Twilight of the Machines, by John Zerzan – Book Review

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Josh

I read John Zerzan’s book “Twilight of the Machines” recently. A good friend recommended it after my blog post on the book “The Coming Insurrection.”

After twilight...we gon' let it all hang down!

I enjoyed the book. It was very enlightening. Zerzan says that the “problem” with/of civilization stems from the development of symbolic thought via language. That is, that language itself creates a separation between things. This separation leads to the creation of other separations.

Specifically, the next separation to come was an original division of labor, which resulted in domestication. Some people stayed at home, some ventured out. They became very different.

If you couldn’t tell, this was also the beginning of the separation of the sexes, according to Zerzan. The separation or distinction between what is considered exclusively male from what is considered exclusively female led next to the separation of classes.

But Zerzan doesn’t stop there. Which is good, and bad.

Technology, he says, is the hallmark of the current separation. He discusses the ways in which technology has further separated man from himself and the rest of Creation (not in a “Biblical” sense, there – just, the Totality of What-Is).

He talks about postmodernism, and its apathetic relativism, as an outgrowth of this technology.

Like I said, I liked the book, but I had a couple of issues with it.

First, it’s a book. There’s no call to action within, except for a complete abandonment of civilization as we know it now. Which strikes me as odd. Zerzan wrote his book, presumably, on some piece of technology, and technology was used to reproduce and distribute it.

Apparently, he also does extensive speaking tours around the world. Doesn’t he know that airplanes are technology? And that air travel is considered to be one of the most damaging (in terms of carbon footprint)?

My second issue is more serious. It has to do with his critique of technology, and his critique of civilization.

Something happened before language turned us into slaves. What was that? Maybe boredom. Zerzan talks about the fact that there is evidence for the creation of seagoing vessels as long ago as 800,000 years, and that scientists now say that members of the genus homo were roughly just as “intelligent” as it is today, 1m years ago.

So why, if we were just as intelligent, would we suddenly create this new mode? Did it come exclusively from the creation of agriculture? Couldn’t agriculture be much older – as the cultivation of certain crops over others – given that homo has had the same level of intelligence for so long?

Was it boredom?

Or is it a combination of forces? The sudden presence of agricultural “technology,” combined with population density and the accompanying pressures and stresses. It’s interesting to note the development of similar practices in very diverse places in the world at roughly similar times (e.g., the development of culture and technologies in Central and South America, similar to those in other parts of the world, and sometimes even preceding those developments in those places).

Which leads to my final critique of Zerzan’s argument. “Technology” is not an “evil.” There are multiple “technologies” that have been used by various peoples at various times. In fact, the handmade axes of 130,000 years ago mentioned in the article above are “technology.”

Computers, “machines,” as Zerzan calls them, are modern versions of technology. But my computer has not stopped me from being physically active, or from connecting back to the earth. In fact, it has enabled me to get closer than I thought I ever would. Yes, I have to leave this technology for another when I go, but that doesn’t make one “better” than the other.

At base, Zerzan’s argument appeals to me – I do believe in the need for people to return to their own physiologies, and through that, to a deeper connection to and understanding of the earth. But the method he recommends is suspect to me.

Closer to Nature

Posted on October 6, 2009 by Josh

When I attended Tom Brown’s Trackerschool a few years ago, one of the things Tom said was that the only cure for our civilization was to get people participating in nature again.

Mick Dodge, the Barefoot Sensei, has a similar belief (though alternate means).

Do I need to say that I agree with them? Okay, then I will – I agree with them.

Our current culture is so far removed from nature that it’s scary.

By “nature” I mean “what is natural.” Not man-made “nature.” That’s called “culture.” I mean, cycles of seasons, cycles of moons, cycles of years. I mean tides.

I mean “ecosystems” – but not in the sense of a closed-off “ecosystem.” I mean it in the sense of the-thing-that-you-live-within.

Why do I think this is important?

Well, we come from this nature. All of the things that we do rely on it. Our ideas about things are largely constructions these days. They’ve been built up over years, decades, eons. Society, and civilization, and our various cultures, are largely constructions that have taken on lives of their own. Now, many people are hard-pressed to say what is “natural.”

But it’s actually the simplest thing to do. Here’s how you do it:

Take away.

Strip things away, until you get to the place where there’s nothing left. No TV, no cell-phone, no computer, no clothes, no books, no cars, no sidewalks, no toilets, no buildings, no politics, no religion.

There is nature.

It is still there. It is there while you read this.

I’m advocating that we all get closer to nature. I think we need to become less and less, as far as our material and mental possessions go. I think we need to reduce entirely, and return.

I’m full of optimism and hope that this can occur right now…for a few reasons.

First, the focus on “the environment” (kind of a silly phrase – which environment? – but hey, it sticks) has led people to a greater awareness of ecological issues (if not their own environments…sometimes…).

That concern by “consumers” has led corporations to take greater interest in the environment. While this is a double-edged sword, with car companies pushing hybrid vehicles (it’s still a “new car” folks – pollution due to construction, fabrication, and transport of the vehicle hasn’t changed a bit – and the gas mileage is really insignificantly lower than that of regular cars), and other companies pushing other new “green” products (made of plastic, which is a petroleum (read, oil) product…anyone out there? hello?), it still has led to (albeit, mostly weak) initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and an infantile level of thoughtfulness about ecological responsibility.

