Seeing the Alternative Unfold
Strategies to Uncivilize
Delving into the crises we face and the decisions we made leading up to them, I intended to maintain a positive outlook, refraining from vilification as it seemed counter productive. Yet, as I learned more, the vicious nature of our capitalist system and the lifestyles it fosters became undeniable. It is as though we inhabit an invisible prison, with its confining bars fashioned from a fusion of legislative structures, educational paradigms, persuasive advertisements, artificial man made environments detached from nature, our nihilistic worldview, unwavering faith in technology and perpetual growth, and an insatiable yearning for material comforts. Despite our self-assurances, this prison is not a happy place. And with diminishing resources to sustain it’s operations and the negative impact of it’s existence becoming tangible on the inside, things might get considerably worse.
Now, the enigma remains: Why do we not break free from this invisible prison, after all there are no tangible physical bars? The answer resides in our profound adaptation to this setting, we grew up in here. Everything and everyone we know is contained within these walls. At some level we know this place is build on exploitation but we trust we’re better of behind these bars than out there.
In truth, these invisible bars are not illusory but palpably real. Potent and subtle forces work tirelessly to keep us entangled in the web of the global economy. In light of these reflections, we offer strategies to "Uncivilize," a two-fold endeavor encompassing:
Strategies to relinquish the consumer mindset, liberating ourselves from "man as consumer."
Strategies to embrace alternative ways of living, that invite us to explore and get started with our own Uncivilize practice.
Abandoning Man as Consumer
Food: Meat industry
Land use, inefficient protein, animal wellbeing, global nutrient cycles (nitrogen issue), energy (fertilizer), mono-crops, deforestation
hidden from sight
solve with technology is not working
Utilities: Poo
Flushing with potable water
Fear of human waste/nature
Complex technology
Economy: Cheap stuff
We sometimes find ourselves buying things we really don’t need, just because they’re ridiculously cheap and conveniently placed in sight. Our global industrial society churns out incredibly cheap low quality disposable goods. This boosts the economy but also leads to excessive global shipping, cheap labor, wasteful production, and accumulation of disposable goods.
Work: Burn Out
Bull shit jobs
Many jobs to in industry to keep economy going. Disconnect from use value, inventing market value. Efficiency/Productivity, driven by metrics/economics. Only looking at the bottom line/GDP. Jobs with high market value/responsibility are valued. Huge gaps.
Sedentary screen based work
After exposing "man as consumer” as inherently unsustainable and detrimental to our physical and mental well-being, as well as the environment, the question arises: How can we liberate ourselves from this mode that so completely defines our lives? Where do we start?
We start by realizing there are alternative modes that provide more rewarding human experiences, without exploiting others and our planet. But we don’t have to turn our backs on everything that this mode delivered. The enormous amounts of energy that were poured into technological innovation also yielded some worthwhile inventions. Often these succumbed to marketing practices that transformed them from delivering use value to market value and artificially created ‘needs’ that enabled growth.
The process begins with recognizing which aspects genuinely enhance our lives and which ones are driven by comfort, convenience, fashion, status quo, or radical monopolies, leading to isolation, disconnection, feelings of inadequacy, or dependence. Just like the Amish, we should carefully identify the things that truly promote well-being and equality. As consumers, we exercise our influence through financial choices (by abstaining from buying) and activism (against advertising, incentives, lobbying, malpractice, product categories, etc.).
We can then reconsider how the enabling technology suites operate in a more sustainable manner, without the sole objective of enabling growth that push it beyond earth’s the Earth's limits. For instance, we can reimagine services like transportation and global communication, ensuring they consume less energy and prioritize essential aspects by eliminating unnecessary features. (The practice of system design)
Regarding the aspects worth preserving, we must understand their operations and the underlying support systems, including global technology suites that rely on readily available and affordable energy sources. Once again, we select the best providers based on our financial decisions and exert pressure on them through activism to encourage improvement.
There are ways to create superior products, including regenerative production methods such as closed-loop systems, cradle-to-cradle approaches, and biomimicry. However, these practices should be applied selectively to essential goods and services rather than convenience-oriented ones, avoiding the stimulation of further growth and focusing on making essentials available to everyone.
Luxury, convenience and entertainment then shift from material wealth to the fulfilment we find in the other modes.
ALTERNATIVE
To move away from the unsustainable mode of relentless global industrial growth, we need to recognize what's essential and liberate ourselves from unnecessary consumption and dependence. This mode is harmful to the environment and our well-being, leading to inequality and waste.
As consumers, we can make better choices by opting for products and services that are less reliant on energy-intensive technologies. Mindful consumption, repairing items, and embracing second-hand goods contribute to sustainability. Limiting exposure to advertising and finding contentment with what we have also helps.
However, certain aspects, like radical monopolies, make it difficult to completely give up on certain technologies. Instead, we can envision alternatives and advocate for legislation that empowers individuals over corporations.
