John Zerzan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Zerzan
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Zerzan in 2010
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| Born | August 10, 1943 (age 82) Salem, Oregon, U.S.
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| Era | Contemporary philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Anarcho-primitivism, post-left anarchy |
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Main interests
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Hunter-gatherer society, civilization, alienation, symbolic culture, technology, mass society |
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Notable ideas
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Domestication of humans, rewilding |
John Edward Zerzan (born August 10, 1943) is an American writer and thinker. He is known for his ideas about anarchism and anarcho-primitivism. This means he believes that modern civilization, especially farming and technology, has caused many problems for humans.
Zerzan suggests that we can learn from how hunter-gatherers lived long ago. He thinks their way of life was more free and fair. He questions things like language, numbers, art, and even the idea of time. He believes these things might have led to some of the issues we face today.
He has written several important books. These include Elements of Refusal (1988) and Future Primitive and Other Essays (1994). Other books are Running on Emptiness (2002) and Against Civilization: Readings and Reflections (2005). He also wrote Twilight of the Machines (2008) and Why hope? The Stand Against Civilization (2015).
Contents
Early Life and Education
John Zerzan was born in Salem, Oregon. His family background is from Czech and Slovakian countries. He studied political science at Stanford University, graduating in 1966.
After college, he worked as a union organizer in San Francisco. This was from 1967 to 1970. He then went back to school. He earned a master's degree in history in 1972 from San Francisco State University. He later started a PhD at the University of Southern California. However, he left in 1975 before finishing his final paper.
Activism and Ideas
In 1966, Zerzan was arrested during a protest against the Vietnam War. He spent two weeks in jail. After this, he decided he would never willingly be arrested again. He also spent time in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury area. This was a center for new ideas and music in the 1960s.
He worked as a social worker in San Francisco. He helped create a trade union for social workers. He was elected vice president and then president of this union.
Over the years, Zerzan became involved with various anarchist magazines. He started to question modern civilization in the early 1980s. He began to see civilization itself as the main cause of the world's problems. He believed that a hunter-gatherer way of life offered the most equal model for humans. This model, he thought, would also be better for our relationship with nature.
Public Debates and Views
Zerzan became more widely known during the trial of Ted Kaczynski. Kaczynski was also known as the "Unabomber." Zerzan went to the trial and met with Kaczynski. A reporter from New York Times interviewed Zerzan. The article was called "Prominent Anarchist Finds Unsought Ally in Serial Bomber." This made Zerzan more famous across the country.
However, Kaczynski and Zerzan later disagreed. Kaczynski believed that some leftist causes were a distraction. In 2014, Zerzan said they were "not on terms anymore." He also disagreed with a group influenced by Kaczynski.
In 2014, Zerzan had a public debate at Stanford University. He debated with Zoltan Istvan. They have very different ideas about technology. Zerzan believes technology is harmful to humans, animals, and nature. Istvan, on the other hand, thinks technology is good for humanity and the planet.
Radio Show: AnarchyRadio
John Zerzan shares his ideas through a radio show called AnarchyRadio. It airs on KWVA 88.1 FM in Eugene, Oregon. The show is also streamed live online. You can find recordings of past shows on his website. Zerzan started the show in 2000.
The show airs on Tuesdays at 7 PM PST and lasts one hour. Sometimes, there is a co-host, or someone else fills in when Zerzan is traveling. AnarchyRadio is a call-in show. Listeners can call in and talk to the host live. Since 2024, the show airs only on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. Zerzan said this new schedule is "more manageable" for him at 80 years old.
In 2014, AnarchyRadio received media attention. It was reported that a caller to the show in 2011 was later identified as Adam Lanza. Lanza was involved in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. The caller used a different name and disguised his voice. He talked about a chimpanzee named Travis. Travis was known for an incident where he attacked someone. Zerzan later said it was "upsetting" to realize he had spoken with the caller.
Zerzan's Philosophy
John Zerzan is an anarchist thinker. He is linked to ideas like anarcho-primitivism and green anarchism. He also supports anti-civilization views and neo-luddism. A key part of his thinking is a strong critique of technology.
He has also criticized other well-known thinkers. For example, he said that linguist Noam Chomsky is not a true anarchist. Zerzan described Chomsky as a "liberal-leftist politically." He also called Chomsky "reactionary" in his academic field of language theory.
Selected Books
- The Education of an Anarchist: A Memoir. Feral House, 2024.
- When We Are Human: Notes From The Age Of Pandemics, July 2021.
- A People's History of Civilization, April 20, 2018
- Time and Time Again. Detritus Books, 2018.
- Why hope? The Stand Against Civilization. Feral House, 2015.
- Future Primitive Revisited. Feral House, May 2012.
- Origins of the 1%: The Bronze Age pamphlet. Left Bank Books, 2012.
- Origins: A John Zerzan Reader. Joint publication of FC Press and Black and Green Press, 2010.
- Twilight of the Machines. Feral House, 2008.
- Running On Emptiness. Feral House, 2002.
- Against Civilization (editor). Uncivilized Books, 1999; Expanded edition, Feral House, 2005.
- Future Primitive. Autonomedia, 1994.
- Questioning Technology (co-edited with Alice Carnes). Freedom Press, 1988; 2d edition, New Society, 1991.
- Elements of Refusal. Left Bank Books, 1988; 2d edition, C.A.L. Press, 1999.
Images for kids
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Zerzan in 2010
See also
In Spanish: John Zerzan para niños
