Or food security. But there’s definitely a golden middle, most of our work seems to only serve the enrichment of people who are detrimental to society.
I’m so sick of people idolizing shit like this. Go walk around a fucking cemetery from the 1800s or early. All you see is headstones with several dead babies on them. All of whom would have survived if they were born today.
The reason why civilization is what it is today is because people didn’t like what civilization was before. (Yes, drastic simplification and yes we have lots of problems today, but at least everyone is less likely to die of disease and starvation.)
Being nomadic hunter/gatherers was so amazing, we invented subsistence agriculture just to get away from it. And people would abandon subsidence agriculture in favour of a career as a beggar/day laborer.
Being nomadic hunter/gatherers was so amazing, we invented subsistence agriculture just to get away from it.
David Graeber and David Wengrow (The Dawn of Everything) disagree. It was always very labor intensive with significant drawbacks (especially during seasons where crops won’t grow), to the point that many groups openly dismissed the idea of being farmers of any kind. It took ages to get “large scale” (plots larger than 1000m²) agriculture “right” enough for it to actually be worth the time spent.
The reason for the insistence on agriculture, despite all the hardships, among groups with all sorts of hierarchical organizations, is the real million dollar question.
Interestingly we still have hunter/gatherer tribes around today, but only in the lush rain forests. I always feel like the progress (especially towards agriculture and thus permanent settlements) only happened with migration to colder climates. Which makes sense, as it sucks being a hunterer/gatherer when there’s snow.
You can even experience it today: in the rain forests there’s shit growing everywhere. Hungry? Walk around randomly for 5 minutes, there’s bananas, or mango, or star fruit or whatever.
So the real question to me: why migrate in the first place?
Are you free, really? Free to do what? To live as you please? To do what you please?
Let’s see. How do you live? What does your freedom amount to?
You depend on your employer for your wages or your salary, don’t you? And your wages determine your way of living, don’t they? The conditions of your life, even what you eat and drink, where you go and with whom you associate, — all of it depends on your wages.
No, you are not a free man. You are dependent on your employer and on your wages. You are really a wage slave.
The whole working class, under the capitalist system, is dependent on the capitalist class. The workers are wage slaves.
So, what becomes of your freedom? What can you do with it? Can you do more with it than your wages permit?
Can’t you see that your wage — your salary or income — is all the freedom that you have? Your freedom, your liberty, don’t go a step further than the wages you get.
The freedom that is given you on paper, that is written down in law books and constitutions, does not do you a bit of good. Such freedom only means that you have the right to do a certain thing. But it doesn’t mean that you can do it. To be able to do it, you must have the chance, the opportunity. You have a right to eat three fine meals a day, but if you haven’t the means, the opportunity to get those meals, then what good is that right to you?
So freedom really means opportunity to satisfy your needs and wants. If your freedom does not give you that opportunity, than it does you no good. Real freedom means opportunity and well-being. If it does not mean that, it means nothing.
I mean absolutely. And in the tribal past you wouldn’t have had many of the global and even regional supply systems we now have making much of our (limited) life possible now
But roaming the savanna with some stinky people, scavenging won’t give you the freedom to whatever as well. Don’t want to add to the pile of food because today you’re not feeling it? They’ll kick you out and you’ll get eaten by wolves by next Tuesday.
Edit: Hate it all you want, you’re not alone and in a society there are rules. Getting rid of capitalists is a good idea, but you’ll still have to contribute to the pile. Just way less and with a purpose beyond creating the next billionaire.
But complete freedom comes with complete loneliness. And all on your own, you’ll have a hard time.
Rules without people implementing them are useless and people disobeying the rules need to be reminded that they are there for a reason. I am sure your ideas sound beautiful, but we as human beings are flawed and this will probably never come.
You seem to think I want to adhere to the current system. I don’t, I think capitalism is cancer and needs to be eradicated. But I also think you don’t have the answer.
You clearly don’t know what anarchism truly is, but rather have an idea of what you think it is. I suggest giving the book I linked a quick browse. It’s not very long and is written specifically to be accessible to those who have never studied anarchism in depth.
But before I tell you what Anarchism is, I want to tell you what it is not.
That is necessary because so much falsehood has been spread about Anarchism. Even intelligent persons often have entirely wrong notions about it.
We’re talking about hunter gatherer times. Who would’ve been supplying or manufacturing parts for the thing you’re coding for?
Maybe you are envisioning your role as the mad shaman talking to the tribe in python or something but during those times people did need to contribute something to the tribe
I think you might be having a different convo to most of the other replies. Most seem to be talking about the cave times. Not just some utopian hypothetical
Imagine a long day chasing a deer on foot for 10km, drag it back home, and then start playing Monster Hunter while your group preparing the meal. That would be the bestest day.
That’s the thing, you’d only be spending the same small percentage of time vs location trying not to die (as per Palestine or Ukraine, or your country if 9/11 or WW3). Lifestyle would have most of the rest covered, same as trying not to die now. History & Wildlife documentaries only cover the most exciting parts. If nature was like that all the time, nothing could live.
So you could listen to a story (with your community), play a game (with your community), or watch the community drama.
The big misery is the healthcare being varying degrees of a guessing game, and extremely low levels of convenience. You can’t just walk 15 minutes, grab a handful of berries, a steak, and a potato then go fuck off with (some) family and ignore everyone else.
