The Tetralithic Era
So We Shall Not Mourn A Paradise Lost

Let the coming wars destroy the ‘heaven’ we have built. Let us never again be subject to rule from above. Let us have no masters but the Earth we live on. It’s better to reign in hell than serve in heaven. Better to reign in the brutal wilderness than to be subjugated with comfort between the four walls of modern society. We will rise, we will be free. The march of the Neo-Luddite dashes forward. Victory is on the horizon!

INTRODUCTION

Since the dawn of the industrial era humankind has subjected itself to atrocities so cruel I find it hard to believe it was an accident. The wars, the environmental destruction, the cultural degradation, the list goes on and on. For almost 300 years now, the Earth has been marching towards a slow death. For almost 300 years seemingly every culture on Earth has been rotting, decaying, wincing at the rapid and profound changes that have been brought about by reckless technologization. For almost 300 years the average man has remained complacent and cynical in regards to the destruction of his way of life. Why? Why have the people of the world been so fearful to propose resistance?

This is the worst era in human history. Humanity is facing enslavement at the hands of the technology-wielding elites who see this era as their opportunity to finally establish complete world supremacy, even if it means reducing the average person to the status of a head of cattle and the natural world to a supply closet. For decades, the rapid pace of technological development and the lack of democratic choice in regards to their implementation has led to a world wherein the people are forced to continue to adapt to a technological system so vast and complex that resistance is in many regards futile.

The purpose of this piece is to highlight the shortcomings of society, the evil of the elites, and the hope for a primitive future, a Tetralithic Era.

QUESTIONS

Who are you, anyway?

I’m just your average guy. I live in a Western country and I work an average job. I had an average childhood, you get the picture. There is nothing overly notable or different about me. That being said, I take the questions regarding ecocide and technologization VERY seriously.

Are you just writing this to be “edgy?”

Hell no. I am 100% serious in my writings, and I am aware that many people in the online anti-tech sphere are just teenage edgelords, but I want to produce a document that actually takes a stab at the system that is destroying us.

What was your motivation for writing this?

My motivation lies in my love for the natural world and my deep-seeded hatred for the technological system, a system that has harmed billions of people in recent centuries.

What do you mean by “the Tetralithic Era?”

When I say “Tetralithic” I refer to a hypothetical fourth stone age, preceded by the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic ages. This hypothetical stone age would come as the result of a cataclysmic struggle between mankind and nature.

What do you want?

I want to see the techno-industrial system collapse on a worldwide scale, forever. I’d like to see this happen with as little human suffering and bloodshed as possible.

Do you advocate for violence?

NO. I DO NOT advocate for violence, rather I would like to see that humans transition away from technology in the most peaceful way possible.

Why do you hate technology so much?

Because it systematically limits human freedom and subjects people to cruelties and unfortunate situations that otherwise would not be an issue. Additionally, it removes humankind from nature and isolates us from our natural environment. This, however, is a VERY general statement. I’ll get into the complexities later.

I liked your writings, how can I help?

You can help by sharing this file with as many people as possible and talking about the anti-tech cause whenever the opportunity presents itself. We need to spread the word as fr and as wide as possible if we EVER want to see the system fall.

How much time do we have?

The 2008-2009 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic helped to destabilize the system, and as such the system is going through a period of stress that will probably continue so long as the human population (worldwide) keeps increasing. That being said, if the system does not collapse by 2100 or so, the future of this planet and humanity is bleak.

Why did technology even develop in the first place?

Small-scale technology will naturally progress and regress overtime with the changes and rhythms of human society, but large-scale technology came about as the result of greed and malice. When the steam engine was invented, it was to greatly increase the efficiency at which society could be organized. Organization = subjugation.

PROBLEMS CURRENTLY PLAGUING MODERN SOCIETY

Economic stratification

As a result of technologization, the economy is structured such that wealth is very unequally distributed. Some are unfathomably rich, whilst others are dirt poor. In hunter-gatherer societies, this divide is essentially unheard. Sure, the leaders of tribes or elders might enjoy slightly higher standards of living when compared to the average hunter, but such divides were tiny by today’s standards. Top 1% of the richest people on Earth, as an example, reap twice as much wealth as the rest of the world COMBINED. That’s insanity. Why are we, the peasants, the slaves, allowing this to happen? We are the 99%. We have the boots on the ground where they don’t. We can win.

