Loved the story of that beautiful piano! Regarding 'simplification' I suggest Greer's original quote is more effective - "Collapse now and avoid the rush" as I find Nate Hagens notion of 'simplification' a euphemism which unfortunately downplays the severity of our predicament. As prof. Tainter identifies, civilization's don't simplify - they collapse. And this time it's global.
Thanks for the piano story. Given your "Civilization's Discontents", you appear not to read the Sigmund Freud book, "Civilization and It's Discontents", or have you. It is a very important book, his last, 1931, as it explains that the law and order of any true civilization come at the price of the citizenry voluntarily relinquishing some freedoms in order to preserve the greater good of an orderly society and government. Our Mad King (wannabe) Donald I appears not to have read it, nor his anti-government MAGATS, who express the intent of "tearing it down", which only leaves anarchy in its place. The undisciplined, angry mob, led by a spoiled rich kid with the mental maturity of a 2yo, who treats his nation and governments like play things, can only lead to anarchy, as we all saw Jan. 6, 2021. They would have destroyed your piano and used it for firewood, had the opportunity arisen.
I haven't read "Civilization and It's Discontents". But it is now on my bottomless reading list. Thanks!
As for "anarchy", you seem to share a common misunderstanding of this oft-abused word.
Anarchy does not mean "without rules". It means "without rulers". Big difference!
For some 293,000 years of human existence, we lived in anarchy. We lived in smallish groups of people of under ~150 or so, with little social stratification, hierarchy, or "power over".
Then, some 7,000 years ago, the advent of grain agriculture begat civilization, and all the good and bad that came with that. For the first time in human history, food could be hoarded and withheld. This was the basis for hierarchy, poverty, money, and capitalism. And rulers.
I am an anarchist.
I think that the only way forward for humans is in small groups of consenting adults to make up their own rules for getting along on and with this planet. Surely, the opposite hasn't been working well!
This is not just a thought experiment. I've been practising small-group anarchy for nearly two decades. http://EcoReality.org .
I believe we are saying the same thing and have the same understanding of social pre-history. The OED definition of "anarchy": "a state of disorder due to lack of government or control". We agree that our ancestral and extant clans/bands of less than 150, living in a state of nature sustaining themselves through mutual support, hunting, and gathering, are nearly totally egalitarian. My personal experience was living in a commune for a year in Wisconsin in the early 70's. My book on stress attributes much of our current state of anxiety/depression/social isolation to our loss of this social structure and calls the "nuclear family" nothing more than a "lifeboat", a last remnant of a failing gigantic nation-state in a process of collapse. I see 12-step groups as attempts to reconstruct our clans, as are military units sports teams, etc.
We are on the same wavelength and thanks for the dialog and links. Freud's little, last book will knock your socks off.
Yea, I double-checked the dictionary definition before responding.
But then, there are all those book titles… not to mention the Wikipedia page "This article is about the state of government without authority… Anarchy is a form of society without rulers."
So Wikipedia, at least, defines anarchy as a form of governance.
It would seem the anti-anarchy types have taken over the dictionary business. Let's not forget that dictionaries *are* a business based on authority!
Again, I'm on the same wavelength as you. I looked through all the titles you sent and have read several. My hero is Kropotkin and his take down of competition in modern society, versus cooperation, so desperately needed today, but impossible in our massively overpopulated capitalist urban/suburban lifeway. My cousin recently took me by the small town one room school house she went to 1st grade in, before the new brick multi-classroom bldg. was built and occupied. The kids in the one room schools focused on helping one another no matter which "grade" they were in, rather than competing as we are driven to do today. Smaller is better and cooperation trumps competition (pun intended). My problem with the European "anarchy" history, is that it's in a state of rebellion against the constraints/restraints of over-reaching totalitarian big governments, none of which matters to an H-G clan/band, self-sustaining in a state of ecologically balanced nature. Have a blessed day! Gregg
Enjoyed this and your previous piece quite a lot. Glad your piano has found its way to its final home!
Aw, thank you!
Amid all the doom news, I like to inject some practical, real-world things for people to consider.
