Elements Of Refusal

by John Zerzan

A new edition of Zerzan's first collection of essays, exploring alienation, and the resistance it has engendered.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Politics, Anarchism, History, Anthropology, Essays

308 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

American anarchist and primitivist philosopher and author.

His works criticize agricultural civilization as inherently oppressive, and advocate drawing upon the ways of life of hunter gatherers as an inspiration for what a free society should look like.

Some subjects of his criticism include domestication, language, symbolic thought (such as mathematics and art) and the concept of time.

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of the book was great. It is chock full of provocative critique of "modern" society, right down to our use of language and perceptions of time. This is a sorely needed perspective as we face numerous social and ecological challenges. The second half of the book was a little more difficult to get through, as several chapters consisted almost entirely of lists of book and news article titles in an effort to prognosticate a growing dissatisfaction with society verging on open revolt, which obviously has yet to materialize. I was also expecting a more direct critique of the positivist, techno-industrial utopia put forth by Marx, DeBord, et al. Nevertheless, the book is well worth a read even for just the first few chapters alone. It will force anyone to question the fundamental ways in which they interact with reality and how those interactions are deliberately and maliciously corrupted by the society we live in.

[xDEAD ENDx · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this again for a few reasons. One was to continue (re-)exploring the post-70s, pre-'99-WTO anarchy. The second was to see how JZ makes use of the Frankfurt school in light of my current study of Benjamin. The third was to pursue a sort of intellectualism that makes heavy use of quotations to make a point.

I ended up thinking that the first section is still spot on. The "big 5" (though I'm not sure I would choose the same 5, or 5 as the amount) cornerstones of civilization are still despicable and JZ's analysis still holds up. The section on unions and mass society, however, seems rather tired and stale. I still think there is potential to excite some audiences, and I recognize what it did for me several years ago, but there was nothing striking this time around.

Looking at some of these other reviews, it also seems there are still dimwits spouting out ad hominems and red herrings because they're too... something (they have their own agenda?). A "patchwork of random citations?" Seriously, do you lack reading comprehension? Excessive perhaps, but certainly not random. Yes, this is what is wrong with contemporary anarchist theory, precisely because so many "anarchists" have made "contemporary anarchist theory" such a hodgepodge of ideological garbage.

Thank goodness there's been a recent resurgence in astute thinking. It's a bit of a shame that Zerzan isn't much of a component in it.

[Weathervane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enlightening deconstruction of those human concepts we take for granted -- time, religion, and notions about the way society ought to be. The last few chapters grow a bit tedious; union talk only holds the interest so long. But overall an incisive monograph against civilization.

[Jesse Cohn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is, in a nutshell, what's wrong with contemporary anarchist theory. (Would that Zerzan could be bounded in his own nutshell . . .)

[Mirza Sultan-Galiev · Rating 1 out of 5]

A patchwork of random citations.
Awful.

[Dameon Launert · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a philosophy book, this was relatively accessible. But as a philosophy book, it also tended to be highbrow. There is a sort of esoteric method of writing in philosophy that takes some getting used to. There were many times I struggled to understand just what exactly, Zerzan meant.

The first part dealt with five anthropological concepts; language, number, time, art, and agriculture. It was interesting to read the depth of critique, but the implications were so broad that it was rather extreme and ideological. Still, merely critiquing these concepts invites a new perspective of humanity, abstraction, and the roots of social hierarchy, civilization, and alienation.

The second part was mostly the historical development of capitalism, industrialism, and labor from the perspective of workers' refusal and power's adaptations to slowly control, pacify, and recuperate labor. I was admittedly ignorant on a lot of the period's history, which both made this section that much more informative and meant I wasn't able to fully appreciate everything it had to offer. After studying history more I will undoubtedly benefit from reading this again.

The last part wasn't particularly interesting. Most of the essays rehashed repeatedly the same ideas about current low productivity and social dissatisfaction. Much of it was just lists of publications. The entire book was extremely well referenced, but listing one article title after another made this section uninteresting.

There were also several facts cited in the last section that I was highly skeptical of such as preschool suicide, near-universal military drug use, and the mass use of polygraphs by employers. This is contrary to common sense and experience.

The afterward was superb.

[Alessandro Migliori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sono rimasto piuttosto deluso, per quanto trovi interessante il punto di vista di molti anprim e per quanto provo altrettanto interesse per argomentazioni critiche sociologico/antropologiche, dalla pesantezza della scrittura di Zerzan. Il linguaggio tecnico non è neanche il problema principale, anche se non favorisce la scorrevolezza, quanto invece lo è la assoluta indisponibilità di approfondire le citazioni filosofiche buttate qui e là. Le tesi le ho apprezzate per la maggior parte, a tratti l'autore prende posizioni un po' campate in aria, ma in tutta sincerità questo non accade abbastanza spesso da diventare un problema: il lavoro di ricerca è solido.
Nel complesso è stata una lettura difficoltosa da digerire che credo non ripeterò però che mi ha lasciato qualcosa soprattutto nel capitolo che parla del tempo che a mio parere è il più interessante.
3 stelle appena appena.

[Tybo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five out of five stars for the first half of this book. Zerzan has the ability to critique fundamental aspects of our society down to the core of their logic, all without having to resort to byzantine post modern word salad-y jargon. Even with references to a wide variety of anthropological, historical, and philosophical concepts, the prose is plain and easy to follow-- right down to some damning conclusions.

Three out of five stars for the second half of the book, which focuses on particulars of American society in the 1980's. It is unavoidably dated, and as such somewhat quaint, especially in regards to the role of technology. The alienation/commodification had only just begun...

[Clivemichael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extensively documented and not without irony.
"We find ourselves, in an age when the fruits of science threaten to end human life altogether, when a dying capitalism seems capable of taking everything with it, more apt to want to discover the ultimate origins of the nightmare.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zerzan’s first collection of essays focuses more on people’s resistance to the dehumanizing effects of civilization than on that civilization himself, but the foundations of his primitivist philosophy are deeply embedded in this work. As always, this is intelligent and engaging.

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-issue of a 1988 book that re-thinks anarchism and radicalism from a primitivist viewpoint. He takes on agriculture, language, the history of unions, time and numbers, and more. Certainly provocative, eh?

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

DENSE but pretty fundamental.