Psychological Issues

Over the past few years it has become increasingly apparent that we as a society are going through a major mental health crisis. This is not a new claim, it’s accepted as fact by now that most people (or at least a significant minority) are suffering from some form of psychological ailment. Statistics are shocking. Suicides rates continue to climb. I’d argue this is due to the increasing level of technologization (and subsequent alienation, loneliness, despair, etc) as well as pollution. Mental health isn’t something that people should have to be constantly worried about. You shouldn’t have to feel so bad all the time. You shouldn’t be driven borderline insane by the perplexities of modern society. But alas, the slave-masters need more money. So I guess we’ll all have to suffer.

Regarding Intelligence

The modern concept of intellect and who is considered smart is one that doesn’t do justice to the right people. Different kinds of intelligence exist, but in modern society only academic intelligence is considered valuable. This alienates the ‘unconventional genius’ and empowers the submissive, overly compliant stratas of society that have surrendered themselves to the academic system. Additionally, academics are the enemy of the luddites in that they are often highly involved with carrying out the technologization that the elites demand.

Infighting

Modern society is plagued by conflict. Be it over ethnicity, religion, language, politics etc the amount of time people spend fighting with one another is simply disgraceful. Not only that, it’s a distraction. Remember how I mentioned that the top 1% of earners control 66.7% of the world’s wealth? Well guess what- they LOVE IT when the other 99% of us fight with each other. Why? Because it prevents us from uniting to tear down their monopoly. We as humans need to STOP FIGHTING. We need to focus on liberating this planet from the elites and reversing the effects of the ecocide they have committed. Unite, people of the Earth!

Disconnected from Nature

In modern society, man finds himself woefully disconnected from the rhythms of the natural world. At work, he crunches numbers on a computer all day. At home, he watches TV, plays video games and eats processed food with microplastics in it. Day after day he repeats this soul-destroying cycle, always on the search for something he can take refuge in, something else to bring him comfort. Whether we look at his routine, his diet or his hobbies, we can find a plethora of ways that modern man has found himself disconnected from nature. In this article, we’re going to be discussing ways in which the average person disconnects themselves from nature, whether it is intentional or not, and how an individual can help combat this crisis.

Most people can agree that the world in its current state is very much caught up in the throes of the hustle culture that emerged in the United States in the 20th century. Many people work more than 40 hours a week at mindless desk jobs, crunching away at numbers they don’t care about or even want to think about. They spend so much time away from a) what they want to be doing and b) what their biology requires them to be doing. I’ll elaborate.

1. Everyone has desires, and almost nobody desires to be at work for 40 hours a week. When we are constantly forced to do things against our will, we’ll inevitably develop psychological problems. Depression and suicide rates are the highest they’ve ever been, and the reason lies in the psychologically damaging structure of our society. We’re prevented from pursuing our goals and we’re prevented from satisfying the needs of our biology, which leads to point B.

2. Human biology requires that we be doing a certain set of things every day, in order that we remain healthy. We need exercise, we need fresh air, etc. The routine that modern society forces us into can prevent us from pursuing these biological needs in the name of “productivity”.

It’s safe to say that the routines and schedules of modern society are tough to co-exist with. We have to constantly bow to the whim of our employers and the government officials that represent us and reject our human needs. This is damaging on many levels.

On top of our nasty routine, most people also have a nasty diet. Processed food dominates in the supermarkets of North America, Europe, and East Asia, and its effects are known to be quite bad for human health. We have moved away from eating wild meat and fresh vegetables to eating salted, dried and plastic-filled modern foods that are terrible for us on many levels. As an example, look at ramen noodles. They’re very popular among Westerners and Easterners alike, but doctors believe that eating it in any sizable quantity may lead to increased levels of stroke, heart disease and even diabetes. But why is it so popular? It’s popular because people enjoy the taste of it, and the corporations and companies producing ramen know exactly what chemicals and ingredients to put in it to achieve that taste. Corporations have us addicted to modern garbage, garbage that is very much different from the natural foods we’re supposed to eat.

Lastly, we’ll talk about hobbies. Most people today are engaged in very unhealthy, unnatural hobbies. A prime example might be to look at video games. Many young men in the West are addicted to video games. They spend hours and hours hunched over in front of a screen and they spend tons of money to make those hours as “fun-filled” as possible. The truth of the matter is this: video games are a surrogate activity and playing them will NEVER give you the same rush as accomplishing something good in the real world. Such is the case with most hobbies, they’re not real goals that are worth working towards. All the real, natural goals that humans naturally strive for have been rendered obsolete.

To summarize, the natural goals, occupations, and diet of humans have been interrupted due to the increasingly apparent negative developments of modern techno-industrial civilization. As we move forward as a society, it will become increasingly important to acknowledge this and find a way to break free from this trap. To end this off, I’d like to share a quote by Dr. Theodore J Kaczynski.

