spies/ terrorists/ kaczynski/ 1. html
[74] http:/ / www. tatom. org/ documents/ Kaczynski's%20comments%20on%20McVeigh. htm
[75] http:/ / www. lectlaw. com/ files/ cur55. htm
[76] http:/ / www. montanaheritageproject. org/ edheritage/ 1910/ unabomber. htm
[77] http:/ / www. nybooks. com/ articles/ 18123
[78] http:/ / www. rpi. edu/ ~bulloj/ tjk/ tjk. html
John Moore (anarchist) 468
External links
[1]
• Collection of Moore's writings, including Anarchy and Ecstasy
• Moore's A Primitivist Primer [32]
• Moore's Nietzsche anthology I Am Not A Man, I Am Dynamite! Friedrich Nietzsche and
the Anarchist Tradition [2]
References
[1] http:/ / lemming. mahost. org/ johnmoore/
[2] http:/ / www. autonomedia. org/ nietzsche
U. G. Krishnamurti 469
U.G.Krishnamurti
U.G. Krishnamurti
Uppaluri Gopala Krishnamurti (July 9, 1918 – March 22, 2007), better known as U.G.
Krishnamurti, or just U.G., was a self-realized Indian sage, independent of any school of
thought, philosophy or tradition.
He rejected the very basis of thought and in doing so negated all systems of thought and
knowledge. This assertion was experiential and not speculative. Several books were written
of his words by those who visited and associated with him, as well as video and audio
records.
"Tell them that there is nothing to understand."
Philosophy
"I have no teaching. There is nothing to preserve. Teaching implies something
that can be used to bring about change. Sorry, there is no teaching here, just
disjointed, disconnected sentences. What is there is only your interpretation,
nothing else. For this reason there is not now nor will there ever be any kind of
copyright for whatever I am saying. I have no claims"
"I am forced by the nature of your listening to always negate the first statement
with another statement. Then the second statement is negated by a third and so
on. My aim is not some comfy dialectical thesis but the total negation of
everything that can be expressed."
U.G. emphasized the impossibility and non-necessity of any human change, radical or
mundane. These assertions, he stated, cannot be considered as a "teaching", that is,
something intended to be used to bring about a change. He insisted that the body and its
actions are already perfect, and he considered attempts to change or mold the body as
violations of the peace and the harmony that is already there. The psyche or self or mind,
an entity which he denied as having any being, is composed of nothing but the "demand" to
bring about change in the world, in itself, or in both. Furthermore, human
self-consciousness is not a thing, but a movement, one characterized by "perpetual
U. G. Krishnamurti 470
Quotes
thought
"The living organism and thought are two different things. Thought cannot conceive of the
possibility of anything happening outside the field of time. I don't want to discuss time in a
metaphysical sense. By time I mean yesterday, tomorrow and the day after. The instrument
which has produced tremendous results in this area is unable to solve problems in the area
of living. We use this instrument to achieve material results. We also apply the same thing
to achieve our so-called spiritual goals."
U. G. Krishnamurti 471
"This instrument thought which we have been using to understand has not helped us to
understand anything except that every time we are using it we are sharpening it. Someone
asked me, 'What is Philosophy? How does it help me in my day-to-day existence?' It doesn't
help you in any way except that it sharpens the intellect. It doesn't in any way help you to
understand life. If that thought is not the instrument and if there is no other instrument
then is there anything to understand?"
"We don't seem to realize that it is thought that is separating us from the totality of things.
"
"The only way for anyone who is interested in finding out what this is all about is to watch
how this separation is occurring, how you are separating yourself from the things that are
happening around you and inside you. Actually there is no difference between the outside
and the inside. It is thought that creates the frontiers and tells us that this is the inside and
something else is the outside. If you tell yourself that you are happy, miserable, or bored,
you have already separated yourself from that particular sensation that is there inside you."
"The only way it can maintain its continuity is through the constant demand to know. If you
don't know what you are looking at, the 'you' as you know yourself, the 'you' as you
experience yourself, is going to come to an end. That is death. That is the only death and
there is no other death."
" (Questioner:) So we keep coming back to this point that thought itself seems to be the
enemy, the interloper... " (UG:) "It is our enemy. Thought is a protective mechanism. It is
interested in protecting itself at the expense of the living organism."
" (Q:) You are saying that thought is the thing that causes people's worries... " (UG:)"It's
thought that is creating all our problems and it is not the instrument to help us solve the
problems created by itself."
"Unfortunately, the servant, which is the thought structure that is there, has taken
possession of the house. But he can no longer control and run the household. So he must be
dislodged. It is in this sense that I use the term 'natural state', without any connotation of
spirituality or enlightenment."
morality
"When once you are—I don't like to use the word, freed from, or are not trapped in—this
duality of right and wrong, good and bad, you can never do anything bad. As long as you
are caught up in wanting to do only good, you will always do bad. Because the good you
seek is only in the future. You will be good some other time and until then you remain a bad
person. So, the so-called insane have given up and we are doing them the greatest harm
and disservice by pushing them to fit themselves into this framework of ours which is
rotten. I don't just say it is rotten but it is."
"I don't fight society. I am not even interested in changing it. The demand to bring about a
change in myself isn't there any more. So, the demand to change this framework or the
world at large isn't there. It is not that I am indifferent to the suffering man. I suffer with
the suffering man and am happy with the happy man."
"I will never break the laws, no matter how ridiculous the laws are."
"There is no need to change this world at all; and there is no need to change yourself
either."
"There is no meaning in and no purpose to suffering."
modern medicine
U. G. Krishnamurti 472
"If at any time I accept anything, it is not what the religious people have told me about the
way the body functions, but what the medical doctors have found. Yet, what they do not
know is immense; and they will never know how this body functions."
"I have never taken any medicine nor have I ever seen a doctor. All the doctors who have
advised me not to live the kind of life I had been living are now dead and gone."
nature
"I don't think I have any special insight into the laws of nature. But if there is any such
thing as an end product of human evolution (I don't know if there is such a thing as
evolution but we take for granted that there is) what nature is trying to produce is not a
perfect being."
"The fundamental mistake that humanity made somewhere along the line, was to
experience this separateness from the totality of life. At that time there occurred in man,
this self-consciousness which separated him from the life around. He was so isolated that it
frightened him. The demand to be part of the totality of life around him created this
tremendous demand for the ultimate. He thought that the spiritual goals of God, truth, or
reality, would help him to become part of the 'whole' again.
"But the very attempt on his part to become one with or become integrated with the totality
of life has kept him only more separate. Isolated functioning is not part of nature. This
isolation has created a demand for finding out ways and means of becoming a part of
nature. But thought in its very nature can only create problems and cannot help us solve
them."
"Nature does not imitate anything. It does not use anything as a model."
sex
"Sex is only for reproduction, but you have turned that into a pleasure movement. What else
is sex for than reproduction?"
"An enlightened man can never have sex because he cannot reproduce another one like
him"
body
""When I use the term 'natural state' it is not a synonym for 'enlightenment', 'freedom', or
'God-realization' and so forth. Not at all. When the totality of mankind's knowledge and
experience loses its stranglehold on the body, the physical organism, then the body is
allowed to function in its own harmonious way. Your natural state is a biological,
neurological and physical state."
"When once it throws out everything that has been put in there by your filthy culture, this
body will function in an extraordinarily intelligent way. It can take care of everything. "
"The native intelligence of the human body is amazing. That is all it needs to survive in any
dangerous situation in life." "The native intelligence is what you are born with; the intellect
is acquired from what they teach you. "
"Fear makes your body stiff and then you will certainly break your limbs. My body is never
stiff."
"Once this body is freed from the stranglehold of whatever is put in there either by spiritual
teachers or secular teachers, or by those scientists and medical technology, it functions in a
very efficient way."
U. G. Krishnamurti 473
"If a body is lucky enough to stumble into its natural way of functioning, it happens not
through your effort, not through your volition; it just happens, but not by what you do or do
not do. It is not even a happening within the field of cause and effect. Acausal is the most
appropriate word for it, because a happening can never be outside the field of cause and
effect. "
"If it stumbles into this of and by itself, such a body will be so unique that it will be
unparalleled in this world and will function in an extraordinary way. Such a body has never
existed before on this planet."
death
"The next question he (a questioner) asked me was, 'I have lived ninety-five years and I am
going to die one of these days. I want to know what will happen after my death.' I said, 'You
may not live long enough to know anything about death. You have to die now. Are you ready
to die?' As long as you are asking the questions, 'What is death?' or 'What is there after
death?' you are already dead. These are all dead questions. A living man would never ask
those questions."
"(Q:) Are you afraid of death?" "There is nothing to die here. The body cannot be afraid of
death. "
"There is no such thing as death. What you have are ideas about death, ideas which arise
when you sense the absence of another person. Your own death, or the death of your near
and dear ones, is not something you can experience. What you actually experience is the
void created by the disappearance of another individual and the unsatisfied demand to
maintain the continuity of your relationship with that person for a non-existent eternity."
suffering
"What I am emphasizing is that the demand to bring about a change in ourselves is the
cause of our suffering. I may say that there is nothing to be changed. But the revolutionary
teachers come and tell us that there is something there in which you have to bring about a
radical revolution. Then we assume there is such a thing as soul, spirit, or the 'I'. What I
assert all the time is that I haven't found anything like the self or soul there."
self realization
"Enlightenment (if there is any such thing as enlightenment) is not an experience at all. So,
this dawns on you- this realization (if you want to put it that way) that there is nothing to
realize. Self-knowledge or self-realization is to realize for yourself and by yourself that
there is no self to realize. That is going to be a shattering blow."
"This question haunted me all my life and suddenly it hit me: 'There is no self to realize.
What the hell have I been doing all this time?' You see, that hits you like lightning. Once
that hits you, the whole mechanism of the body that is controlled by this thought is
shattered. What is left is the tremendous living organism with an intelligence of its own.
What you are left with is the pulse, the beat and the throb of life."