Yeah but then you also don’t have medical care and climate controlled housing, or video games, so…
Or food security. But there’s definitely a golden middle, most of our work seems to only serve the enrichment of people who are detrimental to society.
I’m so sick of people idolizing shit like this. Go walk around a fucking cemetery from the 1800s or early. All you see is headstones with several dead babies on them. All of whom would have survived if they were born today.
Literally every society from all corners of the globe had a 50% mortality rate for children prior to 1950.
The reason why civilization is what it is today is because people didn’t like what civilization was before. (Yes, drastic simplification and yes we have lots of problems today, but at least everyone is less likely to die of disease and starvation.)
Being nomadic hunter/gatherers was so amazing, we invented subsistence agriculture just to get away from it. And people would abandon subsidence agriculture in favour of a career as a beggar/day laborer.
So yeah, have fun going back to that.
David Graeber and David Wengrow (The Dawn of Everything) disagree. It was always very labor intensive with significant drawbacks (especially during seasons where crops won’t grow), to the point that many groups openly dismissed the idea of being farmers of any kind. It took ages to get “large scale” (plots larger than 1000m²) agriculture “right” enough for it to actually be worth the time spent.
The reason for the insistence on agriculture, despite all the hardships, among groups with all sorts of hierarchical organizations, is the real million dollar question.
Interestingly we still have hunter/gatherer tribes around today, but only in the lush rain forests. I always feel like the progress (especially towards agriculture and thus permanent settlements) only happened with migration to colder climates. Which makes sense, as it sucks being a hunterer/gatherer when there’s snow.
You can even experience it today: in the rain forests there’s shit growing everywhere. Hungry? Walk around randomly for 5 minutes, there’s bananas, or mango, or star fruit or whatever.
So the real question to me: why migrate in the first place?
I know at least two family members who would have died if they had been born even ten years earlier
Lol who needs videogames when you are literally free to do what you want?
Edit: I would miss videogames and i would probably be slimed in one week. It was lowkenuinely a joke.
I guess you have the freedom but not the ability
As is the case now.
from Now and After by Alexander Berkman, Chapter 3: Law and Government. Available to read for free here.
I mean absolutely. And in the tribal past you wouldn’t have had many of the global and even regional supply systems we now have making much of our (limited) life possible now
But roaming the savanna with some stinky people, scavenging won’t give you the freedom to whatever as well. Don’t want to add to the pile of food because today you’re not feeling it? They’ll kick you out and you’ll get eaten by wolves by next Tuesday.
Edit: Hate it all you want, you’re not alone and in a society there are rules. Getting rid of capitalists is a good idea, but you’ll still have to contribute to the pile. Just way less and with a purpose beyond creating the next billionaire.
But complete freedom comes with complete loneliness. And all on your own, you’ll have a hard time.
Who said anything about being alone?
One of the core tenets of anarcho-communism (which this book is explaining and advocating for) is mutual aid.
Anarchy doesn’t mean no rules, it means no rulers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_aid
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_Aid:_A_Factor_of_Evolution
Now and After, Introduction
Rules without people implementing them are useless and people disobeying the rules need to be reminded that they are there for a reason. I am sure your ideas sound beautiful, but we as human beings are flawed and this will probably never come.
You seem to think I want to adhere to the current system. I don’t, I think capitalism is cancer and needs to be eradicated. But I also think you don’t have the answer.
You clearly don’t know what anarchism truly is, but rather have an idea of what you think it is. I suggest giving the book I linked a quick browse. It’s not very long and is written specifically to be accessible to those who have never studied anarchism in depth.
Link again for your convenience.
Bru, stop it. Wrong tree, go bark at another one.
…you can code and learn coding by yourself
Are you writing code on a cave wall while the rest of the tribe keeps you fed or what’s the deal
You think technological progress only happens when profits are being generated or what is your thing?
We’re talking about hunter gatherer times. Who would’ve been supplying or manufacturing parts for the thing you’re coding for?
Maybe you are envisioning your role as the mad shaman talking to the tribe in python or something but during those times people did need to contribute something to the tribe
No we are talking about a world without the essential need to work to survive. But working for the society and not out of neccessaty
I think you might be having a different convo to most of the other replies. Most seem to be talking about the cave times. Not just some utopian hypothetical
you can probably find something that runs DOOM
Imagine a long day chasing a deer on foot for 10km, drag it back home, and then start playing Monster Hunter while your group preparing the meal. That would be the bestest day.
Uh. Me! When I get bored I read, or play a game, or watch a movie. Not that I’d be bored because I’d be trying not to die in a primitive society.
That’s the thing, you’d only be spending the same small percentage of time vs location trying not to die (as per Palestine or Ukraine, or your country if 9/11 or WW3). Lifestyle would have most of the rest covered, same as trying not to die now. History & Wildlife documentaries only cover the most exciting parts. If nature was like that all the time, nothing could live.
So you could listen to a story (with your community), play a game (with your community), or watch the community drama.
The big misery is the healthcare being varying degrees of a guessing game, and extremely low levels of convenience. You can’t just walk 15 minutes, grab a handful of berries, a steak, and a potato then go fuck off with (some) family and ignore everyone else.
I don’t know, being a hunter gatherer won’t let me live the power fantasy of being Batman. I can’t pull all those slick moves in real life!