“It is not possible to make a LASTING compromise between technology and freedom, because technology is by far the more powerful social force and continually encroaches on freedom through REPEATED compromises”

Compromises

People have a tendency to take the path of least resistance. As such, many people who oppose the degradation of our society try to make compromises as opposed to destroying the society altogether. Take the Republicans in the United States, for example. They constantly whine and complain that American society is degrading and becoming un-American (which is true enough) but would rather compromise and pass silly laws than actually tear down the system. They’d quickly lose their billionaire funding if they suggested that they might overthrow the current system. If we (as humans and as eco-luddites) ever want to see the system collapse, we have to accept that we CANNOT make compromises. We have to deal with the struggles that come along with being a fringe minority. If we can overcome these struggles, we will have victory.

The Modern World: A Cultural Cesspool

It’s by no means an unpopular opinion that the society we live in nowadays is quite a cesspool of culture. Social media, wokeism, the promotion of degenerate activities (one-night stands, hookups, substance use, etc) have reduced many people to individuals their ancestors would be disgraced of. This will (and already has) weakened society to a point of no-return. We live in a world where morality is out the window and pleasure is the number one priority. Why? It’s because (once again) of the elites. By distracting us with pleasure (sex and/or porn, video games, junk food, drugs & alcohol, television, social media, the list goes on) they can more effectively get away with furthering their transhumanist interests, which leads me to my next point.

Transhumanism

Transhumanism (an ideology that promotes rapid technological growth and the integration of technology into human biology) is another collection of thoughts and ideas that are actively making society worse off. Transhumanism promotes the idea that without highly advanced technology, humans will be in deep trouble (think of all those videos on the internet that talk about how “tHe SUn iS gOnNA eXploDE” or the like) and that technological accelerationism is in the best interest of the human race. Transhumanists will often have a very anthro-centric view of history and of the future, and most of them hate the idea that nature and primitive society might one day overtake our current civilization, destroying their pipe dream with it. That being said, transhumanists will often go to great lengths to spread their propaganda and spread their technophilia around with it. So long as transhumanists exist, the threat of continued technological accelerationism will as well. That said, we might be curious as to why these sorts of people even exist. I think the reasoning goes something like this: transhumanists are people who, like many of us, arrived at a point in their life in which they lost meaning (probably due to the harsh psychological conditions of modern society). To fill the void, they turned to transhumanism as something they could be passionate about. By being transhumanists, they are fulfilling their psychological need to have a cause to strive towards. Unlike us (the luddites) however, the transhumanists have dedicated themselves to a truly foul goal.

Physical health problems

Health issues are a major issue in modern society. Despite amazing medical advancements, everyone is still sick. Why is this? Why is it that health issues continue to plague society in an era of science and technological innovation? The reason lies in a lack of understanding of human physiology. In the modern era, our food, water and environment in general is FILLED with ALL MANNERS of foul, disgusting pollutants that humans should not be in contact with. These include chemicals, heavy metals, plastics, viruses, etc and the effects on the general health of the population are becoming more and more apparent. Take a look on the internet and you’ll see what I mean. Never before in history were this many people suffering from this many ailments. There’s something wrong, there’s something amiss in our environment.

Loneliness

One of the most heartbreaking ailments that seems to be unfolding in our technological civilization is the epidemic of loneliness. Simply put, romance is dead. In a study at New York University, they found that 60% of men in their 20s were single, sexually dormant, etc. This is shockingly high, and what’s worse is that the same study shows that only 20% of women experience the same problem, indicating a truly devilish societal structure that leaves the needs of 40% of the whole population romantically unfulfilled. This contributes to the previously discussed mental health issues that are running rampant in modern society. Humans need companionship and romance. Humans need to feel loved. Humans need to sexually express themselves. Despite this though, the trends show that nearly half of us young people in the West won’t experience these things in our physical prime. It’s a shame, really. It makes one existential, as we no longer get to experience the wonders that our ancestors did. And we wonder why suicide rates are so high. I consider this to be one of the biggest threats to the system however, because there is nothing more dangerous than legions of young men (and to a lesser extent women) with nothing left to lose. What’s concerning is that industrial society promotes education and academic greatness instead of the glory of one’s character. Why is this an issue, you ask? Roughly 60% of bachelor’s degrees go to women, simply because women are better at navigating the educational system than men (men tend to be more visual and hands-on than women, whereas women tend to be better at analytical subjects. Additionally, women are better adapted to the classroom setting compared to men, as men are more inclined to physical movement, which is restricted in classroom settings). This leads to a society wherein women are better-off than men financially (on average, of course). This by itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but when you combine that with the various other issues (endocrine disruptors, mental health issues, physical health issues, spiritual unfulfillment, etc.) afflicting men, we reach a point where society becomes EXTREMELY hypergamous and EXTREMELY unfavorable for most men. And these 60% of men aren’t all basement-dwelling weirdos (a certain percentage definitely are), rather most are just average guys. As an example,

