We will come into contact with others following the simple living path, but do they believe in the same things as us? Why was Susan B Anthony wrong, and what about her sniffing dogs?
Link to article about Susan B Anthony
These are the groups of people that you might come across (as discussed in the Podcast) based of the ideas of Dylan Evans. From the book ’The Utopia Experiment’ 2015 retold with some additional notes from me.
Boomers - those who thinks that technological progress will continue indefinitely and make us all richer and happier. Sometimes called a Cornucopians.
Catastrophists are those that hold the belief that the world is heading towards an economic, environmental, social or spiritual collapse, and a new and better world will emerge from the ashes of the old one. Decline, like the fall of Rome, might be gradual.
Declinists hold the belief that things are getting worse, compared to a former Golden Age. Popular candidates for the start of this decline include the Industrial Revolution (romanticism) and the birth of agriculture (primitivism).
Doomers are those who believe catastrophe is imminent, and that civilisation will collapse. Note that this a big event, not a gradual decline
Millennialists hold the belief that the imperfect world we live in will soon be destroyed and replaced with a better one. This is a common group for many religious 'Armagedonists' subscribe to, but not always.
Preppers are those who are actively preparing for a disaster by stocking up on food and other items. The disaster could be anything from an extended power cut to a global catastrophe; some preppers are preparing for a relatively small disaster.
Primitivists hold the belief that modern civilisation makes people unhappy, and that the cure lies in returning to a more simple life. (My personal beliefs fit into this group, I think.)
Rewilders believe that the process of reversing human domestication by relearning primitive skills such as hunting and gathering. Rewilding also covers those who believe that large areas of the natural environment should be lest for the natural processes to take over. (I'm also close to this group in my personal beliefs.)
Survivalists are those who are stocking up so they can survive. Unlike preppers, they tend to think the disaster will be global, or national at the least. (I admit to some prepping qualities myself!)
Transhumanists those who hope that the future developments in technology will radically transform human nature for the better.
(c) Ray Lovegrove 2023
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