Post-Civilization

Post-Civilization
Basic Information
Aliases	Post-Civ
Ideological Influences
Influenced by	Anarcha-Feminism Anarcho-Primitivism (Critical) Anti-Civilization Anti-Work Movement Contemporary Anarchism Green Anarchism Mutualism Post-Left Anarchy
Ideological Information
Notable Theorists	Margaret Killjoy
Notable Ideas	Recycling of everything Permacultural technology Scavenging the ruins
Character Information
Likes	Anarchy Permaculture Ecology Mutual aid Free association
Dislikes	Civilization Capitalism State Labor Tradition Patriarchy Primitivism
Song	Celldweller - End of An Empire

Post-Civilization, also called as Post-Civ is a philosophy describing civilizations, their collapses and potential society after collapse of global civilization. The article will be based on articles of Strangers in the Tangled Wildness, but other interpretations are allowed.

Beliefs

Anti-Civilization

Post-Civilization theory opposes civilization, but in a different way than Anarcho-Primitivism does. They consider civilization to be a settled life in urban and rural areas, division of labor and social hierarchy. They oppose all approaches to culture and organizational structures of the modern world, laws and social norms imposed by civilization. They also believe that civilization is unsustainable, and attempts to save it are undesirable.

Anti-Primitivism

Post-civilization theory also opposes primitivism. They don't reject technology like Anprims do, but only inappropriate use of technology. Anprims reject agriculture in every form; post-civ rejects only industrial monoculture, in favor of permaculture. Anprims reject science; post-civ reject blind obedience to it.

They consider primitivists to look only backwards, without seeing flaws of prehistoric society. They consider primitivism to be impossible to realize, because leaving billions of humans in forests to hunt and gather, when cities exist is just impossible. They also consider tribalism to be conservative - family structure, gender roles, etc.

Scavenging the Ruins

Post-Civilizationists want to take what's best and reject what's worst in elements of the past. It includes physical elements of civilization and prehistory, like tools, technologies, but not only. They also advocate for doing the same thing with culture; taking the best parts of old societies and removing the worst ones.

Critics

From Primitivists

Primitivists accused Post-Civilized theory for using strawmans of primitivist theory, often seen in memes. They also accused Post-Civ for lacking of sources of information about primitive lifestyles of pre-neolithic humans.

From Other Post-Leftists

Some post leftists criticized Post-Civ for;

• utopianism - the vision of collapsing civilization leading to a better world is seen as messianic and that the collapse of all cities and industrial forces may lead to millions dead.

• moralism - in the post-civ essays authors called for creation of new post-civilized ethical and philosophical framework, this proposal was rejected by anarchists who reject morality all together. Additionally, some of them consider radical environmentalism to be moralist.

Relations

Positive

• Contemporary Anarchism - Towards Anarchy!
• Green Anarchy - You taught us that not only the state and capitalism are harmful to both environment and humans, but also industry and civilization itself.
• Deep Ecology - Human is not above nature, human is a part of nature.
• Post-Leftism - We will never labor again. Let's make work enjoyable!
• Anti-Organizationalism - Post-Civilized communities will be all voluntary!
• Mutual Aid - The best way to do trade.

Neutral

• Anarcho-Primitivism - You did a good analysis of civilization, but going back is impossible. Look forward, not backwards.
• Mutualism - Mutual aid is good, but money and banks aren't.
• Agrarianism - You started civilization, but you also gave us a possibility to make something new. If you only practiced farming in harmony with natural ecosystems and raised animals without violence... I prefer Permaculture above agriculture.

Negative

• Hobbesianism - Civilization defender, awful. At least we both agree that living before civilization was brutal.
• Capitalism - System of slavery, pollution, unnatural work, harsh competition, commodities and rest of things wrong in the world.
• Statism - Inseparable from capitalism, equally responsible for everything that's wrong.
• Traditionalism - We must look forward, not backwards. We should reject harmful traditions and save useful ones.
• Patriarchy - Wicked consequence of civilization.

Further Information

Literature

• Post-Civ! by Strangers In a Tangled Wilderness
• Anarchism versus Civilization by Margaret Killjoy
• Cooperative Scavenging by Margaret Killjoy