"It is not something that you can do through any effort, will or volition of yours. It has to be
a miracle. Whatever has happened to me has happened despite everything I did. In fact,
everything I did only blocked it. It prevented the possibility of whatever was there to
express itself. Not that I have gained anything. Only what is there is able to express itself
without any hindrance, without any constraints or restraints imposed on it by society for its
own reasons, for its own continuity and stability."
U. G. Krishnamurti 474
"The search is inevitable and is an integral part of it. That is why it has turned us all into
neurotics and has created this duality for us. You see, ambition is a reality, competition is a
reality. But you have superimposed on that reality the idea that you should not be
ambitious. It has turned us all into neurotic individuals. We want two things at the same
time." "It dawned on me, 'There is nothing to understand.' When this happened, it hit me
like a shaft of lightning. From then on, the very demand to understand anything was over.
That understanding is the one that is expressing itself now. And it cannot be used as an
instrument to guide, direct or help me, you or anybody."
"And what you are trying to get you can never get, because there is nothing to get." "There
is no need for me to say youre not going to get what you want from anyone else either. That
you will find out by yourself. But that you cant do either by your own effort or by your
volition or by anything you do or do not do. That is not something that happens in the field
of cause and effect. "
"An enlightened man can never have sex because he cannot reproduce another one like
him"
reality
"We have invented reality. Otherwise you have no way of experiencing the reality of
anything—the reality of that person sitting there, for instance, or even your own physical
body. You have no way of experiencing that at all except through the help of the knowledge
that has been put in you. So, there may not be any such thing as reality at all, let alone the
ultimate reality. I do have to accept the fact that you are a man, that she is a woman. That
is all. There it stops. But what is the reality you are talking about?"
" (Q:) What is the relationship between words and reality? " "None. There is nothing beyond
words. "
"There is nothing to permanence."
fear
"That is terrifying—the fear of losing what you know. So actually, you don't want to be free
from fear. You do not want the fear to come to and end. All that you are doing—all the
therapies and techniques that you are using to free yourself from fear, for whatever reason
you want to be free from fear—is the thing that is maintaining the fear and giving continuity
to it. So you do not want the fear to come to an end. If the fear comes to an end, the fear of
what you know comes to an end. You will physically drop dead. Clinical death will take
place."
"You want to be free from fear. But there is no way you free yourself from it. If the fear
comes to an end, you as you know yourself, you as you experience yourself, are going to
come to an end, and you are not ready for that sort of thing."
belief
"You replace one belief with another. You can't be without a belief. What you call 'you' is
only a belief. If the belief goes, you go with it. That is the reason why, when you are not
satisfied with one belief-structure, you replace it with another."
the individual
" (Q:) You say that there is no individual... " "Where is the individual?"
God
"To me the question of God is irrelevant and immaterial"
U. G. Krishnamurti 475
"That messy thing called ‘mind’ has created many destructive things. By far the most
destructive of them all is God."
On other Enlightened Personalities
"She was a nice lady. She was a genuine article." (referring to Anandamayi)
"He said to the man, "If you don't want anything that is moksha," and went away.
Remarkable statement that was. That Ramana was a real McCoy" (Ramana Maharshi)
Biography
"If I have no way of knowing it, you have no way of communicating it. What the
hell are we doing? I've wasted seven years. Goodbye, I don't want to see you
again". Then I walked out.[10]
After the break with K. Jiddu, U.G. continued travelling, still lecturing. At about the same
time he claims to have been "puzzled" by the continuing appearance of certain psychic
powers.[10] In 1955, U.G. and his family went to the United States to seek medical
treatment for his eldest son, and stayed there for 5 years.
London period
He ultimately separated from his family and went to London where he lived a bleak
existence, alone and penniless, wandering the streets, often depending on the charity of
others for survival.[11] While sitting one day in Hyde Park, he was confronted by a police
officer who threatened to lock him up if he didn't leave the park. Down to his last five
pence, he made his way to the Ramakrishna Mission of London where the residing Swami
gave him money for a hotel room for the night. The following day, U.G. began working for
the Ramakrishna Mission, an arrangement that lasted for a period of three months. Before
leaving the mission he left a letter for the residing Swamiji telling him that he had become
a new man.[12]
About this time, Jiddu Krishnamurti was in London and the two Krishnamurtis renewed
their acquaintance. Jiddu tried to advise U.G. on his recent marital troubles, but U.G. didn't
want his help. Jiddu eventually persuaded him to attend a few talks he was giving in
London, which U.G. did, but found himself bored listening to him.[13]
In 1961, U.G. put an end to his relationship with his wife, who had recently been suicidal
(she later underwent shock therapy and died of an accident in 1963). Their marriage had
been a largely unhappy affair, and by that time he described himself as being "detached"
from his family emotionally as well as physically. He then left London and spent three
months living in Paris, using funds he had obtained by selling his unused return ticket to
India, during which time he ate a different variety of cheese each day. Down to his last 150
francs, he went to Geneva.
his state? He was describing something, some movements, some awareness, some
silence -- "In that silence there is no mind; there is action" -- all kinds of things.
So, I am in that state. What the hell have I been doing these thirty or forty years,
listening to all these people and struggling, wanting to understand his state or the
state of somebody else, Buddha or Jesus? I am in that state. Now I am in that
state. So, then I walked out of the tent and never looked back.
He continues:
Then -- very strange -- that question "What is that state?" transformed itself into
another question "How do I know that I am in that state, the state of Buddha, the
state I very much wanted and demanded from everybody? I am in that state, but
how do I know?"[14]
Calamity
The next day U.G. was again pondering the question "How do I know I am in that state?"
with no answer forthcoming. He later recounted that on suddenly realizing the question had
no answer, there was an unexpected physical, as well as psychological, reaction. It seemed
to him like "a sudden explosion inside, blasting, as it were, every cell, every nerve and
every gland in my body." Afterwards, he started experiencing what he called "the calamity",
a series of bizarre physiological transformations that took place over the course of a week,
affecting each one of his senses, and finally resulting in a deathlike experience. He
described it this way:
I call it calamity because from the point of view of one who thinks this is
something fantastic, blissful and full of beatitude, love, or ecstasy, this is physical
torture; this is a calamity from that point of view. Not a calamity to me but a
calamity to those who have an image that something marvelous is going to
happen.[14]
Upon the eighth day:
Then, on the eighth day I was sitting on the sofa and suddenly there was an
outburst of tremendous energy -- tremendous energy shaking the whole body, and
along with the body, the sofa, the chalet and the whole universe, as it were --
shaking, vibrating. You can't create that movement at all. It was sudden. Whether
it was coming from outside or inside, from below or above, I don't know -- I
couldn't locate the spot; it was all over. It lasted for hours and hours. I couldn't
bear it but there was nothing I could do to stop it; there was a total helplessness.
This went on and on, day after day, day after day.[14]
The energy that is operating there does not feel the limitations of the body; it is
not interested; it has its own momentum. It is a very painful thing. It is not that
ecstatic, blissful beatitude and all that rubbish -- stuff and nonsense! -- it is really
a painful thing.[14]
U.G. could not, and did not, explain the provenance of the calamity experiences. In
response to questions, he maintained that it happened "in spite of" his pre-occupation with -
and search for - enlightenment. He also maintained that the calamity had nothing to do with
his life up to that point, or with his upbringing. Several times he described the calamity
happening to him as a matter of chance, and he insisted that he could not possibly, in any
way, impart that experience to anybody else.[14] [15]
U. G. Krishnamurti 478
Post-calamity
According to U.G., his life-story can be separated into the pre- and post- calamity parts.
Describing his post-calamity life, he claimed to be functioning permanently in what he
called "the natural state": A state of spontaneous, purely physical, sensory existence,
characterized by discontinuity [16] - though not absence - of thought.[17]
After his calamity experience, U.G. often travelled to countries around the world, declining
to hold formal discussions yet talking freely with small groups of people and with interested
individuals. He gave his only formal post-calamity public talk in India, in 1972.[18]
"Nagaraj who was sitting quietly all this time said, "U.G., what exactly are you
trying to put across?" U.G. replied, "Depends on you, not on me. This you don't
seem to understand. You are the only medium through which I can express
myself."
His unorthodox non-message/philosophy and the often uncompromising, direct style of its
presentation, generated a measure of notoriety and sharply divided opinions. At the
extremes, some people considered him enlightened,[19] while others considered him nothing
more than a charlatan.[20] The clamor increased as books and articles by, and about, U.G.
and his newly expounded philosophy, continued appearing.[21]
Several of his group discussions and interviews have been published in books, or/and are
carried verbatim in various websites. There is also a variety of audio and video documents
available online.[22]
Death
On March 22 2007 U.G. Krishnamurti passed away at Vallecrosia in Italy. He had slipped
and injured himself, and was bedridden for seven weeks before his death. Three friends,
including long term devotee Mahesh Bhatt were by his side when he died.[23] In February
2007 he had dictated his final piece of writing, "My Swan Song".[24]
He had asked that no rituals or funeral rites be conducted upon his death; also, he did not
leave instructions on how to dispose of his body. U.G.'s body was cremated by Bhatt the
next day.[25] True to his own philosophy, U.G. did not want to be remembered after his
death.[26] He is survived by two daughters and a son, along with their respective families.
Bibliography
• The Courage to Stand Alone: Conversations with U.G. Krishnamurti, 2001, Smriti Books.
ISBN 8187967064.
• The Mystique of Enlightenment: The Radical Ideas of U.G. Krishnamurti, 2002, Sentient
Publications. ISBN 0971078610. Also published as The Mystique of Enlightenment: The
Unrational ideas of a man called U.G., 2005, Smriti Books. ISBN 8187967099.
• Thought is Your Enemy: Conversations with U.G. Krishnamurti, 2002, Smriti Books. ISBN
8187967110.
• The Little Book of Questions, 2003, Penguin Books. ISBN 0140299386.
