Can Domesticated Civilizations Find Balance?

We are living creatures, after all, so shouldn't some principles of ecological healing, renewal and change apply to us?

If an area of land that has been devastated by human activity or natural disaster is simply left alone, it will heal. But to really get to the point, this is the big question: What about humans? If we take away the governing bodies, the structures that propel us to destroy our land base and each other; if the forces that domesticate us were to cease and we were allowed to go feral, like a hillside engulfed in blackberry vines, would we naturally find balance and heal, like all other living things?

At this point I think the answer is an obvious no. The great difference between us and all other living things is, once again, our conditioning. The fact that humans are their own enemy in the game of domestication (the source of such conditioning) complicates everything.

History Repeats Itself...

Remove all the oppressive forces, leave modern humans alone to go feral, and what do you think will happen? Almost without question they will simply create new oppressive structures, enact the same patterns of abuse as came before. We have to acknowledge the fact that in this culture, broadly speaking, everyone's mind has been infected with poison, whatever shape it may have come in.

We also have to acknowledge that most people associate happiness with business as usual: the ability to jump in one's car, grab a six-pack at the liquor store, head over to the grocery store and buy anything, go home, turn the heat up, put on some music and have an hour-long hot shower. If you suddenly take away these luxuries, most people are going to do anything they can to get them back. But step out of civilization's consciousness (also known as denial), and it becomes apparent that all of the above luxuries are the products of a death machine, and that enjoying them typically means participating in and actually signing over your freedom to this machine.


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The Forces of Domestication Have Been Internalized

If humans had clean minds, like grasses and thistles, we would return to a state of balance when the forces of domestication ceased. As it is, if civilization were to come down tomorrow, everyone would begin attempting to rebuild it the next day. The mentality that created it in the first place would still exist. The forces of domestication have been internalized. This is why revolutions are called revolutions: the literal meaning is to go around in circles.

PCan Domesticated Civilizations Find Balance?erhaps the best ecological analogy for us would be a piece of land left to go feral after an oil spill. That oil spill is going to slow down healing, succession and a return to balance, much like the toxic, civilized mind will. Still, bioremediation techniques can rapidly speed the detoxification of contaminated soil, allowing poisoned land to heal and regrow.

We might think of domesticated humans in the same way; there is some initial decontamination work to be done before we can find balance. If we want to truly step out of the cycle of domestication and destruction, we are going to have to become mature, aware, I might even say enlightened creatures. Like salmon.

From Walmart to Maturity, Awareness, and Enlightenment

I went into a Walmart today, and it sent shivers down my spine. There were giant TV screens showing advertisements, no windows, the smell of plastic and perfume, but what really stood out was that there were a lot of people in there. They appeared glad enough to be there, though not ecstatic by any means. Standing in line, shopping carts stuffed to the brim with cheap electronics, makeup, buckets of mayonnaise and the like.

I'm not trying to pick on Walmart or the people that shop there, I completely understand the reasons many do, but I am reminded every time I enter such an environment that the mass of humanity is still very much entrenched in the mythology of civilization. When I say that we are going to have to become mature, aware, enlightened creatures, I am fully aware how far humanity as a whole is from that. Perhaps the situation that parts of the developed world are beginning to find themselves in, where the standard of living is shrinking as empire contracts, will set the stage for this kind of shift. (I am reminded of the old Buddhist proverb: "To attain enlightenment, haul water and chop wood. When you have finished, haul more water.")

The Necessity of Change

What is clear is the necessity of change; humans must, like deer and salmon, welcome and join the weedy chaos that will lead to healing. To actually envision humans integrated into the cycle of succession is a beautiful thing. At first it will likely look ragged, chaotic and confusing, then eventually move towards something more balanced, preparing the ground for what is to come next.

Like the invasive weeds I mentioned above, given the right conditions, sanity may be contagious, it may spread and flourish. And as with the invasive weeds above, the domesticated mind will always see this as an assault on order. Luckily, at least some of us know that that order itself is insane.

As forests rise and fall, consumed by fire, so do civilizations. All civilizations have a life cycle, collapse is inevitable. Whether humans simply build a new empire in the wake of collapse is up in the air.

Maybe it's time to evolve.

©2012 by Miles Olson. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher,
New Society Publishers. http://newsociety.com


This article was adapted with permission from the book:

Unlearn, Rewild: Earth Skills, Ideas and Inspiration for the Future Primitive  --  by Miles Olson.

Unlearn, Rewild: Earth Skills, Ideas and Inspiration for the Future Primitive by Miles Olson.Picture a world where humans exist, like all other living things, in balance. Where there is no separation between "human" and "wild." Unlearn, Rewild boldly envisions such a world, probing deeply into the cultural constraints on our ability to lead truly sustainable lives and offering real, tangible tools to move toward another way of living, seeing, and thinking.

Click here for more info and/or to order this book.


About the Author

Miles Olson, author of the book: Unlearn, RewildMiles Olson has spent the past decade deeply immersed in learning and practicing earth skills; living intimately with the land on the forested edge of a sprawling city. While foraging, hunting, gardening, and gathering for his livelihood, his life has been shaped profoundly by a desire to nurture healthy relationships with humans and the non-human world. Miles’ experiences have put him at the forefront of the rewilding movement, radical self-reliance, and the impact of civilization on the natural world.

Other articles by this author.