This guy (my apologies, I forget his name) is one of these so-called ‘incels’ that run rampant with their nonsensical sludge on the internet. He might be messed-up in the mind, but in terms of looks, he’s very average. And yet, more and more average guys find themselves perpetually single, leading to a growing number of young men finding themselves dissatisfied with life. Many become angry, and some even become violent (which is absolutely terrible and condemnable). This is NOT an issue that has to do with men being losers. This is an artificially-created issue brought about by technologization. It’s hard to say how this situation will affect the development of society, but one thing is for certain: people are lonely, and for the most part, industrial-technological civilization is to blame. I’d just like to add (as a conclusion to this section) that I AM NOT one of these misogynistic losers that blame their ugliness/impressiveness on women. Those people need to pull their head out of their arse. What I mean to do by highlighting this issue in society is show how devastating the effects of modern technology have been on the romantic and sexual lives of millions of people, especially men.

Purposelessness

Many people in modern society feel as though they have no purpose. They aren’t wrong- the structure of modern society makes it nearly impossible for a single individual to cultivate fr themselves a sense of deep-seeded meaning. What causes this is still somewhat of a mystery, although theories abound. Maybe it has to do with the decline in religiousness. Maybe it has to do with the collapse of the nuclear family, it’s really hard to say, but one thing is certain: people feel meaningless, and that’s an issue. So long as this civilization in its current state exists, we can hardly expect this issue to sort itself out. We need positive change to make a positive difference in the lives of the masses.

Misidentification of Societal Issues

Something I find HIGHLY frustrating is that whilst the societal issues I have highlighted are already relatively well-known, most people will NOT be successful in seeing their true cause. People will blame communism, racism, sexism, capitalism, etc instead of realizing that the root of the issue is, in reality, modern technology. As luddites, we must strive to destroy these misconceptions so that the masses can finally come to their senses regarding the source of their problems. The elites, however, will continue to promote certain social issues as a distraction. For example, they will likely attempt (really, they’ve been doing this centuries) to incite racial and ethnic conflict to make people hyper-focused on racial tension as opposed to the real issue of technologization. People will blame ethnic tension for society’s shortcomings instead of modern technology. This is a very important issue to recognize, as it is the elite’s best trick, it works EVERY TIME. Another example: religion. The elites ABSOLUTELY ADORE religious conflict because it diverts the attention of the masses from more pressing societal issues. One thing that needs to be said is that superficial differences between people (religious beliefs, biological sex, ethnicity, etc.) will be exploited to put peasant against peasant. Don’t let the elites trick you into fighting their petty wars. In the famous series The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien, Frodo and his company are determined to destroy the ring of power. As such, they decide that the hobbits must sneak into Mordor and throw it into the fires of Mount Doom. To distract the all-seeing Sauron from the hobbits, Aragorn and his legions of men make war at the Black Gate, diverting all the forces of Mordor towards this single struggle. Meanwhile, the hobbits sneak past Sauron and destroy the ring. The armies of Mordor are destroyed. This is a good analogy to describe how the elites will try to distract us whilst they sneak about, using technology to enslave us. Don’t let petty social issues be your Black Gate. Don’t be a fool like Sauron and his forces were.

Other Thoughts

The final note when discussing societal issues is to remember that I have only described a fraction of the issues in this world. Keep that in mind.

PROBLEMS CURRENTLY PLAGUING NATURE

Deforestation

Without our forests, there is no us, and yet the rapid deforestation of the world continues. In the time it took me to write the first sentence of this paragraph, approximately 4 trees were cut down worldwide. Studies show that roughly half of all of the Earth’s forests have been cut down since the beginning of the industrial era. This is ECOCIDE. This is TYRANNY. As a species we should be ashamed to have caused so much damage to one of the most vital of Earth’s ecosystems. For those of us who are aware of this crisis, it is up to us to act. Deforestation is a widely covered topic already, so I know this is probably stuff you’ve heard already, but still. Repetition is key. Exposure is key. Awareness is key. The forests are dying and they need our help in this dark hour in history.

Pollution

Pollution is a terrible thing. It degrades ecosystems, it harms plants and animals, and it harms humans. There is plastic everywhere. Every major body of water has at least SOME pollution in it, and as such the planet is suffering. Pollution has long-term effects on the populations of all living things. It messes with the health of organisms, it makes ecosystems inhospitable, and it disruptors the natural bodily cycles of many organisms, humans being perhaps the most notable. Pollution is not something that we can easily combat, either. The best we can do is stop polluting, but you best believe as long as industrial civilization exists it isn’t going to happen. That being said, if pollution were to cease due to the collapse of the system, we could expect nature to heal itself and gradually get over the harm caused by pollution.