• Mind Is a Myth: Conversations with U.G. Krishnamurti, 2003, Smriti Books. ISBN
8187967102.
• No Way Out: Conversations with U.G. Krishnamurti, 2005, Smriti Books. ISBN
8187967080.
U. G. Krishnamurti 479
• The Natural State [27], In the words of U.G. Krishnamurti, 2005, Smriti Books. ISBN
8187967773.
• The Penguin U.G. Krishnamurti Reader, 2007, Penguin Books. ISBN 0143101021.
(Mukunda Rao, Editor)
External links
[32]
• U.G. Krishnamurti.org
• U.G. Krishnamurti resource site [33] Most of the published works by, and about, U.G. can
be found here and read freely on- or offline in their entirety.
• Mahesh Bhatt's Diary: 30 days with U.G. [34]
• Video: U.G. Krishnamurti's Parting Message [35]
References
[1] An Interview with UG at lifepositive (http:/ / www. lifepositive. com/ Spirit/ new-age-catalysts/ krishnamurti.
asp) Also see Interview at GatelessGate online magazine (http:/ / gatelessgate. wordpress. com/ category/
ugkrishnamurti/ ).
[2] (http:/ / www. ugkrishnamurti. org/ ug/ quotes_and_photos/ album02/ page01. html).
[3] U.G. in Mystique Of Enlightenment (http:/ / en. wikisource. org/ wiki/ The_Mystique_of_Enlightenment/
Part_One), mentions having "inherited" his association with the Theosophical Society from his grandfather.
[4] U.G. carried on at some length - in practically every published work - about what he perceived as the hypocrisy
of religious/spiritual people, his grandfather and other prominent Theosophists included.
[5] U.G. would later also dismiss this period with Sivananda as a useless exercise.
[6] Biographical details at inner-quest (http:/ / www. inner-quest. org/ UG_R. htm)
[7] Eventually, U.G. was elected Joint General Secretary of the Indian Section. His association with the Society
lasted until the early-mid 1950s, see Mystique Of Enlightenment (http:/ / en. wikisource. org/ wiki/
The_Mystique_of_Enlightenment/ Part_One).
[8] UG biography at sentientpublications (http:/ / www. sentientpublications. com/ authors/ ug. php)
[9] U.G. described one of their meetings as follows: We really didn't get along well. Whenever we met we locked
horns over some issue or other. For instance, I never shared his concern for the world, or his belief that his
teaching would profoundly affect the thoughts and actions of mankind for the next five hundred years--a fantasy
of the Theosophist occultists. In one of our meetings I told Krishnamurti, "I am not called upon to save the
world." He asked, "The house is on fire--what will you do?" "Pour more gasoline on it and maybe something will
rise from the ashes", I remarked. Krishnamurti said, "You are absolutely impossible". Then I said, "You are still
a Theosophist. You have never freed yourself from the World Teacher role. There is a story in the Avadhuta Gita
which talks of the avadhut who stopped at a wayside inn and was asked by the innkeeper, 'What is your
teaching?' He replied, 'There is no teacher, no teaching and no one taught.' And then he walked away. You too
repeat these phrases and yet you are so concerned with preserving your teaching for posterity in its pristine
purity"
[10] Krishnamurti, U.G.; Rodney Arms (2001). Mystique of Enlightenment Part One (http:/ / www. well. com/ user/
jct/ mystiq. htm) (3rd ed ed.). . Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
[11] U.G. had earlier inherited a considerable - for the time - sum of money from his grandfather. While in the US
for his son's treatments, the last of that money had run out. See Mystique Of Enlightenment (http:/ / en.
wikisource. org/ wiki/ The_Mystique_of_Enlightenment/ Part_One).
U. G. Krishnamurti 480
[12] from U.G. Krishnamurti biography, chapter: Adrift in London (http:/ / ugbio. blogspot. com/ 2007/ 12/
adrift-in-london-experiences-of-others. html)
[13] Jiddu Krishnamurti had apparently taken an interest in U.G.'s family since the time they first met in person in
1953. See link U.G. Krishnamurti biography, chapter: Locking of horns (http:/ / ug-k. blogspot. com/ 2007/ 04/
locking-of-horns-inspiration-is. html)
[14] Krishnamurti, U.G.; Rodney Arms (2001). Mystique of Enlightenment Part One (http:/ / www. well. com/ user/
jct/ mystiq. htm) (3rd ed ed.). . Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
[15] In the introduction to Mind Is a Myth: Disquieting Conversations with the Man Called U.G., editor Terry
Newland states that at age 35, U.G. started getting headaches and appearing younger, rather than older.
According to that account, by the time of his 49th birthday, he appeared to be 17 or 18 years old, while after
the calamity he started aging normally again, but continued to look far younger than his years. See Mind is a
Myth Introduction, Section 4 (http:/ / www. well. com/ user/ jct/ intro. html)
[16] http:/ / en. wiktionary. org/ wiki/ discontinuity
[17] The Natural State, In the Words of U.G. Krishnamurti, Smitri Books, 2005. ISBN 8187967773. Discussions
with U.G., compiled by Peter Maverick. U.G. also maintained that upon finding himself in the "natural state", he
had lost all acquired knowledge and memories, and had to re-learn everything, as if "...the slate had been wiped
clean".
[18] Public Talk (http:/ / www. well. com/ user/ jct/ Talk. htm) At the "Indian Institute of World Culture",
Bangalore.
[19] An opinion: UG was self-realized (http:/ / www. spiritualteachers. org/ ug_1opinion. htm) From the
spiritualteachers.org website, signed "Nicola Nigro".
[20] A Critique Of U.G. Krishnamurti (http:/ / www. theabsolute. net/ minefield/ ug. html) Opinion piece by David
Quinn, from the "Thinking Man's Minefield" website.
[21] The global vagabond (http:/ / drvasu. wordpress. com/ 2007/ 10/ 29/ u-g-krishnamurthi-the-global-vagabond/ )
One of several informative blog entries by someone who knew U.G. personally, accompanied by a variety of
comments.
[22] See also Books by U.G. Krishnamurti (http:/ / www. well. com/ user/ jct/ lists. html)
[23] The Hindu, March 25, 2007 (http:/ / www. hindu. com/ 2007/ 03/ 25/ stories/ 2007032502741000. htm)
[24] U.G. Krishnamurti My Swan Song (http:/ / www. well. com/ user/ jct/ SWAN_SONG. htm)
[25] " Obituary (http:/ / www. ugkrishnamurti. org/ ug/ obi/ index. html)". . Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
[26] Mahesh Bhatt mourns U.G. (http:/ / movies. monstersandcritics. com/ indiancinema/ news/ article_1283263.
php/ Mahesh_Bhatt_mourns_U. G. _Krishnamurtis_death)
[27] http:/ / the-natural-state. blogspot. com/
[28] http:/ / ug-k. blogspot. com/
[29] http:/ / sage. nu/
[30] http:/ / stopped. nu/
[31] http:/ / onlinebooks. library. upenn. edu/ webbin/ book/ browse?type=lcsubc& key=Krishnamurti%2C%20U.
%20G. %20(Uppaluri%20Gopala)
[32] http:/ / www. ugkrishnamurti. org/
[33] http:/ / www. well. com/ user/ jct
[34] http:/ / www. well. com/ user/ jct/ mahesh. html
[35] http:/ / www. metacafe. com/ watch/ 622460/ u_g_krishnamurti_parting_message/
481
Pages 302
OCLC [1]
184851382
Against His-Story, Against Leviathan! is a 1983 book by → Fredy Perlman, for which he
is best known.[2] It is a personal critical perspective on contemporary civilization and
society. The work defined → anarcho-primitivism for the first time,[3] and was a major
source of inspiration for anti-civilization perspectives in contemporary anarchism, most
notably on the thought of philosopher → John Zerzan.[4] A French language translation was
published in 2006 under the title Contre le Léviathan, contre sa légende.[5]
Against His- Story, Against Leviathan 482
External links
• Against His-Story, Against Leviathan! [6] complete text online
• Against His-Story, Against Leviathan [7] at the Natterjack Press
References
[1] http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 184851382
[2] Purkis, Jonathan (2004). Changing Anarchism. Manchester: Manchester University Press. pp. 237. ISBN
0719066948.
[3] Piper, Karen (2002). Cartographic Fictions. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. pp. 177. ISBN
0813530733.
[4] Purkis, Johnathan (2004). "Anarchy Unbound". in John Moore. I Am Not a Man, I Am Dynamite! Friedrich
Nietzsche and the Anarchist Tradition. Brooklyn: Autonomedia. pp. 6. ISBN 1570271216.
[5] RA Forum (http:/ / raforum. info/ spip. php?article4044& lang=en)
[6] http:/ / noblesavagery. blogspot. com/ 2007/ 03/ fredy-perlmans-against-his-story. html
[7] http:/ / www. natterjackpress. co. uk/ books/ against-his-story-against-leviathan. php
Future Primitive and Other Essays 483
Subject(s) → Anarcho-primitivism
Publisher Autonomedia,
Anarchy: a Journal of Desire Armed
ISBN 1570270007
OCLC [1]
30630861
Thesis
Future Primitive is an unequivocal assertion of the superiority of the → hunter-gatherer
lifestyle.[5] Zerzan rejects the thesis that time and technology are neutral scientific
realities, arguing instead that they are carefully constructed means of enslaving people.[6]
He cites as examples the computer and the Internet, which he maintains have an atomizing
effect on society, creating novel divisions of labour, demanding ever increasing efficiency
and portions of leisure time.[6] Life prior to domestication and agriculture, Zerzan argues,
was predominantly one of "leisure, intimacy with nature, sensual wisdom, sexual equality
Future Primitive and Other Essays 484
and health".[7] In the Paleolithic era, as The Wall Street Journal 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
[8]
goes."