By reducing our consumption and focusing on what truly enhances our lives, we can break free from the cycle of competitive consumption. Recognizing valuable inventions and preserving essential aspects while applying pressure for sustainable practices is vital.
Ultimately, our focus should shift from material wealth to fulfillment found in other modes that prioritize well-being and equality.
What can you do, where do you get started.
Educate yourself/awareness. You’re here so that’s a start. Understand that you’re not trapped in your consumer role and that things are not unchangeable. We’re an anomaly in human history and our world is about to change whether we like it or not.
Contentedness Slow down consumption by being content with what you have, consider what’s truly important
Exposure Be mindful of what you expose yourself to, there are many forces promoting consumerism/growth
Activism, applying pressure on the system wallet/action
Impact Be aware of the hidden impact of technology suites, if you don’t understand how something works, where it comes from or where it goes, the magic trick is delivered by complex technology systems that use vast amounts of energy and resources. Consider which ones of these are essential or if theyre a mere convenience.
Slow down focus on the things that matter,
Continue reading, where this is all about saying no and giving up, below is about what you stand to gain
Embracing the three other modes
By abandoning our role as consumers, where we passively acquire things that make life more convenient, without grasping the consequences of these purchases on wealth distribution, inequality, self-sufficiency, personal fulfillment, freedom, and the environment, we abandon the comforts we have grown accustomed to and taken for granted. This is the focal point of the current discourse surrounding the numerous crises we confront. However, these other modes reveal the potential gains; experiences that are genuine, meaningful, and deeply rewarding, fostering connections and authenticity.
Man as Specialist
Bioreactor. This mode can be very innovative. Completely independent from large tech structures. Combining nature (3rd wave of domestication, microbes), ancient process of fermentation with modern (but local) renewable power (wind water etc).
Universities and local industry can focus on different types of innovation for the actual holistic betterment of man and planet.
Roman concrete is superior to modern concrete. They had no way to understand at a molecular level why. We can now understand. In the same way we’re seeing that old theories, practices, customs and designs are very effective. But only now that we can prove (vs dismiss the closer to nature approach) it through the scientific method.
We can bring these together. Learn from nature, learn from ancient practices and understand through modern tech to innovate.
Guilds and craftsmanship (brewer)
As a designer this is where I think I can add the most value. Thinking about new ways of doing things that are fundamentally more sustainable and operate at a human scale.
Degrowth is an economic and social theory that aims to reduce the size of the economy for sustainability and well-being. It challenges the belief in continuous economic growth and promotes a shift toward a steady-state or shrinking economy. By prioritizing well-being, equity, and ecological balance over consumption and expansion, degrowth seeks to create a more sustainable and fair society. Strategies include wealth redistribution, shorter working hours, local economies, self-sufficiency, and alternative progress measures. Degrowth redefines prosperity by focusing on social and ecological dimensions and encouraging sustainable practices without compromising quality of life.
What can you do, where do you get started.
Replace tech suites.
Find local alternatives.
Scale to community.
Simpler, more robust, still highly innovative.
Find your role, have a visible impact on the world around you.
Global -> local. Get grounded in your direct locale.
Food: BioReactor
Bioreactor. This mode can be very innovative. Completely independent from large tech structures. Combining nature (3rd wave of domestication, microbes), ancient process of fermentation with modern (but local) renewable power (wind water etc).
Utilities: Humanure
Story about becoming independent
Replacing sewage
Less water
Gain resource
Replace tech suites. Find local alternatives. Scale to community. Simpler, more robust, still highly innovative. Find your role, have a visible impact on the world around you. Global -> local. Get grounded in your direct locale.
Economy: local
Resources
Skills
Adaptation
The way we use water
Global -> local. Get grounded in your direct locale.
Work: Revaluing Care
Example of how crazy shit got.
Find your role, have a visible impact on the world around you.
Specialisms, professionals/ guilds, creating direct use value, building and evolving craft, expressive. Targeting quality, not obsolesence/sales. Every specialism is a ‘designer’.
Man as Maker
home economy
Low tech
Craft
muscle power
Growth, capitalism
Maker home craft
Exploitation (free resources)
70’s intermediate tech. Using free waste as resource
Bring back home economy and home craft, everyone to a certain level can do a lot of essential things and together (small community) you can build houses etc. These things are now often prevented by legislation that’s build to protect the specialists (people in slums can’t build a house). But just like with specialisms we are seeing a return to people embracing craft because it gives them a sense of fulfillment and achievement that their jobs fail to provide.
The internet is a powerful tool that makes it easy to spread the knowledge and practices and for people to share new innovations and insights. This is also why a mix of modes is essential. Some products of our modern industrial age can help promote (the internet can be rethought and was initial a commons (Wikipedia) and could be operated at much lower cost, complexity, serving other non commercial needs).
Food: Grow, preserve, cook
Example of how crazy shit got.
Utilities: Switch to manual
Example of how crazy shit got.
Economy: Home economics
Example of how crazy shit got.