Climate Change

Anyone who denies climate change is a damn fool. It is obvious that the Earth is warming, and the overwhelming contributor to this issue is industrial activity. We would rather burn alive, it seems, then stop burning fossil fuels and return to a more natural way of life. I’m going to be quick and to the point about my opinion on climate change: it’s bad, very bad, and the only effective solution is to cease all industrial activity. Simple as that.

Loss of Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the greatest treasure of this Earth without a doubt. I would genuinely watch the human race go extinct with a smile on my face if it meant that the Earth would be green and biodiverse for all eternity. The needs of mankind must be SECOND to the needs of nature. The fact that nature and its millions of species are so critically endangered makes me very sad and depressed. We are living through the technological dark ages. We are witnessing the Holocene extinction as I write this sentence. So many organisms are dying senselessly because of mankind and our obsession with “progress”. It’s not progressing at all. It’s ECOCIDE. It’s a savage assault on our brothers in nature, and there's almost nothing more torturous to me than watching it all happen on a scale too big for one man’s efforts to make a concrete difference. We need to defend nature, and for that, we need the masses.

Human Activity

The main ailment, the root cause, of nature’s suffering is human activity. When humans live harmoniously with nature it’s a beautiful thing, but this day in age we are seeing the EXACT opposite. We are living in an age where people will go out of their way to inflict damage on the natural world to make a profit or assert dominance in a particular region. The elites are especially guilty of this. They’re always going around, starting wars and drilling oil wells, doing whatever they can to milk every last cent out of this world. In doing so, they are inflicting more and more damage on nature and reducing many organisms to either tools for their exploitation or just straight-up driving them to extinction. It’s no secret, either. Many know that the elites are causing untold damage to the world, but are too scared to speak ill of them. Well, I say one should. Those bastards deserve to be spoken ill of. They deserve to have their power confiscated. They deserve to pay a heavy price for all their ecocidal (and in some cases even genocidal) behavior. Swinging back around to the point, it’s important to reiterate the fact human activity, with the help of modern technology, is laying waste to the biosphere. THIS MUST STOP.

Most People Don’t Care

The sad thing is that most people would genuinely rather watch dozens of species go extinct right before their eyes than do anything about it. It’s too mentally taxing for most people to entertain serious deep-ecological thought. I can’t say I blame people though, it’s a very depressing topic. That being stated though, action is required (sooner rather than later) if we are ever to save the biosphere that is so precious to us.

A PARADISE LOST

THE CONCEPT

When I refer to a paradise lost, I refer to the glorious (for the most part) primitive past that humanity moved away from in search of power and finances. I refer to wild nature, which we are rapidly losing as a result of industrialization. When I say “A Paradise Lost” I refer to the premise that we as a species have gone too far. We have messed up, and we must evaluate what are next steps as a species should be.

The World We Let Go

Primitive societies were not the brutish societies they are so often depicted nowadays. They held a high degree of order whilst also permitting autonomy within these structures. Primitive people around the world exhibit virtually zero mental illness and for the most part they are fulfilled. Emotionally, they are far better off than modern people. Additionally, they tend to eat well. For this section, I might refer to an essay I wrote in April 2022:

The modern world is a scam and an illusion. The average person works forty to fifty hours a week, sometimes more, for useless and imaginary tokens that we call money. The average person thinks that all they need is money, and cool things, and the newest iphone, and that will finally make them happy and make their life meaningful and purposeful. But it is all a trick. All these so-called privileges that the average person has are just mediums of enslavement. The worldwide capitalist system is an enslaver and a destroyer of our planet and our traditional, natural way of life.

What we need is a return to nature. The only escape from the current system is to let go of fake desires and meaningless worries and reject it. To forge for yourself an authentic, natural, and fulfilling life, one where you are always in communion with nature, and always in tune with yourself. It may seem far-fetched, but it is not. Just remember, you only need four crucial things to survive. You need food, water, shelter, and warmth. Nothing else. The key to happiness, true happiness, is having less. Consumerism is the greatest enemy of the people. Subsistence is the key to fulfillment.

