Rewilding (anarchism)
Encyclopedia
Rewilding is the process of re-instating the role of keystone species
to human society where the expression of this role appears lacking. The term originates in conservation biology
in which "rewilding" stands for the re-introduction of keystone species into areas where such species appear locally extinct. Rewilding in the anarchist context applies this concept to initiating and regenerating human culture that embodies the role of a keystone species.
In green anarchism
and anarcho-primitivism
, humans are said to be "civilized" or "domesticated" by civilization. Supporters of such human rewilding argue that through the process of domestication
, human wildness has been altered by force.
Rewilding is about overcoming human domestication and returning to behavior inherent in human wildness. Though often associated with primitive skills
and learning knowledge of wild plant
s and animal
s, it emphasizes the development of the senses and fostering deepening personal relationships with members of other species and the natural world. Rewilding intends to create permanently wild human cultures beyond domestication
.
Rewilding is considered a holistic approach to living, as opposed to skills, practices or a specific set of knowledge.
and anarcho-primitivism
or anti-civilization and post-civilization anarchism
in general, though there is a large primitive living contingent who come at it from a more authoritarian direction.
Within a modern and scientific social context, rewilding entails both experiential and "book knowledge" to produce a community that is both respectful of individual liberties and beneficial to all involved, including all non-human species. Participants in such events and communities directly reap the benefits of the communities' actions and efforts. Instead of seeking to "return" to an earlier state of human existence or go "back to the land", rewilding seeks to take the experiences and time spent here in civilization and combine the lessons that have been learned from both the past and the present to create a more ideal society.
Keystone species
A keystone species is a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance. Such species play a critical role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community, affecting many other organisms in an ecosystem and helping to determine the types and...
to human society where the expression of this role appears lacking. The term originates in conservation biology
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
in which "rewilding" stands for the re-introduction of keystone species into areas where such species appear locally extinct. Rewilding in the anarchist context applies this concept to initiating and regenerating human culture that embodies the role of a keystone species.
In green anarchism
Green anarchism
Green anarchism, or ecoanarchism, is a school of thought within anarchism which puts a particular emphasis on environmental issues. An important early influence was the thought of the American anarchist Henry David Thoreau and his book Walden...
and anarcho-primitivism
Anarcho-primitivism
Anarcho-primitivism is an anarchist critique of the origins and progress of civilization. According to anarcho-primitivism, the shift from hunter-gatherer to agricultural subsistence gave rise to social stratification, coercion, and alienation...
, humans are said to be "civilized" or "domesticated" by civilization. Supporters of such human rewilding argue that through the process of domestication
Domestication
Domestication or taming is the process whereby a population of animals or plants, through a process of selection, becomes accustomed to human provision and control. In the Convention on Biological Diversity a domesticated species is defined as a 'species in which the evolutionary process has been...
, human wildness has been altered by force.
Rewilding is about overcoming human domestication and returning to behavior inherent in human wildness. Though often associated with primitive skills
Primitive skills
Primitive skills refers to prehistoric handicrafts and pre-industrial technology. Primitive skills are those skills that relate to living off the land, often using handcrafted tools made from naturally gathered materials...
and learning knowledge of wild plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s and animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s, it emphasizes the development of the senses and fostering deepening personal relationships with members of other species and the natural world. Rewilding intends to create permanently wild human cultures beyond domestication
Domestication
Domestication or taming is the process whereby a population of animals or plants, through a process of selection, becomes accustomed to human provision and control. In the Convention on Biological Diversity a domesticated species is defined as a 'species in which the evolutionary process has been...
.
Rewilding is considered a holistic approach to living, as opposed to skills, practices or a specific set of knowledge.
Theory
Rewilding is most associated with green anarchyGreen anarchism
Green anarchism, or ecoanarchism, is a school of thought within anarchism which puts a particular emphasis on environmental issues. An important early influence was the thought of the American anarchist Henry David Thoreau and his book Walden...
and anarcho-primitivism
Anarcho-primitivism
Anarcho-primitivism is an anarchist critique of the origins and progress of civilization. According to anarcho-primitivism, the shift from hunter-gatherer to agricultural subsistence gave rise to social stratification, coercion, and alienation...
or anti-civilization and post-civilization anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
in general, though there is a large primitive living contingent who come at it from a more authoritarian direction.
Within a modern and scientific social context, rewilding entails both experiential and "book knowledge" to produce a community that is both respectful of individual liberties and beneficial to all involved, including all non-human species. Participants in such events and communities directly reap the benefits of the communities' actions and efforts. Instead of seeking to "return" to an earlier state of human existence or go "back to the land", rewilding seeks to take the experiences and time spent here in civilization and combine the lessons that have been learned from both the past and the present to create a more ideal society.
See also
- Assisted migrationAssisted migrationAssisted migration is the practice of deliberately populating members of a species from their present habitat to a new region with the intent of establishing a permanent presence there, generally in response to the degradation of the natural habitat due to human action...
- Urban prairieUrban prairieUrban prairie is a term coined to characterize vacant city lots. Urban prairie results from widespread building demolition to facilitate urban renewal....
- Pleistocene RewildingPleistocene RewildingPleistocene Rewilding promotes the reintroduction of descendants of Pleistocene megafauna, or their close ecological equivalents. An extension of the conservation practice of rewilding, which involves reintroducing species to areas where they became extinct in recent history , Pleistocene rewilding...
- Green AnarchistGreen AnarchistThe magazine Green Anarchist was for a while the principal voice in the UK advocating green anarchism, an explicit fusion of libertarian socialist and ecological thinking.-Early years:...
- Species TraitorSpecies TraitorSpecies Traitor is a sporadically published journal of insurrectionary anarcho-primitivism. It is printed as a project of Black and Green Network and edited by anarcho-primitivist writer, Kevin Tucker....
- The World Without UsThe World Without UsThe World Without Us is a non-fiction book about what would happen to the natural and built environment if humans suddenly disappeared, written by American journalist Alan Weisman and published by St. Martin's Thomas Dunne Books. It is a book-length expansion of Weisman's own February 2005 Discover...
External links
- "A Primitivist Primer"
- Primitivism
- Re-Wilding
- REWILD.info
- Green Anarchy magazine
- The Rewilding Institute
- Stozenburg, William. Where the Wild Things Were. Conservation in Practice 7(1):28-34.