Anarcho-Primitivism, or Anprim, is an ideology that draws very heavily from the colonialist’s ahistorical view of “savages”. At the ideology’s very core lives a continuation of colonial racism, every aspect of the ideology is drenched in colonialism.
I’ll start by explaining that the term “primitive” being pointed towards people is derogatory, that was (and still is) done to seperate the colonizers from the colonised. To put it another way, the “civilized” white men, from the “uncivilized” dark men. Further, “Primitive” Anti-Civ ideology was named by its detractors. Believers in the ideology referred to it as “Anti-Civilization”, “Pre-Civilization”, and “Post-Civilization”, and the critics - being colonialists themselves - called it “Primitivism”. If you use “Prim” for Anprim, you might as well be calling the natives of America “red beasts”, or the blacks of Africa “apes”.
Which brings us to the next issue of the ideology, the meme-y desire to treat Anarcho-Primitism as a monkey collective, or more directly, wanting to treat Anti-Civists like apes. Which, comes directly from the aforementioned colonial racism affixed to the ideology. Anti-Civ is a very wide ideology, based widely on technophobia and sentiments around the “failures of civilization”, often citing the rise of capitalism as a mistake that could have been routed if civilization had been built differently, or if it had not been built at all. They’re not “oh haha cities bad throws poop”, as many mistake them as being, they’re a structured ideology based on theories and observable wrongdoings.
The third thing I want to bring up about Anti-Civ - if I may use its proper name - is that it is very often filled with ecofascists, and right-wing chuds. Though there are leftists within the umbrella, if you take the time to visit Anti-Civ communities, you’ll find very quickly that they’re filled with hateful people. You’ll find rampant homophobia, terrible transphobia, and boatloads of racism. That makes it a predominately vile ideology, and not a community I want here on Lemmy.
Of course, I write this because /c/anprim has been made, and I dreaded the day I would have to write this out to protect - if you would - Lemmy from the terrible meme of it. And, of course, I don’t say this to be an asshole or a party pooper, but I can’t allow such a disgusting disgrace of a meme’d ideology to taint our communities. People who are aware of me would know I’m Pagan, and that I specialize - for my career - in guns from the 1800s. Those are two communities that constantly get flooded with Anti-Civ assholes, I’ve seen what happens when they become tolerated, and I don’t want that to happen here.
Honestly as a communist instance, anti-communism and anti-Marxism should be barred, which includes basically all anarchists under that umbrella.
I agree, especially once CTH gets their instance set up, that can be the big tent one, and this can be explicitly communist.
Having lenin on the sidebar has kept most of them away, but I don’t see any problem with drawing the sectarian lines at no anarchism.
I have no issues with anarchists unless they are arrogant in the face of ignorance which is, unfortunately, usually the case.
We have a rule against anti-communism in our communist instance, so anarchists are free to comment, learn and engage with our community, but any hostility against our goals, our scientific method and our historical experiences will be frowned upon, of course.
I also think we should allow anarchists. I used to consider myself one (hence my cringe-worthy username), but through conversations with a ML friend of mine, I no longer consider myself an anarchist. I’m not comfortable calling myself a ML yet, because I have yet to read Marx or Lenin and I don’t think it would make sense to call myself a Marxist-Leninist if I don’t have a thorough understanding of Marx and Lenin. Anyway, I do think anarchists are reachable. I also think that they have mostly compatible goals with communists, even if their idea of how to achieve those goals is less thought out. I understand it’s not completely compatible with the goal of communism, Bukharin made the distinction between centralization and decentralization in communism and anarchism clear. I’m kind of rambling but you get me, yeah?
that makes plenty of sense, comrade. I call myself a socialist, for reasons similar to yours. since joining this community, i am understanding more theory and will share my knowledge with others in time
I’m genuinely alright with anarchists and the libleft being here, but i’m absolutely disgusted by “anprim” being here.
Anarchists are fine as long as they have their own spaces to frolic in, and they are respectful when they come to ours. I think we ought to try to talk them out of their misconceptions rather than just bringing down the ban hammer.