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.
Permaculture and Recycling
Critics
Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination 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.
Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination 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
- Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination Contemporary Anarchism - Towards Anarchy!
- Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination 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.
- Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination Deep Ecology - Human is not above nature, human is a part of nature.
- Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination Post-Leftism - We will never labor again. Let's make work enjoyable!
- Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination Anti-Organizationalism - Post-Civilized communities will be all voluntary!
- Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination Mutual Aid - The best way to do trade.
Neutral
- Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination Anarcho-Primitivism - You did a good analysis of civilization, but going back is impossible. Look forward, not backwards.
- Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination Mutualism - Mutual aid is good, but money and banks aren't.
- Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination 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 Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination Permaculture above agriculture.
Negative
- Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination Hobbesianism - Civilization defender, awful.
At least we both agree that living before civilization was brutal. - Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination Capitalism - System of slavery, pollution, unnatural work, harsh competition, commodities and rest of things wrong in the world.
- Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination Statism - Inseparable from capitalism, equally responsible for everything that's wrong.
- Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination Traditionalism - We must look forward, not backwards. We should reject harmful traditions and save useful ones.
- Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination Patriarchy - Wicked consequence of civilization.
Further Information
Error creating thumbnail: Unable to save thumbnail to destination Literature
- Post-Civ! by Strangers In a Tangled Wilderness
- Anarchism versus Civilization by Margaret Killjoy
- Cooperative Scavenging by Margaret Killjoy