Green Anarchism/Anarcho-primitivism..

Question

Having recent questions about left/right wing politics and where Anarchism fits in... and having found out that Anarchism is generally left wing because of it's radical perspective and emphasis on liberty, freedom, etc., I'm wondering WHY Anarcho-primitivism is considered right-wing?

I'm not a primitivist or a 'nature freak', however, the area I live in is beautiful and the sudden deforestation and homes being built, it's made me realize how the state is tearing the land apart and it's merely for profit. Sound like a hippie, right? But no, I consider myself a Social Anarchist but I would like to know why Anarcho-primitivism is considered right-wing?

Answer 1

I think that John Zerzan would be surprised to find out that he is part of the right wing of politics. There are a number of reasons why they might be considered right-wing. From a philosophical perspective, primitivism plays on anthropology, which unfortunately tends to embrace things like social democracy and structuralism, in the forms of tribalism and biocentrism respectively. There are a number of persons who have pointed out that primitivism takes this one step further and plays into the racist "noble savage" archetype, including using the term "primitive."

From a purely political perspective, anarcho-primitivism is very critical of the left. If you believe in structural binaries, then the anti-left is on the right. The truth is, anarcho-primitivism has more in common with the left than the right, and hence is post-left, or rather a "more relevant" left.

Comments

fascists have for a long time being interested in environmental issues.
and there is no inherent connection between any wing (or political trajectory) and wanting to save/protect the land, so there are probably fascist primitivists (or primtivists with fascist tendencies), like there are in many groups. lawrence jarach wrote an article about his concern over such connections in one of the issues of anarchy: a journal of desire armed. (i can't remember the issue number though.)

anarchism is not left-wing. some/many people may think it is, but it is not, for the reasons that have already been explored on this thread:
http://anarchy101.org/2688/liberal-or-conservative

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I think the piece of Lawrence's dot is referring to is "Why Primitivism  (Without Adjectives) Makes Me Nervous," which is included here:

http://www.theanarchistlibrary.org/HTML/Various_Authors__A_Dialog_on_Primitivism.html#toc1

I highly recommend reading this collection in its entirety. In addition, this (also by Lawrence) might be of interest:

http://www.theanarchistlibrary.org/HTML/Lawrence_Jarach__Why_I_am_not_an_Anti-Primitivist.html

Answer 2

Who considers anarcho-primitivists right wing? Never heard that. We're not. We're surely not leftists, but we're much farther from the right. Also, the term "anarcho-primitivist" did not originate from people associated with that tendency, it came from outside people calling us that and us accepting it jokingly. Many of us, including myself, dislike the phrase. Also, while we're on misconceptions, anarcho-primitivism is a set of critiques and not a program, whereas something like rewilding, ecovillages, or guerrilla warfare are.