Born Expecting the Pleistocene: Psychology and the Problem of Civilization

Anarcho-primitivism meets psychological science to provide a unique perspective on the mismatch between our evolved human nature and the demands of life in a global industrial civilization. Our sophisticated psychological systems reflect a finely tuned response to more than two million years of life in small, broadly egalitarian foraging bands. Civilization represents a catastrophic disruption of this response, redirecting our natural proclivities in the service of a planet-devouring machine. But all is not lost. The very elements of our psychology that keep us yoked to civilization’s drivetrain are also the source of our potential liberation, lynchpins that can be released as we work to reclaim our freedom.