Related topics
• Green anarchism
• → Marshall Sahlins
External links
[9]
• Future Primitive and Other Essays at the Natterjack Press
References
[1] http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 30630861
[2] Campbell, Duncan (April 18, 2001). " Anarchy in the USA (http:/ / www. guardian. co. uk/ world/ 2001/ apr/ 18/
mayday. features11)". The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). . Retrieved on 2008-10-06.
[3] Works by or about John Zerzan (http:/ / orlabs. oclc. org/ Identities/ lccn-n87-141887) in libraries (WorldCat
catalog)
[4] Noble, Kenneth B. (May 7, 1995). " Prominent Anarchist Finds Unsought Ally in Serial Bomber (http:/ / query.
nytimes. com/ gst/ fullpage. html?res=990CE3DD113FF934A35756C0A963958260)". The New York Times (The
New York Times Company). . Retrieved on 2008-10-06.
[5] Gowdy, John (1998). Limited Wants, Unlimited Means. Washington: Island Press. pp. p.220. ISBN
155963555X.
[6] Veseth, Michael (2002). The New York Times Twentieth Century in Review: the Rise of the Global Economy.
New York: Routledge. pp. p.515. ISBN 1579583695.
[7] Bookchin, Murray (1995). Social Anarchism or Lifestyle Anarchism. Stirling: AK Press. pp. p.39. ISBN
187317683X.
[8] Waldman, Peter (Dec 6, 1999). " An Anarchist Looks to Provide Logic To Coterie Leading WTO Vandalism
(http:/ / www. infoshop. org/ octo/ wto_zerzan2. html)". The Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones & Company).
Archived from the original (http:/ / online. wsj. com/ article/ SB944436891605794366. html) on December 29,
2004. .
[9] http:/ / www. natterjackpress. co. uk/ books/ future-primitive. php
Against Civilization: Readings and Reflections 485
Language English
Subject(s) → Anarcho-primitivism
Pages 275
OCLC [1]
58598894
Against Civilization: Readings and Reflections is a book edited by → John Zerzan. The
book provides an insight on the harmful effects of civilization and describes the ideas that
have given the rise to → anarcho-primitivism.
The book features writing by Henry David Thoreau, → Fredy Perlman, → Marshall Sahlins,
→ Chellis Glendinning, → Pierre Clastres, → Derrick Jensen, Frederick Jackson Turner,
Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Charles Fourier, → Ivan Illich, Ursula K. Le Guin,
Feral Faun, → Kirkpatrick Sale, Chrystos, Theodore Roszak, Rudolf Bahro and William
Morris.
Against Civilization: Readings and Reflections 486
See also
• → Anarcho-primitivism
• Luddite
• AK Press
External links
• Publisher's page [2]
[3]
• Against Civilization: Readings and Reflections at the Natterjack Press
• Description of the book [4] in AK Press
References
[1] http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 58598894
[2] http:/ / feralhouse. com/ press/ againstcivilization/
[3] http:/ / www. natterjackpress. co. uk/ books/ against-civilisation. php
[4] http:/ / www. akpress. org/ 2005/ items/ againstcivilizationreadingsandreflections
Endgame (Derrick Jensen books) 487
Language English
Endgame is a two-volume work by → Derrick Jensen, published in 2006, which argues that
civilization is inherently unsustainable and addresses the resulting question of what to do
about it. Volume 1, The Problem of Civilization, spells out the need to immediately and
systematically destroy civilization. Volume 2, Resistance, is about the challenging physical
task that dismantling civilization presents.
premises.
The two volumes were not written as separate and distinct parts of a work, but were
separated for practical reasons after the text was written. In Volume 1, Jensen argues for
premises 1 through 17, and he argues for the remaining three premises and their variations
in the first chapters of Volume 2.
Volume 1
Key arguments
Because civilization is not sustainable (premise one) and because civilization will not
undergo a voluntary transformation (premise six), activists should change the ways they
think about and work toward social change.
Because every living thing is inextricably dependent upon the rest of the natural world for
survival, sustaining the natural world is good.
Because civilization depends on widespread violence (premise three), all civilized people
(even dogmatic pacifists) are complicit in violence simply by their own participation in the
industrial economy.
Because civilization is not sustainable (premise one) and sustaining the natural world is
good, an act is good insofar as it decreases the ability of civilization to do violence.
Because the global economy is killing the planet before our eyes (premise one) and because
it is not redeemable (premise six), it is wrong to think that personal lifestyle changes we
make within the current system can save the planet. While we are not responsible for
existing in the current system because we did not create it, we are responsible for doing
our part to destroy the system, as this is the only way to stop the destruction of the planet.
Volume 2
Throughout much of Volume 2, Jensen recounts
numerous conversations with experts in various
fields. He asks fisheries biologists to weigh the
positive versus negative effects of catastrophic dam
failure. He talks to former members of the military
about the vulnerability of the modern industrial
infrastructure. He talks to hackers about the
dependence of industrial civilization upon
unsecured computer systems.
Pacifism
He also analyzes each of the following arguments
for pacifism, finding them invalid:
"Love leads to pacifism, and any use of violence
implies a failure to love. You can’t use the
master’s tools to dismantle the master’s house.
Endgame: Volume 2: Resistance
Endgame (Derrick Jensen books) 489
It’s far easier to make war than to make peace. We must visualize world peace. To
even talk about winning and losing (much less to talk about violence, much much less
to actually do it) perpetuates the destructive dominator mindset that is killing the
planet. If we just visualize peace hard enough, we may find it, because, as Johann
Christoph Friedrich von Schiller tells us, 'Peace is rarely denied to the peaceful.' Ends
never justify means, which leads to Erasmus saying, and pacifists quoting, 'The most
disadvantageous peace is better than the most just war.' Gandhi gives us some
absolutism, as well as absolution for our inability to stop oppressors, when he says,
'Humankind has to get out of violence only through nonviolence. Hatred can be
overcome only by love.' Gandhi again, with more magical thinking, 'When I despair, I
remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There
have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end,
they always fall—Think of it, ALWAYS.' Violence only begets violence. Gandhi again,
'We must be the change we wish to see.' If you use violence against exploiters, you
become like they are. Related to that is the notion that violence destroys your soul. If
violence is used, the mass media will distort our message. Every act of violence sets
back the movement ten years. If we commit an act of violence, the state will come
down hard on us. Because the state has more capacity to inflict violence than we do,
we can never win using that tactic, and so must never use it. And finally, violence
never accomplishes anything."[3]
Premises
• Premise One: Civilization is not and can never be sustainable. This is especially true for
industrial civilization.[4]
• Premise Two: Traditional communities do not often voluntarily give up or sell the
resources on which their communities are based until their communities have been
destroyed. They also do not willingly allow their landbases to be damaged so that other
resources—gold, oil, and so on—can be extracted. It follows that those who want the
resources will do what they can to destroy traditional communities.
• Premise Three: Our way of living—industrial civilization—is based on, requires, and
would collapse very quickly without persistent and widespread violence.
• Premise Four: Civilization is based on a clearly defined and widely accepted yet often
unarticulated hierarchy. Violence done by those higher on the hierarchy to those lower is
nearly always invisible, that is, unnoticed. When it is noticed, it is fully rationalized.
Violence done by those lower on the hierarchy to those higher is unthinkable, and when it
does occur is regarded with shock, horror, and the fetishization of the victims.
Endgame (Derrick Jensen books) 490
• Premise Five: The property of those higher on the hierarchy is more valuable than the
lives of those below. It is acceptable for those above to increase the amount of property
they control—in everyday language, to make money—by destroying or taking the lives of
those below. This is called production. If those below damage the property of those
above, those above may kill or otherwise destroy the lives of those below. This is called
justice.
• Premise Six: Civilization is not redeemable. This culture will not undergo any sort of
voluntary transformation to a sane and sustainable way of living. If we do not put a halt
to it, civilization will continue to immiserate the vast majority of humans and to degrade
the planet until it (civilization, and probably the planet) collapses. The effects of this
degradation will continue to harm humans and nonhumans for a very long time.
• Premise Seven: The longer we wait for civilization to crash—or the longer we wait
before we ourselves bring it down—the messier will be the crash, and the worse things
will be for those humans and nonhumans who live during it, and for those who come
after.
• Premise Eight: The needs of the natural world are more important than the needs of the
economic system.
• Another way to put premise Eight: Any economic or social system that does not benefit
the natural communities on which it is based is unsustainable, immoral, and stupid.
Sustainability, morality, and intelligence (as well as justice) requires the dismantling of
any such economic or social system, or at the very least disallowing it from damaging
your landbase.
• Premise Nine: Although there will clearly some day be far fewer humans than there are
at present, there are many ways this reduction in population could occur (or be achieved,
depending on the passivity or activity with which we choose to approach this
transformation). Some of these ways would be characterized by extreme violence and
privation: nuclear armageddon, for example, would reduce both population and
consumption, yet do so horrifically; the same would be true for a continuation of
overshoot, followed by crash. Other ways could be characterized by less violence. Given
the current levels of violence by this culture against both humans and the natural world,
however, it’s not possible to speak of reductions in population and consumption that do
not involve violence and privation, not because the reductions themselves would
necessarily involve violence, but because violence and privation have become the default.
Yet some ways of reducing population and consumption, while still violent, would consist
of decreasing the current levels of violence required, and caused by, the (often forced)
movement of resources from the poor to the rich, and would of course be marked by a
reduction in current violence against the natural world. Personally and collectively we
may be able to both reduce the amount and soften the character of violence that occurs
during this ongoing and perhaps longterm shift. Or we may not. But this much is certain:
if we do not approach it actively—if we do not talk about our predicament and what we
are going to do about it—the violence will almost undoubtedly be far more severe, the
privation more extreme.
• Premise Ten: The culture as a whole and most of its members are insane. The culture is
driven by a death urge, an urge to destroy life.
• Premise Eleven: From the beginning, this culture—civilization—has been a culture of
occupation.
Endgame (Derrick Jensen books) 491
• Premise Twelve: There are no rich people in the world, and there are no poor people.