In regards to food, the average person needs just one good feed of meat and plants a day. By hunting, fishing, and foraging your own food, you would not only become more self-sufficient, but healthier too. The average person poisons themselves daily with modern, processed food filled with chemicals and microplastics. This has dozens of negative impacts on the body, including a weaker jaw, compromised immune system, nutrient deficiency, and hormone disruption. It also has led to almost half of Americans becoming overweight. By comparison, the act of hunting keeps you in excellent shape, as it requires running, jumping and heavy lifting to have a successful hunt. You certainly won’t go hungry either. The average Hadza tribesman consumes around 2600 calories per day. That’s slightly better than modern-day people. In addition to that which has been mentioned above, a study on the Hadza tribe found that their hunter-gatherer lifestyle and diet kept them very healthy, strong, and disease-free. So not only is eating like a hunter-gatherer natural, but it also keeps you very healthy.

In regards to water, things are simple. To survive, one needs to drink clean, pure water on a regular basis. You would think that with all of this modern technology securing clean water would be easy, but it’s not. Over eighty percent of drinking water that comes out of a tap, as clean as it may seem, has an average of 4.3 pieces of microplastic within it. In order to truly obtain pure, clean, plastic-free drinking water, one must look to the wild. A remote well, stream, or lake could provide you with a nearly infinite supply of fresh water. All you have to do is boil it. For thousands of years we have been drinking from streams and wells, no water tests or gimmicky purification tablets needed. In addition to all of that, hunter-gatherer societies also made lots of tea from a variety of different trees and plants, and some, like conifer tea, were said to extend the life and health of those who drank it. At the end of the day, drinking like a hunter-gatherer will benefit you greatly.

In regards to shelter, we don’t need nearly as much as we think we do. The average person lives in a relatively spacious apartment, with all kinds of fixtures, and that’s all fine and dandy until they have to pay the rent. The current housing crisis is seeing housing prices skyrocket, with many young people in particular unable to buy their own home. Additionally, the homes themselves are simply unnatural and out of touch with how humans are supposed to live. We don’t need two living rooms, two bedrooms, a bathroom, a porch and a mudroom. We used to live in mud huts barely ten feet long, after all. Another thing worth mentioning is that the Hadza people live in small, easy-to-build huts made of straw, tree branches, and dirt, and they still are healthier than most modern people. So when it comes to shelter, you don't need to buy yourself a massive fifteen-hundred square foot house with three bathrooms, as you’ll find that a simple, free, and cozy cabin or hut in the middle of the woods can be just as good.

In regards to warmth, the answer is easy, you need fire. It is simple to make and it will keep you warm and dry even when the temperature drops below zero. Yet the average modern person would rather pay thousands of dollars per year on gas heating, which is terrible for the environment. Also, heating your home with gas or oil can be a headache, as whenever your furnace malfunctions or stops working, you are left in the cold with a nasty repair bill. By comparison, fire only takes a match, two sticks, or a flint striker to create and never stops unexpectedly. Additionally, it is free, and maintaining a fire is great exercise, as you have to harvest wood or other fuel regularly. All in all, a bonfire beats modern heating any day of the week.

When it comes to rejecting modern society and liberating yourself from the grind of the modern world it’s important to take lifestyle choices very seriously, and to embrace minimalism as a means of freeing yourself from enslavement by the consumerist ideology and way of life that dominates the modern world, because at the end of the day, all you need is food, water, shelter, and warmth. Everything else is secondary, and to abandon modern society, it must become secondary as well.

I think this essay highlights the life we have lost. The simple life- the life humans are supposed to live.

ANTI-TECH ACTION!

We need to take action. We need to turn the brainwashed masses against the elites and claim victory for the whole Earth. But how should we go about this? I think the answer lies in a popular rising against the people at the top of the social and economic totem pole. We need to gain the companionship of the masses and rise as a grassroots force against the slave-masters of humanity.

The Companionship of the Masses

In order to ensure the success of the anti-tech resistance it will be essential to appeal to the masses. The masses are, for the most part, susceptible to the manipulation of propaganda from whomever can make the most effective media with which to target the masses. As such, we as Luddites can use this to our advantage.

Memes & Internet Propaganda

For this section, I will be referring to a conversation I had with a member of the Luddite community in which we discussed evolutionary strategy in regards to memes and media:

The argument seen on this community regarding the limiting of online technology usage is an idea that is controversial due to the plethora of different personality styles we see on this subreddit. For some individuals, the usage of technology (even to connect with other luddites) may be a net-negative situation due to their addictive personality or their inability (due to time or content restraints) to create meaningful anti-tech media. Still though, I'd say most people on this subreddit are perfectly capable of creating a meaningful piece of anti-tech media or writing without too much serious detriment and/or struggle. Consuming online content UNRELATED to anti-tech philosophy could be viewed as couner-productive or wasteful, though. The main thing with online internet usage for people dedicated to the anti-tech revolution is to use this tool we have for good. We need to utilize the internet (in my personal opinion, of course) as our greatest weapon to promote anti-tech (or pro-nature) ideology.

