Published September 6, 2010 Anarchism , Marxism , Primitivism , Situationist , Technology ,

Theory 2 Comments
RADICAL ARCHIVES is happy to finally present our Origins of Primitivism set. It
consists of 16 documents related to the development of contemporary
primitivist thought, which were first printed in Fifth Estate between 1977 and
1988. All of these documents (listed at bottom) are available online for the first
time.
Additionally, David Watson has contributed a short introduction and reflection on
these texts for the occasion of putting them online; it is available here.
(If you are new to Radical Archives, we recommend you look at the index of texts
posted, and the about statement, which describes the sites topic interests.)
The most important of the these texts is David Watsons Against the
Megamachine (originally published in 1981), which outlines his distinct version of
primitivism. Watson renounced ideological primitivism with 1997s Swamp Fever,
Primitivism and the Ideological Vortex': Farewell to All That, two years before the
demonstrations in Seattle against the WTO. Partly because of Watsons exit from
the discourse, Zerzans version (which actually had been developed later) became
synonymous with the concept anarcho-primitivism.
Watsons essay is the only document of this set which was previously in print; it is
available as the title essay of the Autonomedia book Against the Megamachine:
Essays on Empire and Its Discontents. Prior to this, the other texts were only
accessible in specialized archival holdings.
Also of importance is Confronting the Enemy: A Response on Time, which is a
long critique of Zerzans article Beginning of Time, End of Time (which was the
first of his five origins essays). Written under Watsons pen name George
Bradford, this much-overlooked critique summarizes what are the basic objections
to Zerzans view from a sympathetic perspective: that the notion of purely
unalienated being (and along with it, the abolition of agriculture) is a misguided
and impossible approach to these issues. Paralleling many discussions within
the Western Marxist and Existentialist milieu (especially regarding Georg Lukcss
early work on reification), Watson argues that separation is something intrinsic to
human nature, and cannot be seen as outside of our own human existence. To
abolish separation is to return to the womb or ascend into heaven.
The third essay of special importance is Bob Brubakers Community, Society and
the State. Brubaker was a Fifth Estate writer who was involved in the magazines
dialogue as primitivism was developed. Brubakers work has been largely
forgotten.
The fourth essay of special importance is Fifth Estates 1977 review of Gary
Snyders The Old Ways, Six Essays. Steve Millett has identified this as the first
complete statement of a primitivist perspective to appear in Fifth Estate.
Last, a letter from Marcus Graham, who had edited the anarchist magazine MAN!
in the 1930s, shows the issues Fifth Estate was grappling with around technology,
organization, etc. had been long-standing discussions in the anarchist milieu, well
back into the classical era.
By making these documents available online, hopefully a richer understanding of
The Origins of Primitivism set (1977-1988) | radicalarchives http://radicalarchives.org/2010/09/06/primitivist-set/
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the different strains of primitivism will result, as well as a constructive and critical
dialogue regarding this intellectual and political current. Important questions were
asked by the founders of primitivism, including: critiques of political organization,
spontaneity and resistance; the role of technology and the question of its
autonomy; and basic ontological questions about civilization, alienation and
environmental domination. With the partial exception of insurrectionism, these
questions have largely been shelved by the post-Seattle anglophone
anti-authoritarian milieu.
While Radical Archives is neither primitivist nor anti-civ, our position is that
these questions have not been answered by Murray Bookchins brand of social
ecology, John Zerzans version of primitivism, or any version of green
syndicalism.
It is partly for this reason, and partly out of interest in anarchist intellectual
history, that we are returning to the time in which these questions were being
actively grappled with in the anti-authoritarian milieu.
Radical Archives would like to thank Steve Millet for pointing out many of these
works in his dissertation, as well as to David Watson and Peter Werbe for their
help in identifying who wrote many of these articles. We would also like to
give special thanks to Dylan Smith for the many hours he spent transcribing all of
these works; without his labor, none of this would be possible.
We hope in the near future to make available a number of related works, including
works by primitivist John Moore, Sam Dolgoffs essay on technology, as well
as other works of Bob Brubaker.
THE ORIGINS OF PRIMITIVISM SET
Introduction to The Origins of Primitivism Set by David Watson (2010)
The First Primitivist Essay: Gary Snyder Asks: Poetry or Machines? Back to the
Stone Age (1977)
Technology & the State: An Introduction (1978)
FE Criticized and Our Response (1978)
On Having Nothing to Say (1979)
Searching for the Culprit (1979)
Against Civilization: Introduction to Russell Means (1980)
Introduction to Fifth Estate #306 (1981)
Against the Megamachine by David Watson (1981-1985/1997)
Marxism, Anarchism and the Roots of the New Totalitarianism by George
Bradford (1981)
Community, Primitive Society and the State by Bob Brubaker (1981)
Defeated Spirit?, letter from John Zerzan to Fifth Estate (1981)
Marcus Graham on Fifth Estate, Anarchism, Technology & Bookchin (1981)
More Debate on Technology: Does FE View Mean War or Big Brother?, letter
from Chris Dugan and reply from John Zerzan (1982)
Confronting the Enemy: A Response on Time by George Bradford (1983)
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Language: John Zerzan on George Bradford on John Zerzan (1984)
Introduction to John Zerzans Agriculture essay, by E.B. Maple (1988)
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