There are just people. The rich may have lots of pieces of green paper that many pretend
are worth something—or their presumed riches may be even more abstract: numbers on
hard drives at banks—and the poor may not. These “rich” claim they own land, and the
“poor” are often denied the right to make that same claim. A primary purpose of the
police is to enforce the delusions of those with lots of pieces of green paper. Those
without the green papers generally buy into these delusions almost as quickly and
completely as those with. These delusions carry with them extreme consequences in the
real world.
• Premise Thirteen: Those in power rule by force, and the sooner we break ourselves of
illusions to the contrary, the sooner we can at least begin to make reasonable decisions
about whether, when, and how we are going to resist.
• Premise Fourteen: From birth on—and probably from conception, but I’m not sure how
I’d make the case—we are individually and collectively enculturated to hate life, hate the
natural world, hate the wild, hate wild animals, hate women, hate children, hate our
bodies, hate and fear our emotions, hate ourselves. If we did not hate the world, we could
not allow it to be destroyed before our eyes. If we did not hate ourselves, we could not
allow our homes—and our bodies—to be poisoned.
• Premise Fifteen: Love does not imply pacifism.
• Premise Sixteen: The material world is primary. This does not mean that the spirit does
not exist, nor that the material world is all there is. It means that spirit mixes with flesh.
It means also that real world actions have real world consequences. It means we cannot
rely on Jesus, Santa Claus, the Great Mother, or even the Easter Bunny to get us out of
this mess. It means this mess really is a mess, and not just the movement of God’s
eyebrows. It means we have to face this mess ourselves. It means that for the time we
are here on Earth—whether or not we end up somewhere else after we die, and whether
we are condemned or privileged to live here—the Earth is the point. It is primary. It is
our home. It is everything. It is silly to think or act or be as though this world is not real
and primary. It is silly and pathetic to not live our lives as though our lives are real.
• Premise Seventeen: It is a mistake (or more likely, denial) to base our decisions on
whether actions arising from these will or won’t frighten fence-sitters, or the mass of
Americans.
• Premise Eighteen: Our current sense of self is no more sustainable than our current
use of energy or technology.
• Premise Nineteen: The culture’s problem lies above all in the belief that controlling and
abusing the natural world is justifiable.
• Premise Twenty: Within this culture, economics—not community well-being, not morals,
not ethics, not justice, not life itself—drives social decisions.
• Modification of Premise Twenty: Social decisions are determined primarily (and often
exclusively) on the basis of whether these decisions will increase the monetary
fortunes of the decision-makers and those they serve.
• Re-modification of Premise Twenty: Social decisions are determined primarily (and
often exclusively) on the basis of whether these decisions will increase the power of
the decision-makers and those they serve.
Endgame (Derrick Jensen books) 492
• Re-modification of Premise Twenty: Social decisions are founded primarily (and often
exclusively) on the almost entirely unexamined belief that the decision-makers and
those they serve are entitled to magnify their power and/or financial fortunes at the
expense of those below.
• Re-modification of Premise Twenty: If you dig to the heart of it—if there were any heart
left—you would find that social decisions are determined primarily on the basis of how
well these decisions serve the ends of controlling or destroying wild nature.
Awards
Jensen was named "Person of the Year" by Press Action for publishing Endgame, which they
called "the most important book of the decade."[5]
External links
[13]
• The official website for Endgame, which includes numerous online excerpts
References
[1] V.1, pp.ix-xii
[2] V.1, p.345
[3] V.2, p.675
[4] He defines a civilization as "a culture—that is, a complex of stories, institutions, and artifacts—that both leads
to and emerges from the growth of cities (civilization, see civil: from civis, meaning citizen, from latin civitatis,
meaning state or city), with cities being defined—so as to distinguish them from camps, villages, and so on—as
people living more or less permanently in one place in densities high enough to require the routine importation
of food and other necessities of life." (V.1, p.17)
[5] Press Action ::: Press Action Awards 2006 (http:/ / www. pressaction. com/ news/ weblog/ full_article/
awards12292006/ / )
The Society of the Spectacle (film) 493
Country France
Sources
• Marcus, Greil and Sanborn, “On the films of Guy Debord”, Keith; Feature; Artforum;
February 2006
• Bracken, Len; Guy Debord: Revolutionary; Feral House; 1997; California
• Knabb, Ken; Guy Debord’s Complete Cinematic Works; AK Press; 1978; Canada
• Marshall, Peter; Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism; Fontana Press;
1992; London
• Lasn, Kalle; Culture Jam: How to Reverse America’s Suicidal Consumer Binge- And Why
We Must; Quill; 1999; New York
The Society of the Spectacle (film) 494
External links
• The Society of the Spectacle on UbuWeb [2]
• Society of the Spectacle on google video [3]
• La Société du spectacle [4] at the Internet Movie Database
• Observations on the English translation of Guy Debord's Oeuvres Cinématographiques
Completes [25]
This article related to a French film of the 1970s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by
expanding it [5].
References
[1] The pussies of Guy Debord (http:/ / video. google. com/ videoplay?docid=-6113599464218751854), selected
excerpts from the film
[2] http:/ / www. ubu. com/ film/ debord. html
[3] http:/ / video. google. com/ videoplay?docid=5776914999756420568
[4] http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0070712/
[5] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?stub& title=The_Society_of_the_Spectacle_%28film%29& action=edit
Surplus: Terrorized into Being Consumers 495
DVD cover
Directed by Erik Gandini
Language Swedish
Spanish
English
Plot
Opening
• Footage of the protests at the 27th G8 summit in Genoa.
• Fidel Castro gives a speech.
John Zerzan
• → John Zerzan is interviewed.
RealDoll
• RealDoll manufacturer gives a tour of his warehouse, showing the variety and cost of the
sex-dolls.
Cuba
• Mirta Muñes shows the Cuban ration card, Cuban toothpaste.
Surplus: Terrorized into Being Consumers 496
Views
It prominently features the views of anarcho-primitivist John Zerzan.
Talking Heads
• → John Zerzan, anarcho-primitivist writer, author of Against Civilization: A Reader (1998)
• Fidel Castro, President of Cuba
• Kalle Lasn, from Adbusters
• Svante Tidholm, from Stockholm, Sweden, a wealthy web-designer of Spray and author of
the autobiographical novel Loser (Wahlström & Widstrand, 1998, Swedish)
• Carlo Giuliani, Activist and anarchist killed during Anti-G8 demonstrations in Genoa,
2001
Criticizes
• George W. Bush, President of the United States
• Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft since 2000
• Bill Gates, Chairman of the Board and Chief Software Architect of Microsoft
Style
Surplus uses many montages.
Lip-synching
Surplus overtly uses lip-synching to put words in the mouth of people who hold similar
world powering positions.
Surplus: Terrorized into Being Consumers 497
Examples of this are George W. Bush speaking for Adbusters, Fidel Castro mouthing the
words of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer: "I love this company! Yeah!"
Soundtrack listing
• Gotan Project - Triptico
• Tosca - Orozco
• Aphrodelics - Aphrodelics – Rollin' on Chrome (Wild Motherfucker dub)
• Marc O´Sullivan (The Mighty Quark) - Smokescreen
• Marc O´Sullivan (The Mighty Quark) - Theme from Good People
• Johan Söderberg and David Österberg - No-tech-no
• Johan Söderberg and David Österberg - Rice&Beans
• Johan Söderberg and David Österberg - 18 Miljener
Locations
• Genoa, Italy - 27th G8 summit (2001)
• Shanghai, China - Stock Exchange
• Alang, India - Metal reclaiming
• USA / Cuba / Hungary / Sweden / Canada
External links
[1]
• () Official website
• Surplus: Terrorized into Being Consumers [2] at the Internet Movie Database
• Surplus: Terrorized Into Being Consumers [3] at the Internet Movie Database
• Surplus: Terrorized into Being Consumers [4] Direct download
References
[1] http:/ / www. atmo. se/ ?pageID=4& articleID=382
[2] http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0368314/
[3] http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt368314/
[4] http:/ / www. theyliewedie. org/ ressources/ videos/ videos-en. php#surplus
What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire 498
Language English
What A Way To Go: Life at the End of Empire is a 2007 documentary film about the
current situation facing humanity and the world. It discusses issues such as → peak oil,
climate change, → population overshoot and species extinction, as well as how this situation
has developed. The documentary features current data and recent interviews of → Daniel
Quinn, → anarcho-primitivist → Derrick Jensen and academics such as → Richard Heinberg
and many others.
External links
• Official site of the documentary [1]
• Trailers [2] and Reviews [3]
[4]
• "Meet the Filmmakers", interview of Sally Erickson and Tim Bennett.
Related films
• List of related films [5]
[6]
• Arithmetic, Population, and Energy, Dr. Albert Bartlett (Google video)
What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire 499
References
[1] http:/ / www. whatawaytogomovie. com/
[2] http:/ / www. whatawaytogomovie. com/ trailers/
[3] http:/ / www. whatawaytogomovie. com/ reviews/
[4] http:/ / www. peakmoment. tv/ conversations/ 72. html
[5] http:/ / www. whatawaytogomovie. com/ links-and-resources/ documentaries-and-videos/
[6] http:/ / www. guba. com/ watch/ 3000053112
Earthlings (documentary) 500
Earthlings (documentary)
Earthlings
Music by Moby
Language English
Synopsis
Earthlings is a documentary about human dependence on non-human animals for pets,
food, clothing, entertainment, and use in experimentation.
