I have scanned the entire pamphlet,
A Primitivist Primer, so that the primary document can be available for anyone interested. The reading list in particular is fascinating: the Unabomber appears twice, along with Che Guevara.
Because of the vagaries of OCR and spell-checking, there may still be scanning errors in the document. Any misspellings that I noticed in the original I marked with a [sic]; if you spot anything else, please list it in the comments below, and I will try to correct it.
Barron, you have a much stronger stomach or a less explosive temperament than I. I scanned this and when I got to primitive people were healthy, I completely gave up.
I’m all for giving him what he asks for, in an isolated location. Come back in about a year and see if there are any survivors, and, if they exist, if they are anything more than human animals with no trace of civilization.
A few items from the pamphlet, with commentary.
“initiate a comprehensive transformation of human life”–There will be transformation of human life, all right, but not the one they try to promote.
“What about population? A controversial issue, largely because there isn’t a consensus among anarcho-primitivists on this topic.” A bit of disagreement within the group, huh? That’s because the entire answer is mathematically flawed.
I note they have materials for sale. Sounds capitalistic to me. And capitalism is a major part of today’s civilization and economy.
Hawthorne pointed out that every utopia needs two things: a cemetery and a prison. Hmmm…
I came from a society where vegetarianism is an essential part of our culture. But vegetarianism as it is praticed by these people in this country is nothing like I know. My first encounter with these people shocked me.
I am a Buddhist and when I was younger was a vegetarian for more than a year. But I did it out of personal religious devotion and expect nobody else to follow suit. Where I came from, vegetarianism is not forced. It is not even acceptable to criticize other who eat meat. Despite the fact that the majority of Vietnamese are Buddhist, only clergies are required to be vegetarians.
Vegetarian Festival should be only about delicious vegetarian food and nothing else. If one want to encourage people to be vegetarians, make good vegetarians food and say nothing else.
Minh-Duc,
There was a food section there at the festival, and I had some tasty vegetarian curry. Everything was overpriced, though. Plus they used styrofoam containers and plastic implements, which everyone just threw in the trash! Not very ecological-minded…
Living in New York City for over fifty years I’ve seen it all. This sounds like a reply of dozens of utopian fools I’ve met over the years. There’s nothing worth refuting – just stuff for laughter. This isn’t a tempting threat – they’ll gain few adherents. However, the eco-terrorists are real and hurt far more then themselves. It’s good to know what they are about. And, of course, what a confession: “Coalition against Civilization.” At least they’re honest.
Didn’t any of the people ever read “Lord of the Flies”?
Errors (which might be attributable to the Baron’s OCR and corrected, but I suspect are attributable to the author’s OCD and will be [sic]’d– [sic]-em, Baron.)
…”The material objects, the caves and canoes, the digging sticks and walls’ were things…
seems to have an errant apostrophe.
…and in this respect, lie’s right. Individuals,…
the errant apostrophe strikes back.
Otherwise, seemed error free (content notwithstanding).
—-
Side note:
I can’t believe I missed my GOV fix for three days and missed all this excitement. I need to work on my life priorities.
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The author of “A Primitivist Primer” is such an erudite idiot, with no knowledge of evolutionary biology, that it takes one’s breath away.
Let’s take 2 examples.
“Contrary to popular belief, life before civilization was not “‘nasty, brutish and short,” but, in fact, healthy, stable and leisurely. Primitive peoples had little or no problem with diseases until coming into contact with civilization.”
Wishing it is so does not make it so. “Old” among primitive people was 30 – old enough to be a grandparent if you have your first child at 15.
hhttp://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/101/30/10847
And what a surprise that diseases do not afflict primitive people! Forget the evidence that an AIDS-like illness caused a major poulation collapse in ancient chimps,
http://www.aegis.com/news/ads/2002/AD021668.html
or that humans coevolved with a large number of parasites that do us ill (malaria, anyone?)
One of the biggest laughs is this statement –
“Animals as well as human communities in the state of nature do not proliferate their own kind to the point of pushing all others off the field.”
Where does this bozo’s animals live – in a Disney cartoon? Mine live in nature where they compete and quite readily push each other around. What happened to all those large marsupials in South America when the land bridge to the north opened up? What happened to all the megafauna worldwide when primitive, but fully modern, man showed up? For that matter, what happened to all the OTHER branches of the hominid tree? And for the vegans who want to forget about animals, what about kudzoo? Life is life – it is always expanding, pushing the weaker and less adapted out of the way.
As for John Moore – Bugs Bunny would say “What an ultramaroon!”
And I would agree with all of the statements here that when such an erudite idiot bumps up hard against reality, he would rather kill and destroy those who differ with his reality, or those who (in his view) are not letting his reality appear, rather than admit the foolishness of it all.
a4g — I’m at work now and don’t have access to the original pamphlet. When I get home tomorrow night I’ll look at it until I’m [sic] unto death.
Boy, you really went over it with a fine tooth comb! Bet it’s hard to satirize, eh?
They actually quote the unabomber’s manifesto as a reference. Any attempt to parody them would necessarily fall short.
Pass the Kool-Aid!