John Zerzan
John Zerzan | |
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Born | August 10, 1943 Salem, Oregon, U.S. | (age 80)
Alma mater | |
Era | |
Notable ideas | Domestication of humans, rewilding |
John Edward Zerzan (
His six major books are Elements of Refusal (1988), Future Primitive and Other Essays (1994), Running on Emptiness (2002), Against Civilization: Readings and Reflections (2005), Twilight of the Machines (2008), and Why hope? The Stand Against Civilization (2015).
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Early life and education
Zerzan was born in
Activism
In 1966, Zerzan was arrested while performing
In the late 1960s he worked as a
In 1974, Black and Red Press published Unions Against Revolution by Spanish
Zerzan became more widely known during the trial of
In a 2014 interview, Zerzan stated that he and Kaczynski were "not on terms anymore." He criticized his former friend's 2008 essay "The Truth About Primitive Life: A Critique of Anarchoprimitivism" and expressed disapproval of Individuals Tending Towards the Wild, a Mexican group influenced by the Unabomber's bombing campaign.[8]
Zerzan was associated with the
Thought
Zerzan is an anarchist philosopher, and is broadly associated with the philosophies of
Zerzan has accused linguist and activist Noam Chomsky of not being a real anarchist, saying that he is instead "a liberal-leftist politically, and downright reactionary in his academic specialty, linguistic theory. Chomsky is also, by all accounts, a generous, sincere, tireless activist -- which does not, unfortunately, ensure his thinking has liberatory value."[11]
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-civilizational and anti-technological perspective. He argued that Zerzan's representation of hunter-gatherers was flawed, selective and often patronisingly racist, that his analysis was superficial, and that his practical proposals were nonsensical.
Aside from 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.[12] It specifically rejects the claim that primitivism is a form of anarchism.
Some authors such as Andrew Flood have argued that destroying civilization would lead to the death of a significant majority of the population, mainly in poor countries.[13] John Zerzan responded to such claims by suggesting a gradual decrease in population size, with the possibility of people having the need to seek means of sustainability more close to nature.[14]
Flood suggests this contradicts Zerzan's claims elsewhere, and adds that, since it is certain that most people will strongly reject Zerzan's supposed utopia, it can only be implemented by authoritarian means, against the will of billions.[13]
In his essay "Listen Anarchist!", Chaz Bufe criticized the primitivist position from an anarchist perspective, pointing out that primitivists are extremely vague about exactly which technologies they advocate keeping and which they seek to abolish, noting that smallpox had been eradicated thanks to medical technology.[15]
In an essay called "Anarchism = Zerzan?", socialist economist Michael Albert critiques Zerzan's perspectives on concepts such as language, division of labour, and technology, instead saying that Zerzan's argument rests on these concepts being inherently wrong, instead of, as Albert argues, being neutral concepts that can be utilised morally or immorally.[16]
Selected works
Books and pamphlets
- When We Are Human: Notes From The Age Of Pandemics, July 2021.
- A People's History of Civilization, April 20, 2018
- Time and Time Again. Detritus Books, 2018.
- Why hope? The Stand Against Civilization. Feral House, 2015.
- Future Primitive Revisited. Feral House, May 2012.
- Origins of the 1%: The Bronze Age pamphlet. Left Bank Books, 2012.
- Origins: A John Zerzan Reader. Joint publication of FC Press and Black and Green Press, 2010.
- Twilight of the Machines. Feral House, 2008.
- Running On Emptiness. Feral House, 2002.
- Against Civilization (editor). Uncivilized Books, 1999; Expanded edition, Feral House, 2005.
- Future Primitive. Autonomedia, 1994.
- Questioning Technology (co-edited with Alice Carnes). Freedom Press, 1988; 2d edition, New Society, 1991, ISBN 978-0-900384-44-8
- Elements of Refusal. Left Bank Books, 1988; 2d edition, C.A.L. Press, 1999.
Articles
- Telos 141, Second-Best Life: Real Virtuality. New York: Telos Press Ltd., Winter 2007.
- Telos 137, Breaking the Spell: A Civilization Critique Perspective. New York: Telos Press Ltd., Winter 2006.
- Telos 124, Why Primitivism?. New York: Telos Press Ltd., Summer 2002.
- Telos 60, Taylorism and Unionism: The Origins of a Partnership. New York: Telos Press Ltd., Summer 1984.
- Telos 50, Anti-Work and the Struggle for Control. New York: Telos Press Ltd., Winter 1981–1982.
- Telos 49, Origins and Meaning of World War I. New York: Telos Press Ltd., Fall 1981.
- Telos 28, Unionism and the Labor Front. New York: Telos Press Ltd., Summer 1978.
- Telos 27, Unionization in America. New York: Telos Press Ltd., Spring 1976.
- Telos 21, Organized Labor versus The Revolt Against Work: The Critical Contest. New York: Telos Press Ltd., Fall 1974.
See also
- Neotribalism
- Species Traitor, publication where John Zerzan regularly contributes
- Surplus, a Swedish movie (atmo, 2003) which contains an interview with John Zerzan
References
- ^ "John Zerzan papers, 1946-2000". Archives West. Archived from the original on December 16, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
- ^ "Profile of American anarchist John Zerzan | World news". The Guardian. UK. April 20, 2001. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
- ^ History of the union Archived August 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Contradiction. "Open Letter to John Zerzan, anti-bureaucrat of the San Francisco Social Services Employees Union". Bopsecrets.org. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
- ^ "Interview: Anarcho-Primitivist Thinker and Activist John Zerzan | CORRUPT.org: Conservation & Conservatism". CORRUPT.org. December 7, 2008. Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-61332-097-6.
- ISSN 1356-9317.
- ^ "The Anarcho-Primitivist Who Wants Us All To Give Up Technology". Vice Media Inc. USA. June 25, 2014. Archived from the original on June 27, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
- ^ "Part. III: Eco-Anarchy Imploding". Eugene Weekly. November 22, 2006. Archived from the original on April 3, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
- from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
- ^ Zerzan, John. "Who is Chomsky?". Primitivism.com. Archived from the original on February 21, 2006. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ "Anarchism vs. Primitivism by Brian Oliver Sheppard". Libcom.org. Archived from the original on November 26, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
- ^ a b "Civilization, Primitivism, Anarchism by Andrew Flood". Anarkismo.net. Archived from the original on November 4, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
- ^ [1] Archived September 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Chaz Bufe (1987). "Listen Anarchist!". See Sharp Press. Archived from the original on November 23, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
- ^ "Anarchism=Zerzan?". ZNetwork. May 17, 2001. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
Further reading
- "Radical rethinking" by Sena Christian. (April 17, 2008)
- Smith, TJ (March 2000). "Chaos Theories". Spin.