Phoenix has commented on the documentary that "Of all the films I have ever made, this is
the one that gets people talking the most. For every one person who sees Earthlings, they
will tell three." [2]
Peter Singer said "If I could make that everybody see a film, I would make them see
Earthlings".[3]
Earthlings (documentary) 501
External links
• Official documentary website [4]
• Nation Earth [5] - Organization responsible for Earthlings
• Earthlings [6] at the Internet Movie Database
• Veg-TV on earthlings [7]
See also
• Animal rights
• Animal product
• Animal testing
References
[1] Presentación del documental "Earthlings" (http:/ / traficantes. net/ index. php/ trafis/ libreria/ noticias/
presentacion_del_documental_earthlings) ()
[2] New Zealand debut screening a sell-out success! (http:/ / www. safe. org. nz/ Education/ Earthlings/ ) SAFE
[3] Terráqueos (Earthlings) (http:/ / vista-se. com. br/ site/ terraqueos-earthlings) ()
[4] http:/ / www. earthlings. com/
[5] http:/ / www. nationearth. org/
[6] http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0358456/
[7] http:/ / veg-tv. info/ Earthlings
502
Green Anarchy
Owner n/a
Founded 2000
Language English
Website [1]
greenanarchy.org
See also
• → Anarcho-primitivism
• EnDehors
• Green anarchism
• Rewilding
• → Species Traitor
Green Anarchy 503
External links
[4]
• Official website
References
[1] http:/ / greenanarchy. org/
[2] http:/ / www. cparchives. com/ archive. cfm?type=Main%20Feature& pagenum=2& action=getComplete&
ref=6426
[3] Green Anarchy (http:/ / greenanarchy. org)
[4] http:/ / greenanarchy. org
Green Anarchist
The magazine Green Anarchist was for a while the
principal voice in the UK advocating green anarchism,
an explicit fusion of libertarian socialist and ecological
thinking.
Early years
Founded after the 1984 Stop the City protests, the
magazine was launched in the summer of that year by
an editorial collective consisting of Alan Albon, Richard
Hunt and Marcus Christo. Albon had been an editor of
Freedom whilst Hunt had become frustrated with the
more mainstream green magazine Green Line for which
he had been writing. The younger Christo had come
from a more anarcho-punk background – he was also a
member of Green CND, and had been involved in the
blockade of Ronald Reagan's car at the 1984 Lancaster Cover of the first issue of 'Green
House summit meeting. Anarchist' magazine (Summer 1984),
featuring artwork by then editor
Early issues featured a range of broadly anarchist and Richard Hunt
Albon and Christo left Green Anarchist shortly afterwards, and the magazine saw a
succession of editorial collectives, although Hunt remained in overall control. During this
period he published articles which were increasingly alienating much of the magazine's
readership. Matters came to a head after Hunt wrote an editorial which expressed support
for British troops in the Gulf War and extolled the virtues of patriotism. Hunt has stated
that the rest of the editorial collective wished to bring to Green Anarchist a more left-wing
political approach, while Hunt wanted it to remain non-aligned.[1] Shortly afterwards he left
to start another magazine Alternative Green, which continued to promote his own
Green Anarchist 504
particular view of green anarchism, and eventually became closely linked to the
National-Anarchist movement from the mid-90s onwards.
See also
• → Anarcho-primitivism
• → Green Anarchy
• Green Anarchism
References
[1] An Interview with Richard Hunt (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20050306231050/ http:/ / www.
national-anarchist. org/ articles/ INTERVIEWHunt. html)
[2] Green Anarchist Documents (http:/ / www. stewarthomesociety. org/ ga/ )
[3] Counter Information on Green Anarchist (http:/ / www. counterinfo. org. uk/ ga. htm)
[4] http:/ / autonomous. org. uk/ ace/ aceonga. htm
Species Traitor
1. REDIRECT Template:Article issues
Species Traitor is a sporadically published journal of insurrectionary →
anarcho-primitivism. It is printed as a project of Black and Green Network.
ST was initially labeled as a project of the Coalition Against Civilization (CAC) and the Black
and Green Network (BAG). The CAC was started towards the end of 1999 in the aftermath
of the massive street protests in Eugene (Reclaim the Streets) and in Seattle (WTO) of that
year. That aftermath gave a new voice and standing for green anarchist and
anarcho-primitivist writers and viewpoints within both the anarchist milieu and the culture
at large. Particular media attention turned to writer → John Zerzan, the Unabomber Ted
Kaczynski, and critical views of technology. But within this media frenzy, a number of
ecological minded anarchists began to draw critical lines between each other and stepped
up on their own.
This was the beginning of the new wave of green anarchism which gave rise to the CAC, ST,
BAG, as well as → Green Anarchy (originally a U.S. distributor of the premier green
anarchist journal, → Green Anarchist turned into its own project and now the largest
anarchist publication).
The first issue came out in winter of 2000-2001 (currently out of print) and contained a mix
of reprints and some original articles from → Derrick Jensen and → John Zerzan among
others. Issue two came in the following year in the wake of Sept. 11 and took a major step
from the first issue in becoming something of its own rather than another mouthpiece of
green anarchist rhetoric. The articles took a more in depth direction opening a more
analytical and critical draw between anarchy and anthropology, attacks on Reason and the
Progress/linear views of human history and Future that stand at the base of the ideology of
civilization.
Early 2003 saw the release of Number Three which further reflected the growth of ST in
both ideas and format. At just over 100 pages, this issue began to focus upon more
particular issues, primarily on a critique of symbolic culture, a further look at the
relationship between anarchy and anthropology, and opened up a critical look at the
concept and form of revolution. Thematically this would be the establishment of what ST
has been known for: the primary source for critical and analytical anarcho-primitivist
critique and praxis. In seeking out the limits and failures of revolution and revolutionary
Species Traitor 506
thinking, the turn looked more towards insurrection, rewilding and a deeper understanding
of the collapse of civilization and what that means in terms of resistance. Though
containing no articles or references to the CAC, this would be the last issue published by
the CAC as such. Recognizing the long overdue necessity to move beyond an unused name,
the CAC was formally collapsed in 2005 to put more attention where it belonged and give
Tucker more time to devote immediately towards the more important projects of the Black
and Green Network and ST.
Two and a half years later (Fall 2005) brought Issue No. 4, which really represents the
fruition of the past years' experience and questioning. Again taking new steps in terms of
presentation (now a nearly 200 page book) and in terms of concepts, this issue gave a more
complete merging of what No. 3 was heading towards: a fusion of critical theory (looking at
the relationship between sedentism and domestication with the formation of hierarchies,
coercive power and its other side effects), the relationship between rewilding and
resistance, delving into primitive skills and more in-depth glances at what a non-revolution,
anti-civilization resistance might look or aim at, attempts to rescue animal liberation from
animal rights, and much more.
See also
• → Green Anarchy
• rewilding
• Neo-luddism
External links
[1]
• Insurgent Desire - The Online Green Anarchy Archive
References
[1] http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/
Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed 507
Format bi-annual
Founded 1980
Language English
ISSN [1]
1044-1387
OCLC [2]
11733794
Website [3]
anarchymag.org
Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed is a North American anarchist magazine, and is one
of the most popular anarchist publications in North America. It could be described as a
general interest and critical, non-ideological anarchist journal. It was founded by members
of the Columbia Anarchist League of Columbia, Missouri, and continued to be published
there for nearly fifteen years, eventually under the sole editorial control of Jason McQuinn
(who initially used the pseudonym "Lev Chernyi"), before briefly moving to New York City in
1995 to be published by members of the Autonomedia collective. The demise of
independent distributor Fine Print nearly killed the magazine, necessitating its return to
the Columbia collective after just two issues. It remained in Columbia from 1997 to 2006.
As of 2006[4] it is published bi-annually by a group based in Berkeley, California.[5] [6] The
magazine accepts no advertising. It has serially published two book-length works, The
Papalagi and → Raoul Vaneigem's The Revolution of Everyday Life.
recently AK Press. Wolfi Landstreicher now writes from the "insurrectionalist" perspective
of Renzo Novatore and Alfredo Bonanno (he has translated both) which combines a
sympathy for generalized, spontaneous, unmediated uprising with the egoism of Max
Stirner. Other Anarchy contributors also often try to reconcile an egoist valorization of
desire and the renunciation of any sacrificial moralism with aspirations for the collective
transformation of everyday life.
External links
• Anarchy magazine's official website. [3]
• North American Anarchist Thought Since 1960 [7]
[8]
• Institute for Anarchist Studies: Post-Left Anarchy: Leaving the Left Behind
References
[1] http:/ / www. worldcat. org/ issn/ 1044-1387
[2] http:/ / worldcat. org/ oclc/ 11733794
[3] http:/ / www. anarchymag. org
[4] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Anarchy%3A_a_journal_of_desire_armed
[5] Feeney, Mary K. (November 22, 2001). "Voices You May Not Want to Hear". Hartford Courant.
[6] " Embattled prof files complaint against himself (http:/ / www. msnbc. msn. com/ id/ 8437578/ )". MSNBC.
Associated Press. July 1, 2005. .
[7] http:/ / www. northamericananarchist. org
[8] http:/ / www. insurgentdesire. org. uk/ postleft. htm
Fifth Estate (periodical) 509
Website [1]
fifthestate.org
Fifth Estate (FE) is a US periodical, originally based in Detroit, Michigan but now
produced in a variety of locations. Its editorial collective shares divergent views on the
topics the magazine addresses but generally shares an anti-authoritarian outlook and a
non-dogmatic, action-oriented approach to change. The title presumably suggests that the
periodical is an alternative to the fourth estate (traditional print journalism).
Fifth Estate is frequently cited as the longest running English language anarchist
publication in North America.
History
Origin
Fifth Estate was started by Harvey Ovshinsky, a seventeen year old youth from Detroit. He
was inspired by a summer trip to California where he worked on The Los Angeles Free
Press, the first underground paper in the US. The name came from a coffee house he liked
to visit on the Sunset Strip.
The first issue was published on November 19, 1965 - "That's what we really are - the voice
of the liberal element in Detroit," it said. It was produced on a typewriter and then
reproduced by offset lithograph. It featured a critical review of a Bob Dylan concert, a
borrowed Jules Feiffer cartoon, alternative events listing and an announcement of a
forthcoming anti-Vietnam War march. None of these things would have been included in
contemporary newspapers.