Work: Job less
Work is no longer a job. Autarchy. Users are Consumer and Producer at the same time. Home craft around essential needs. Everyone is a designer. Create and maintain.
Man as Commoner
Ecology
No tech
Indigenous design
Human power
Reciprocity
Commoner
This last mode forces us to look around us and realize we are part of nature and embrace what’s natural. The moments where we really find solace or an intense sense of connection and belonging are when we simply lie down, see the sunlight play on the leaves and hear the wind rustle. There’s not a whole lot of material wealth we need. We have lived without most of our modern essentials for 99.9% of the time we wapens on earth.
This mode is about ecology rather than economy and invites us to integrate the two concepts. Make the streams of nutrients and resources completely cyclical entangled magical and reciprocal. In our current mode we have taken more than we should have and destroyed the balance. In this mode we rebuild the natural environment not just for it’s sake but also for ours as part of it. So our planet can continue to produce the food, medicine, building materials and everything else we need while there’s more of it to enjoy. We re not caretakers, we are equals, we reciprocate and we pay our debts and make amends.
We do so by restoring the natural environment with the latest insights from technology. Understanding nature at the micro and macro level, but without the arrogance to dismiss the people who have been taking care of their lands for centuries and have an even deeper understanding of the complexities and intricacies of the natural world that our technology may not even comprehend yet.
We immerse ourselves in it’s splendor
We relearn what we can use
We switch from synthetic to natural
We rediscover our rhythms
We make room for nature, we restore lands
We respect, we clean up
We become humble, we reduce our footprint
We stop being afraid of what’s natural (birth, poop, death, etc)
Food: Restoring Abundance
Food used to be freely available. In fact as people shifted to agriculture, they continued to hunt and gather, because it provided more diverse easier sustenance. Why don’t we make nature our garden again? Share with animals. Rewild farmland, food forests, restore forest, help with climate adaptation, encourage picking, gathering and hunting to foster a connection and care for the commons that sustain you.
Utilities:
Reciprocate
Everything is balanced/cyclic. There is no waste.
In this mode there is no need for
Closest we get to this is camping or survival training, in both there is no reciprocity, but you try and get by with as little as possible or nothing and use only nature.
Economy: Ecology
Example of how crazy shit got.
Work: Restoring
The commons provide. There is no work as such, just your role in the ecosystem. But since we squandered the commons it’s impossible to live off the land. This is our new role in this mode. Restoring the commons. Regenerating the air, water, soil, rhythms, giving back land.
All these efforts can happen simultaneously and will have mutual positive effect.
For example take food production.
If we switch to a more vegan diet or start microbe breweries, vast tracts of land become available for reforestation and rewilding. These forest can be climate adaptable and partly consist of food forests further lowering the stress on food production. When people also start gardening and getting better at food preservation we start lowering the pressure even further and ruling out waste.
Critical industries can remain. We can keep the internet running and we can keep creating compute devices. But as we move away from capitalism and growth the main drivers for these tech suites (advertisement, productivity work) will scale down. So these industries need to be rethought and operate at a much more sustainable level without the velocity of innovation (maybe rather what happened to air travel, economy and safety at lower speeds).
Off you go
Letting go of familiar comforts is undoubtedly challenging. To relinquish the role of man as consumer means stepping away from a system that provides a sense of security and certainty. It can be intimidating and even frightening. This may explain that while we see and acknowledge the multitude of crises surrounding us, we find it so hard to act.
So let’s not look at what we need to let go, but instead on what we can gain. Embarking on new endeavors can be exhilarating, that’s why we introduce three fresh perspectives that encourage contemplation and action. By envisioning yourself in the roles of a specialist, maker, or survivalist, you are already on a path towards creating a better life for yourself, others and our planet.
How you take on these roles in your life will depend on your unique circumstances, interests, and intuition. If you reside in an urban environment, your relationship with the community may hold significant importance, prompting you to explore the role of a specialist. If you yearn for a deeper connection with nature, embracing the role of a survivalist may resonate more deeply. Alternatively, if your aspiration is to enhance self-sufficiency and retire early from conventional work, your journey as a maker awaits.
In all likelihood, you will find value in adopting all three modes across the many facets of your life and activities. Each mode offers distinct benefits and opportunities for personal growth and contribution, starting down this path will likely provide new insights, rhythms and behaviors that free you from old patterns and open up to more exploration.
Uncivilize
In our present paradigm, civilization is marked by a dualistic perspective, perpetuating a growing divide between elements like:
Culture - Nature
Mind - Body
Producer - Consumer
Poor - Wealthy
Urban - Rural
As civilization continues to ‘progress’ it becomes increasingly polarized. We propose the concept of "uncivilize" as a counter-movement. Uncivilize involves a transformative process of cultivating awareness, liberating oneself, reconnecting with others, oneself, and the planet, and embracing reciprocity in order to reunite these disconnected elements. It is a call to move beyond the divisive mindset of our current mode and beckons us to embark on a journey towards a more unified and balanced way of being.