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I am not against playfully imagining possible decivilized…

“I am not against playfully imagining possible decivilized worlds. But for such imaginings to be truly playful and to have experimental potential, they cannot be models worked out from abstracted conceptions of either past or future societies. In fact, in my opinion, it is best to leave the concept…” quote by Wolfi Landstreicher
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““I am not against playfully imagining possible decivilized worlds. But for such imaginings to be truly playful and to have experimental potential, they cannot be models worked out from abstracted conceptions of either past or future societies. In fact, in my opinion, it is best to leave the concept of “society” itself behind, and rather think in terms of perpetually changing, interweaving relationships between unique, desiring individuals. That said, we can only play and experiment now, where our desire for the apparently “impossible” meets the reality that surrounds us. If civilization were to be dismantled in our lifetime, we would not confront a world of lush forests and plains and healthy deserts teeming with an abundance of wildlife. We would instead confront a world full of the detritus of civilization — abandoned buildings, tools, scrap, etc., etc. Imaginations that are not chained either to realism or to a primitivist moral ideology could find many ways to use, explore and play with all of this — the possibilities are nearly infinite. More significantly, this is an immediate possibility, and one that can be explicitly connected with a destructive attack against civilization. And this immediacy is utterly essential, because I am living now, you are living now, not several hundred years from now, when an enforced program aimed toward a primitivist ideal might be able to create a world in which this ideal could be realized globally — if primitivists have their revolution now and enforce their program.””

Wolfi Landstreicher

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The author argues that imaginative exploration of post‑civilized worlds should free itself from past/future societal models, focusing on ever‑changing relationships between individuals, and sees this as an urgent, present‑day possibility rather than a distant ideal.

In simple terms: Imagine futures without relying on old societal models, focusing on changing human relationships now.

Key Takeaway

Explore radical ideas now, not as distant fantasies.

Themes

imagination post‑civilization individual relationships present urgency experimental thought

Mood

provocative urgent speculative

Type

Abandoned buildings:1 Imagination:1 Living now:1 Decivilized Worlds:1 Realism Primitivist:0 Primitivist Moral:0 Globally Primitivists:0 Civilization Immediacy:0

When to use this quote

  • creative writing
  • urban planning
  • environmental activism

Key Concepts

philosophy future studies anthropology

Questions to Reflect On

  • What responsibilities arise when imagining a world without civilization?
  • How can we test these ideas responsibly?
A Different Perspective

Such visions may overlook practical constraints and ethical concerns.

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