In 1966 Ovshinsky moved the office from his parents' basement to a mid-town storefront
near Wayne State University. Here the paper was saved from extinction by the Detroit
Committee to End the War in Vietnam, John Sinclair's Artist Workshop, and other radicals.
Later in 1966 the paper moved to Plum Street where they also established a bookshop.
Fifth Estate thrived in the late sixties, a period when over 500 underground papers
emerged in the US. Thousands of copies were distributed locally with hundreds more being
sent to GIs in Vietnam. Fifth Estate openly called on soldiers to mutiny. In 1967 the Fifth
Estate offices were tear-gassed by the National Guard during the 12th Street riot. In this
period the print run reached 15,000 - 20,000 copies.
Fifth Estate (periodical) 510
1970s
By 1972 the optimism of the sixties had worn off and the tone of the paper became more
concerned with struggle than fun. Ovshinsky left, leaving a group of young people
(teenagers or in their early twenties) to run the paper. Some of their naïveté wore off as
they sent delegations to Vietnam, Cambodia and Cuba. With the massive defeat of George
McGovern and the election of Richard Nixon for a second term with an increased vote
damaged the movement - many underground papers stopped coming out and the
alternative news services such as the Liberation News Service, and the Underground Press
Syndicate had collapsed. The Fifth Estate was mentioned in the national press when one of
its reporters, Pat Haley, threw a shaving cream pie at Guru Maharaj Ji in 1973. Though the
guru forgave him publicly, two of his followers attacked Haley a week later and fractured
his skull.[2]
By 1975, Fifth Estate was lingering on - many staff had
burnt out through too much activism and they had their
share of internal disputes. The debts were mounting
up.In August, 1975 Vol. 11, No.1 declared "The issue
you are now holding is the last issue of the Fifth Estate
- the last issue of a failing capitalist enterprise…This is
also the first issue of a new Fifth Estate." This was the
first explicitly anti-authoritarian issue of Fifth Estate.
The paper had been taken over by the Eat the Rich
French postmodern philosopher Jean
Gang., a group that had successfully published several
Baudrillard, who influenced the
pamphlets and were particularly influenced by → Fredy periodical in its late 1970s anarchist
Perlman, → Jacques Camatte, Jean Baudrillard, Council phase.
communism, and Left Communism, as well as the
Situationists. They did not originally identify themselves as explicitly anarchist and had no
contacts with the anarchist currents of the 1930s. However, they were contacted by
veterans of that period who they saw as powerful role models. Those included Marcus
Graham (publisher of the 1930s anarchist periodical Man!) and Spanish and Italian
anarchist veterans. They also developed a close relationship with Black and Red, a radical
Marxist printers/publishers group with which Lorraine and → Fredy Perlman were involved.
2001 to present
In 2001, the center of the magazine shifted from Detroit, Michigan to Liberty, Tennessee
when long-time contributor Sunfrog Bonobo took over the main editorial duties of the
magazine, although long-time Detroit staffers like Peter Werbe remained involved. In 2006,
Fifth Estate decentralized their editorial group, and since then issues have been published
that were primarily produced in Michigan, Tennessee, New York and Wisconsin. The
current editorial collective has moved away from primitivism, does not endorse a specific
political line and welcomes voices from disparate strains of anti-authoritarian thought. The
group also continues to distance themselves from anarchism as a specific ideology,
embracing a more inclusive, yet still radical, anti-capitalist perspective. Continuing to cover
environmental and anti-capitalist resistance, articles have also appeared which address
immigration, race, feminism, queer sexuality and transgender issues.
In 2008, long-time contributor Marie Mason was arrested as part of what some call the
Green Scare. In February 2009, she was sentenced to almost 22 years for two acts of
environmentally-motivated property destruction. The Fifth Estate has run articles
protesting both the labeling of her actions as "terrorism" as well as the long sentence she
received.
Contributors
• Richard Mock, designer of many of the linocuts used
on Fifth Estate's covers.
• → David Watson, longtime Fifth Estate writer and
editorial collective member
• → Fredy Perlman, Fifth Estate writer
• Peter Werbe, longtime Fifth Estate writer and
editorial collective member
• → John Zerzan, Fifth Estate contributor from 1974 to
1988
External links
[1]
• Official website
[4]
• Fifth Estate on the website of Peter Werbe. Peter Werbe in 1983. Werbe has been
• Metro Times story on Fifth Estate's 40th anniversary a staff member of the periodical since
[5] shortly after its inception in 1965.
Fifth Estate (periodical) 512
References
[1] http:/ / www. fifthestate. org/
[2] Moritz, Charles (ed.) (1974). Current Biography Yearbook.. New York: H.W. Wilson Company.
[3] "Swamp Fever: Primitivism & the Ideological Vortex", Fifth Estate #350 (vol 32, #2), Fall 1997. pp 15–25
[4] http:/ / www. peterwerbe. com/ estate. htm
[5] http:/ / www. metrotimes. com/ editorial/ story. asp?id=7348
CrimethInc. 513
CrimethInc.
Purpose/focus [1]
The "pursuit of a freer and more joyous world"
Website [2]
www.crimethinc.com
Activities
Part of the Anarchism series on → CrimethInc.
Publications
Zines/journals
Inside Front
Fighting For Our Lives
Rolling Thunder
Harbinger
Books
CrimethInc. 514
Film
Music
Discography
Catharsis
Requiem
Ümlaut
Zegota
Campaigns
Related subjects
Anarchism Portal ·
Activities by CrimethInc. cells have included publishing radical literature and music, while
less-public splinter groups have carried out direct action, hosted international conventions
and other events, maintained local chapters, sparked riots and toured with multimedia
performance art and/or hardcore anarcho-punk musical ensembles.[8] In 2002, a cell in
Olympia, Washington staged a five-day film festival with skill-sharing workshops and
[9]
screenings. Cells have also supported various large-scale campaigns with publicity work,
including the "Unabomber for President" and the "Don't Just (Not) Vote" election campaigns
as well as the protests against the Free Trade Area of the Americas of 2003 in Miami,
Florida.[10] [11] Individuals adopting the CrimethInc. nom de guerre have included convicted
ELF arsonists,[12] as well as hacktivists who successfully attacked the websites of DARE,
Republican National Committee and sites related to U.S. President George W. Bush's 2004
re-election campaign.[13] [14] These activities have earned the collective irregular attention
from the mainstream news media.[15]
CrimethInc. 515
Publications
The creation of propaganda has been described as the
collectives' core function.[16] Among their best-known
publications are the books Days of War, Nights of Love,
"Expect Resistance", Evasion, Recipes for Disaster: An
Anarchist Cookbook and the pamphlet Fighting For Our
Lives (of which, to date, they claim to have printed
600,000 copies),[17] the hardcore punk/political zine
"Ne plus ultra" edition of Days of War, Inside Front, and the music of /hardcore punk bands.
Nights of Love, CrimethInc.'s 2001 Several websites are maintained by individual cells,
manifesto.
including Crimethinc.com, a clearing house for
CrimethInc. activities operated by the Far East Cell
which hosts excerpts from previously published works as well as a blog. CrimethInc. is
connected to publishing collectives/organizations with similar ideas, notably the Curious
George Brigade which has written a number of publications including Anarchy in the Age of
Dinosaurs. In 2005, they began publishing a half-gloss journal, Rolling Thunder, with the
byline "An Anarchist Journal of Dangerous Living", which released its sixth issue in 2008.
CrimethInc. texts have received wide coverage in the anarchist media and in academic
publications,[18] [19] and have been used as reading materials for university courses on
anarchism.[20]
Convergence locations
Convergences
Since the Summer of 2002, CrimethInc. has hosted annual conventions, termed
"convergences", extending an invitation to all who wish to attend. Typically featuring the
performances of traveling theatrical troupes, musicians, direct-action and mutual-aid
workshops from individual participants, the few-days-long camping trips have attracted
coverage in newspaper articles,[21] initiated multiple Reclaim the Streets actions, mobilized
large Critical Mass events, and catalyzed many other activities.[22]
The 2007 convergence in Athens, Ohio saw an impromptu street party which resulted in a
few arrests on minor charges.[21] The Athens News characterized the convergence as "a
sort of networking, resume-swapping opportunity for would-be radicals, free-thinkers,
Levelers, Diggers, → Neo-Luddites and other assorted malcontents."[23] It is typical of these
gatherings to demand that all attendees have something to contribute to the momentum:
whether it's bringing food or equipment to share, leading a discussion group, or providing
materials with which to write to political prisoners. There has also been a pattern of
CrimethInc. 516
Philosophy
Crimethought is not any ideology or value system
or lifestyle, but rather a way of challenging all
ideologies and value systems and lifestyles—and,
for the advanced agent, a way of making all
ideologies, value systems, and lifestyles
challenging.