And creating in-person communities is of course the ideal for all luddites. When we can connect with people in-person about our ideas and work towards the common goal of escaping/destroying the techno-industrial system, we go through the power process (a concept I'm sure you're quite familiar with, ISAIF paragraphs 33-37) which is of course the ultimate goal in many regards. The trouble is (and your discussion of this part was VERY articulate, which was nice) we can't just approach our friends, family or community members out of nowhere and talk ISAIF to them, that wouldn't go over well owing to the technophilic and highly propagandized society we live in.

The online anti-tech community is complex and it's a community that needs refining and a lot more organization for sure, but I'd say that it has the potential to become a serious threat to the system, and here's why:

Imagine this, it’s 2016 and the US presidential election campaign is well underway. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are neck-in-neck in the race for political dominance in the United States. As all this is taking place, an online army of trolls and meme-makers arise in support of Donald Trump. Overnight seemingly, the internet is absolutely FLOODED with right-wing and pro-MAGA content. It’s on every forum, it’s all over social media, you get the picture. In no time at all, the right-wing component of the internet swamped every platform with memes and content that aligned itself with their cause. Fast forward to November 8th, 2016 and Donald Trump is elected president of the United States of America.

Many left-wingers and right-wingers alike were shocked by his victory. How had this man, who was hated by so many people, had such a mass appeal to the citizens of America? The answer was propaganda. The answer was memes. Through trolling, meme-blasting and subsequent content follow-up, Donald Trump’s “meme army” had won the hearts and minds of millions of Americans.

I’ll first discuss trolling, since it’s a controversial topic. Trolling in online forums was an effective way for TS (Trump supporters) to spread their message. This is because they could provoke a response from users by saying something user X didn’t like and then turn it into a whole argument and internet freak-out. This created exposure, and exposure is exposure, whether it’s negative OR positive. This in mind, the trolls and subsequent exposure that the anti-tech community could exploit could well prove to be a solid method for preaching anti-tech ideals. Secondly, by meme-blasting I mainly mean the spam-like rate at which TS were able to post memes. Every site on the internet was filled with TS memes, and whether you love Trump or hate him you can’t not respect the dedication of his followers in spreading the message. Thirdly, by content follow-up I mean that while TS swamped the internet with easy-to-understand memes and other media, people looking for a more intellectual side to this content could read books by or about Trump to satisfy their need for an intellectual component. These three things combined led to a wildly successful campaign, and even today we feel its enormous effects.

They called this great effort the Great Meme War of 2016. Again, politics aside, it serves as an example as to how a fringe minority of people can have mass influence. In the luddite sphere of the internet we see lots of edits and memes surrounding Ted Kaczynski, Henry David Thoreau, John Zerzan and the like. These are ESSENTIAL to any real attempt by the anti-tech circle to push the envelope as without them our message would go completely unheard.

It is unreasonable to assume that the average person is, at this point in time, receptive or even capable of reading an essay like ISAIF due to the high levels of technophilic propaganda and tech-related attention span problems in the average person. That being said, by using the internet we have the chance to spew tons of anti-tech content at people in quick succession, which may in the end be an effective tactic. Again, to reference the GMW2016, we can see that by overloading people with content, they will eventually agree with what is familiar, in simple terms, memes at high density and that are repeated often in high traffic areas of the internet can serve to “brainwash” people. And in this case, it’s for the greater good.

Once a substantial portion of the online community (anti-tech or otherwise) has seen/been exposed to our anti-tech content, the road to revolution is clear: we need to organize the masses of new recruits and funnel towards making radical social changes within society. Jacques Ellul (whom I’m sure you’re probably familiar with) talked about unionizing and forming grassroots movements that could counteract technological development by making technophilic development a cultural taboo. In other words, we need to “convert” (through propaganda) a sizeable minority of the population of a major country like the United States or China such that anti-tech views are a) normalized and socially acceptable and b) so that continued technological development is met with stiff social and intellectual resistance from the now-enlarged anti-tech community.

Additionally, whilst I certainly promote the usage of the internet for the cause of spreading anti-tech propaganda, I also think it’s equally important to discuss the ideal of living away from technology and taking a nature-centered approach to anti-tech content. In ISAIF, Ted talks a lot in one or two paragraphs about how people are more motivated to fight for a good cause than to avoid the effects of a bad one. That being said, we need to market the anti-tech philosophy in a way that is advocating for an ideal society, because that way newcomers to the community aren’t scared away by a) doom and gloom (we see too much of it in our community right now, the pessimism has to stop) and b) the lack of purpose to this mass movement. We can’t take a wholly reactionist approach to this scenario we are dealing with (that being the industrial system) because reactionary movements often fail. We need to strive towards good, as opposed to avoiding a bad outcome. This keeps people moralized and ready to fight for the cause.

