1 min readDec 26, 2023
I agree that the transformation of nature is a feature of civilization, and even that we've likely been conned into civilization, a con which economists rationalize (links below). But late-modern humans are domesticated rather than wild. We don't just seek out love, for instance; we do so within a civilized context, in a culture that gives us the freedom to do so (sustained by the government's monopoly on power), without having to worry about bandits and rivals stealing away our partner. We are civilized primates. And civilization, I've argued, is premised on a negative existential reaction to the wilderness. Just as we shouldn't overlook our lingering dependence on nature, we shouldn't take for granted our dependence on civilization.