Second, there seems to be a loss of faith in some regarding the general state of things. People are starting to question, and to feel comfortable questioning, the way things are.

While Michael Moore’s most recent foray may not be everyone’s cup of tea (don’t know if it’s mine, I haven’t seen it yet), he is indicative of this movement…this push to seek better alternatives.

The problem we face is our existing culture, which will seek to subsume any efforts, and absorb them into itself.

That’s how systems work. Any system takes the energy that is given to it and uses it for its own ends (not for the ends that the “energy itself” would’ve hoped for). For instance, when you eat dinner. The spinach or steak you eat may have had its own intention. But your body will use it for its goals. Beyond that, your cells will use that spinach or steak for the goals they see fit (perhaps, grimly, cancer) – not for the goals you might have in mind yourself (6 pack abs, anyone?) – even though those cells comprise you!

Systems speak aside…it’s time we return. Is it too simple? Is there a way to package simplicity, so we can sell it? Is there a way to market “nothing?”

High Society = Dysfunction?

Posted on March 3, 2009 by Josh

Today’s entry was instigated by a comment Pete Egoscue makes in his book “Pain Free“:

“Do we unconsciously associate dysfunctional and functional physical characteristics with certain social groups? Indeed we do, and ironically it is many of the dysfunctions that are regarded as cool and stylish. Every spring- and fall-fashion season, I’m again struck by the ‘look’ that designers create using models who grow ever more stoop-shouldered, whose heads hang, and whose torsos tip forward. They slouch down the runways in Paris, New York, and London with their feet everted and their hips rolled back into flexion.” (pg. 168)

Just prior to that passage, Pete talks about the gag from old TV shows, where the country bumpkin somehow gets invited for tea with the high-society folk. He slurps it up, his elbow straight out, while they gingerly tip their cups from the wrist, elbows down, staring at the rube in distaste.

I’ve often wondered about this facet of human behavior. It’s ubiquitous – everywhere at once – and present in every “civilized” culture that’s ever existed. It’s the tendency for what is “high class,” or “most civilized,” to be furthest from what is natural (and, in that regard, also furthest from being healthy).

Here are some examples:

The Western Chair - this device is okay if used in strict moderation. But these days, it is used more than a person uses their legs! Its constant use results in a chain of dysfunction that creates more health problems than I want to list here.
“Refined” Foods - white rice, flour, etc. Any refined food was originally prized because it basically got you high. All of the nutrients that would ordinarily buffer the effect of the carbohydrates in the food were stripped away in the refining process, leaving, essentially, sugar. ALL HAIL WHITE FOODS! screamed the jittery upper-crust (who were the only ones who could afford them). When the lower class aspired to be upper class, they did so by eating what the “smart” upper crust ate. Sugar.
Fashionable Clothing - Egoscue is right. Dr. Victor Barker writes about the deleterious effects of high heels on women in his book “Posture Makes Perfect.” Among them, posterior pelvic tilt, which results in decreased sensation during intercourse, increased chance of premature birth, and eventual dowager’s hump in the upper thoracic spine. But fashionable clothing doesn’t stop with shoes. What about “skinny jeans?” They certainly restrict blood flow to the legs and feet. But they also limit movement, or capacity for movement. What about the business suit? Have you ever tried to work out in a business suit? I haven’t yet (though the day is coming soon ; ) ), but I have a good idea of what it will be like – that suit is going to be shredded by the end.
Movement Mores – the teacup example Egoscue lists isn’t alone. Every culture has its own rules of etiquette, that are typically linked to old necessities versus any real physical benefits. You wouldn’t put your elbows on the table because otherwise you’d tip it over! You don’t wear your hat when dining because it’s filthy dirty! Some of them,though, are simply, again, “posturing.” Sitting up straight at the dinner table might make you look “proper,” but it’s bad for your back! You need to shift positions frequently, especially if you’re locked into a chair all day! Further, many “civilized” people have admonitions about adults getting down on the floor or behaving in “childish” ways at all.

One of the things that amazes me about all of these rules is that they’re so energy/time consuming compared to their alternatives. If you didn’t have to sit in a chair, for instance, you wouldn’t have to buy one! And then no one would have to make one! There are plenty of cultures (even now) that don’t use chairs. More time for other things.

Food is no different. Refining foods takes a huge amount of energy and time, compared with preparing them in their natural state, or eating them raw. Fashionable (read “uncomfortable”) clothing also takes a lot of time to make compared with more comfortable and movement-friendly clothing. If you’ve read my blog, you already know how I feel about shoes! And, finally, restrictive movement mores actually require more energy in the long run than being free to move as needed. Does it take less energy to “sit up straight” at the dinner table for an hour, or to slouch a bit now and then?

But more than anything I’m surprised by how much our “civilized” ways act as detriments to our natural healthy state. It’s almost like civilization is an anti-health drug in some ways. Don’t get me wrong. I love the USA, I like going to the movies, I sit in chairs and eat in restaurants. But I also sit on the floor a lot, crawl on all fours, put my elbows on the table, and wear Vibram Fivefingers as much as possible.

Try something different this week – sit on the floor, roll around on your back and make “snow angels” in your carpet, put your elbows on the table at dinner, lift your elbow when you drink, eat unrefined/unprocessed foods, and wear something a little more comfortable. See how you feel.