This excerpt is a good one (in my opinion) as it discusses a lot of the intricacies of online propaganda and how memes can affect the masses of people that use the internet.

Forming In-Person Communities

The ultimate goal for Luddites (as mentioned briefly in the previous excerpt) is to form in-person communities. The Amish are perhaps a good example of the society that we strive towards. They have an anti-tech, pro-community mindset and their society is remarkably resilient, despite their lack of technology. The Amish value religion, which is quite rare in modern society (for better or for worse). Whilst you may not agree with every aspect/stance of Amish society (I certainly don’t) they’re still a group worth using as inspiration due to their lack of technological subjugation and their high success rate in forming and maintaining anti-tech communities. As such, my analysis of the Amish may perhaps serve as a blueprint for the formation of future Luddite communities.

According to the internet, the Amish are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches, a separate Anabaptist denomination. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, Christian pacifism, and slowness to adopt many conveniences of modern technology, with a view neither to interrupt family time, nor replace face-to-face conversations whenever possible, and a view to maintain self-sufficiency. The Amish value rural life, manual labor, humility and Gelassenheit (submission to God's will).

The Amish church began with a schism in Switzerland within a group of Swiss and Alsatian Mennonite Anabaptists in 1693 led by Jakob Ammann. Those who followed Ammann became known as Amish. In the second half of the 19th century, the Amish divided into Old Order Amish and Amish Mennonites; the latter do not abstain from using motor cars, whereas the Old Order Amish retained much of their traditional culture. When people refer to the Amish today, they normally refer to the Old Order Amish, though there are other subgroups of Amish. In the early 18th century, many Amish and Mennonites immigrated to Pennsylvania for a variety of reasons. Today, the Old Order Amish, the New Order Amish, and the Old Beachy Amish as well as Old Order Mennonites continue to speak Pennsylvania Dutch, although two different Alemannic dialects are used by Old Order Amish in Adams and Allen counties in Indiana. As of 2021, over 350,000 Old Order Amish lived in the United States, and about 6,000 lived in Canada: a population that is rapidly growing, even though most Amish clearly seem to use some form of birth control, a fact that generally is not discussed among the Amish, but indicated by the fact that the number of children systematically increases in correlation with the conservatism of a congregation, the more conservative, the more children. Amish church groups seek to maintain a degree of separation from the non-Amish world. Non-Amish people are generally referred to as "English" by the Amish, and outside influences are often described as "worldly".

Amish church membership begins with adult baptism, usually between the ages of 16 and 23. Church districts have between 20 and 40 families, and worship services are held every other Sunday in a member's home or barn. The rules of the church, the Ordnung, which differs to some extent between different districts, are reviewed twice a year by all members of the church. The Ordnung must be observed by every member and covers many aspects of day-to-day living, including prohibitions or limitations on the use of power-line electricity, telephones, and automobiles, as well as regulations on clothing. Generally, a heavy emphasis is placed on church and family relationships. The Amish typically operate their own one-room schools and discontinue formal education after grade eight. Most Amish do not buy commercial insurance or participate in Social Security. As present-day Anabaptists, Amish church members practice nonresistance and will not perform any type of military service. (Wikipedia).

This information is insightful, as it gives us a full blueprint for building Luddite communities in the future. The Amish were able to form communities around a religiously-fixated belief that most modern technology is destructive to their way of life (which is certainly the case). Additionally, the Amish did something that the Luddites of the modern day have yet to do yet: build a separate culture. Culture is a funny thing, because whilst many Luddites are motivated by a will to save their traditional culture from ongoing technological progress, the key to saving ourselves from the ongoing progress may be to become cultural separatists.

Cultural Separatism

Perhaps one of the most important concepts to adhere to as Luddites moving forward is that of cultural separatism. In an era wherein the masses and the elites are hurtling towards a hyper-technological future, we as Luddites need to create a cultural divide between us (and our families, children etc) and the degenerate culture that has consumed the world. We can do this by organizing ourselves in a way wherein we can nurture connections without interference from the ever-advancing technological world.

FINAL NOTE

I have chosen to end this brief document with this poem for a few reasons. For one, it is to reclaim this poem from Brendon Tarrant, a terrorist who justified his insanity with our ideological ideas. Secondly, it is to serve as a warning: our enemies will always be working to subdue humanity, and we must not be complacent in this struggle.