Loved the story of that beautiful piano! Regarding 'simplification' I suggest Greer's original quote is more effective - "Collapse now and avoid the rush" as I find Nate Hagens notion of 'simplification' a euphemism which unfortunately downplays the severity of our predicament. As prof. Tainter identifies, civilization's don't simplify - they collapse. And this time it's global.
Thanks!
Regarding "simplification", I don't disagree with you.
But I've sent this to a lot of situation-naive people, and I'd rather lure them toward enlightenment via honey than drive them away with vinegar!
It's hard to be curious when you feel threatened.
I'm planning more articles that will hopefully draw people in deeper.
Thanks for the piano story. Given your "Civilization's Discontents", you appear not to read the Sigmund Freud book, "Civilization and It's Discontents", or have you. It is a very important book, his last, 1931, as it explains that the law and order of any true civilization come at the price of the citizenry voluntarily relinquishing some freedoms in order to preserve the greater good of an orderly society and government. Our Mad King (wannabe) Donald I appears not to have read it, nor his anti-government MAGATS, who express the intent of "tearing it down", which only leaves anarchy in its place. The undisciplined, angry mob, led by a spoiled rich kid with the mental maturity of a 2yo, who treats his nation and governments like play things, can only lead to anarchy, as we all saw Jan. 6, 2021. They would have destroyed your piano and used it for firewood, had the opportunity arisen.
I haven't read "Civilization and It's Discontents". But it is now on my bottomless reading list. Thanks!
As for "anarchy", you seem to share a common misunderstanding of this oft-abused word.
Anarchy does not mean "without rules". It means "without rulers". Big difference!
For some 293,000 years of human existence, we lived in anarchy. We lived in smallish groups of people of under ~150 or so, with little social stratification, hierarchy, or "power over".
Then, some 7,000 years ago, the advent of grain agriculture begat civilization, and all the good and bad that came with that. For the first time in human history, food could be hoarded and withheld. This was the basis for hierarchy, poverty, money, and capitalism. And rulers.
I am an anarchist.
I think that the only way forward for humans is in small groups of consenting adults to make up their own rules for getting along on and with this planet. Surely, the opposite hasn't been working well!
This is not just a thought experiment. I've been practising small-group anarchy for nearly two decades. http://EcoReality.org .
By the way, since you gave me a reading assignment, here's a reading list for you: https://www.listchallenges.com/anarchist-reading-list
"Anarchy assumes that the burden of proof for anyone in a position of power and authority lies on them." — Noam Chomsky.
I believe we are saying the same thing and have the same understanding of social pre-history. The OED definition of "anarchy": "a state of disorder due to lack of government or control". We agree that our ancestral and extant clans/bands of less than 150, living in a state of nature sustaining themselves through mutual support, hunting, and gathering, are nearly totally egalitarian. My personal experience was living in a commune for a year in Wisconsin in the early 70's. My book on stress attributes much of our current state of anxiety/depression/social isolation to our loss of this social structure and calls the "nuclear family" nothing more than a "lifeboat", a last remnant of a failing gigantic nation-state in a process of collapse. I see 12-step groups as attempts to reconstruct our clans, as are military units sports teams, etc.
We are on the same wavelength and thanks for the dialog and links. Freud's little, last book will knock your socks off.
Yea, I double-checked the dictionary definition before responding.
But then, there are all those book titles… not to mention the Wikipedia page "This article is about the state of government without authority… Anarchy is a form of society without rulers."
So Wikipedia, at least, defines anarchy as a form of governance.
It would seem the anti-anarchy types have taken over the dictionary business. Let's not forget that dictionaries *are* a business based on authority!
Again, I'm on the same wavelength as you. I looked through all the titles you sent and have read several. My hero is Kropotkin and his take down of competition in modern society, versus cooperation, so desperately needed today, but impossible in our massively overpopulated capitalist urban/suburban lifeway. My cousin recently took me by the small town one room school house she went to 1st grade in, before the new brick multi-classroom bldg. was built and occupied. The kids in the one room schools focused on helping one another no matter which "grade" they were in, rather than competing as we are driven to do today. Smaller is better and cooperation trumps competition (pun intended). My problem with the European "anarchy" history, is that it's in a state of rebellion against the constraints/restraints of over-reaching totalitarian big governments, none of which matters to an H-G clan/band, self-sustaining in a state of ecologically balanced nature. Have a blessed day! Gregg