—Crimethinc.com[25]
CrimethInc as a loose association represents a variety
of political views; the CrimethInc. FAQ asserts that it
has "no platform or ideology except that which could be
generalized from the similarities between the beliefs
and goals of the individuals who choose to be
involved—and that is constantly in flux."[5]
"CrimethInc." is an anonymous tag, a means of
constructing dynamic networks of support and
communication within the anarchist movement, and as
such anyone can publish under the name or create a
"Eclipse the past" inside front cover
image from CrimethInc.'s Days of War,
poster using the logo; each agent or group of agents
Nights of Love (2001). A philosophical operate autonomously.[26] As well as the traditional
theme of CrimethInc.'s writings is the anarchist opposition to the state and capitalism, agents
rejection of the "exclusive,
have, at times, advocated a straight edge lifestyle, the
anti-subjective" nature of history, and
the need to take active control of one's
total supersession of gender roles,[19] violent
own life. insurrection against the state,[27] and the refusal of
work.[28]
The active participants of CrimethInc. characterize it as a mindset and a way of life first
and foremost, rather than as an organization per se.[5] Its main goal is to inspire people to
take more active control of their own lives, becoming producers of culture and history
instead of passive consumers.[34] [35] Those who ascribe to the CrimethInc. philosophy
advocate radical ways of living one's life to the end of eliminating the perceived inequities
and tyrannies within society. Contributors to publications are generally not credited in
respect of an anonymity asserted by participants to be one of the organization's primary
values.[5] The name "CrimethInc." itself is a satirical self-criticism about the hypocrisy of
revolutionary propaganda (and other "margin-walking between contradictions"[5] ) and a
direct reference to the concept of "thoughtcrime" developed in George Orwell's Nineteen
Eighty-Four.[5]
CrimethInc. 518
External links
Cells
• CrimethInc.com [42] - maintained by the Crimethinc. Far East cell
• Boston Crimethinc [43] - maintained by the Crimethinc Ex-worker's Collective of Boston
• CrimethInc. Great Lakes [44]
• CrimethInc. NorthStar [45]
• CrimethInc. West Coast [46]
• CrimethInc. International [47]
• IdeozloCin [48] - based in Prague, Czech Republic
• Guerrilla Latina CrimethInc. [49]
Other
[50]
• CrimethInc. convergence - includes information concerning the 2009 Convergence in
Pittsburgh
[51]
• "Rethinking CrimethInc." - pseudonymous critical consideration published by
Anarkismo.net
• Interview [52] with self-identified CrimethInc. operative by Erika Ransom of the Bay Area
Anarchist Bookfair
References
[1] " CrimethInc. Ex-Workers' Collective : Home (http:/ / www. webcitation. org/ 5eVzkCwAW)". Crimethinc.com.
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[2] http:/ / www. crimethinc. com
[3] The CrimethInc Ex-Workers Ex-Collective Revolutionary Task Force on Terrorism. " After the Fall: Analysis of
the Events of September 11th 2001 (http:/ / www. webcitation. org/ 5eW05mJBp)". Crimethinc.com. Archived
from the original (http:/ / www. crimethinc. com/ texts/ atoz/ afterthefall. php) on February 11, 2009. . Retrieved
on 2007-10-31.
• Gordon, Uri (27-28 May 2005). "Liberation Now: Present-tense Dimensions of Contemporary Anarchism".
Thinking the Present : The Beginnings and Ends of Political Theory. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
• Thompson, Stacy (October 2004). " Crass Commodities (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20080101051714/
http:/ / findarticles. com/ p/ articles/ mi_m2822/ is_3_27/ ai_n6330582)". Popular Music & Society 27 (3):
307–322(16). doi: 10.1080/03007760410001733152 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1080/
03007760410001733152). Archived from the original (http:/ / findarticles. com/ p/ articles/ mi_m2822/
is_3_27/ ai_n6330582) on January 1, 2008. . Retrieved on 2007-07-08.
• Ludwig, Mike (2007-07-30). " Melee breaks out uptown at end of anarchist confab (http:/ / web. archive. org/
web/ 20070928130453/ http:/ / www. athensnews. com/ issue/ article. php3?story_id=28894)". The Athens
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[5] " Frequently Asked Questions (http:/ / www. crimethinc. com/ about/ faq. html)". Crimethinc.com. . Retrieved
on 2007-10-31.
[6] Thompson, Stacy (2004). Punk Productions: Unfinished Business. Albany: SUNY Press. pp. 109. ISBN
0791461874.
[7] Brandt, Jed. " Crimethinc: In Love With Love Itself (http:/ / www. webcitation. org/ 5eW0gRYrS)". Clamor.
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[8] Patterson, Jesse (2002-10-08). " Punk show rocks Student Union (http:/ / media. www. dailycampus. com/
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Daily Campus. . Retrieved on 2008-07-24.
[9] Raihala, Ross (2002-12-12). "The heArt and Film Festival". The Olympian.
[10] Days of War, Nights of Love (2001) , Crimethinc.Workers Collective, p. 221 ISBN 097091010X
CrimethInc. 520
[11] Andersen, Mark (2004). All the Power : Revolution Without Illusion. Punk Planet Books. ISBN
9781888451726.
[12] "3 plead guilty in attempts at arson". The Sacramento Bee. 2005-10-15.
[13] Schachtman, Noah (2004-08-17). " Hackers Take Aim at GOP (http:/ / www. wired. com/ politics/ law/ news/
2004/ 08/ 64602)". Wired. . Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
[14] Deagon, Brian (2004-10-22). "GOP Sites Hit By Denial Of Service Attack; Hard To Tell Who Culprits Are".
Investor's Business Daily.
• Whitehead, Chris (2007-04-13). " How do you say 'dese, dem, dose' in Chinese?; The Mayor's Office of (http:/
/ findarticles. com/ p/ articles/ mi_qn4155/ is_20070413/ ai_n19018352)". Chicago Sun-Times. . Retrieved on
2007-07-08.
• Childress, Sarah (August 2004). " 'Hacktivists' Log On (http:/ / findarticles. com/ p/ articles/ mi_kmnew/
is_200408/ ai_n6835339)". Newsweek. . Retrieved on 2007-07-08.
• Sege, Irene (2008-03-10). " Pay phones may appear to be gathering dust, but some still use them (http:/ /
www. boston. com/ lifestyle/ articles/ 2008/ 03/ 10/ busy_signals/ )". The Boston Globe (The New York Times
Company). . Retrieved on 2008-03-16.
[16] Power, Matthew (March 2008). " Mississippi Drift (http:/ / www. crimethinc. com/ blog/ wp-content/ uploads/
2008/ 03/ crimethinc_in_harpers. pdf)" (PDF). Harper's Magazine: 54–63. . Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
[17] pfm (2008-05-28). " Fourth FFOL Printing Hits the Streets (http:/ / www. crimethinc. com/ blog/ 2008/ 05/ 28/
fourth-ffol-printing-hits-the-streets/ )". CrimethInc. Far East Blog. . Retrieved on 2008-06-14.
• Clark, Dylan (2004). "The Raw and the Rotten: Punk Cuisine". Ethnology 43.
• Doy, Gen (2004). Picturing the Self. London: I. B. Tauris. ISBN 1850434131.
• Edwards, Ferne; Mercer, David (November 2007). " Gleaning from Gluttony: an Australian youth subculture
confronts the ethics of waste (http:/ / www. informaworld. com/ smpp/
content~content=a783694781~db=all)". Australian Geographer (Routledge) 38 (3): 279–296. doi:
10.1080/00049180701639174 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1080/ 00049180701639174). .
• Dunne, Stephen; Eleni Karamali and Stevphen Shukaitis (2005). "Inscribing Organized Resistance".
Ephemera 5 (4): 562–567. ISSN 1473-2866 (http:/ / worldcat. org/ issn/ 1473-2866).
[19] Nicholas, Lucy (Spring 2007). " Approaches to Gender, Power and Authority in Contemporary Anarcho-punk:
Poststructuralist Anarchism? (http:/ / www. gla. ac. uk/ media/ media_41219_en. pdf)" (PDF). ESharp (9). ISSN
1742-4542 (http:/ / worldcat. org/ issn/ 1742-4542). . Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
[20] Conger, Chloe (2002-04-29). " Student leads course on anarchy (http:/ / daily. stanford. edu/ article/ 2002/ 4/
29/ studentLeadsCourseOnAnarchy)". The Stanford Daily. . Retrieved on 2008-07-24.
[21] Goussetis, Elizabeth (2007-07-31). " Anarchist answers to riot charge (http:/ / www. athensmessenger. com/
main. asp?SectionID=1& SubSectionID=273& ArticleID=4478& TM=35045. 77)". Athens Messenger. .
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php?story=2007073009151431)". Infoshop News. Infoshop.org. 2007-07-30. . Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
[23] Phillips, Jim (2007-09-04). " Good going; you left town for the summer and missed everything (http:/ /
athensnews. com/ news/ campusnews/ 2007/ sep/ 04/ good-going-you-left-town-summer-and-missed-everyth/ )".
The Athens News. . Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
[24] " Confidential Source “Anna”-issued affidavit (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20070111192140/ http:/ / static.
kovr. viacomlocalnetworks. com/ ~kovr/ affidavit. pdf)" (.pdf). United States District Court Eastern District of
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2007-01-11. . Retrieved on 2008-07-21.
[25] " All Traveler Kids Purged From CrimethInc. Membership (http:/ / www. crimethinc. com/ texts/ pastfeatures/
purged. php)". Crimethinc.com. . Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
[26] Sims, Francwa (2006). The Anacostia Diaries as It Is. ISBN 1411618882.
[27] " Let Me Light My Cigarette on Your Burning Blockade (http:/ / www. crimethinc. com/ texts/ atoz/ antig8.
php)". Crimethinc.com. . Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
[28] D., Brian. " How I Spent My Permanent Vacation (http:/ / www. crimethinc. com/ texts/ insidefront/
permanentvacation. php)". Crimethinc.com. . Retrieved on 2008-01-13.
[29] Lang, Daniel (May 2007). " "Give Us the Dumpsters -Or- Give Us Life": Res Derilictae and the Trash of Free
Trade (http:/ / www. othervoices. org/ 3. 1/ dlang/ index. php)". Cultural Recycling (Other Voices) 3 (1). .
[30] Puchner, Martin (2005). Poetry of the Revolution: Marx, Manifestos and the Avant-Gardes. Princeton
University Press, Princeton and Oxford. 320pp., ISBN 978-0-691-12260-1.
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[33] MacDonald Ross, George (2004-05-10). " Plagiarism really is a crime:a counterblast against anarchists and
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Original affluent society Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=282424552 Contributors: Ccloutier, Cowpepper, DMG413, InvictaHOG,
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Overpopulation Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=301356237 Contributors: -- April, 041744, 10metreh, 2D, 8011051turd, A Softer
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Mass surveillance Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=301514676 Contributors: Acebrock, Afiler, AlphaRed3, Anne lenoir, Arcturus,
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Technology and society Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=295218050 Contributors: Afafaafad, Alan Liefting, Alansohn, Alfinal,
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