Civilization

Yes I do have a choice to live in this society, I could live alone in the wilderness as stated. But the choices I make are all based on the options I have and the likely outcomes of those choices. Prior to the industrial revolution someone like me would not have been considered a bum. Perhaps I would have been a trapper or something, drifting from town to town trading animal skins & such. Nowadays try going to a liquor store and trading them a dead animal for a six pack, it doesn't work very well. When one was able to traverse this country easily by foot or horse without trespassing on private property or being blocked by fences and freeways, when one could drink from the streams and eat the fish that swam in them, when one could hunt and fish without needing permission from authority, we were not forced to contribute to society for survival, it was a choice to contribute as much as one wanted. Now we have poisoned our water, poisoned our fish, taxed and regulated every aspect of existence, & privatized the land so no one can walk freely or even exist in a space for free. We are forced into civilization for survival and forced into servitude. The lifestyle I live outside is all technically illegal. If you don't own property then you are trespassing on someone else's property. National forest, State forest, BLM land are all isolated pockets of wilderness in this country. Imagine 200 people trying to form an independent wandering self sustaining society on these pockets of land. They would all be arrested for poaching and various other violations of regulation. I'm not saying that everything is pointless and futile, I think it is important to learn primitive skills and keep that knowledge alive. And the more we can hunt and gather and be less dependent on grocery stores and factory farms the better. But currently hunting and gathering generally requires one to be a property owner, a vehicle and gun owner and to still have some source of income. Also I do not think one should have to choose between being a fully employed member of society and being a hermit in the wilderness. Logically with the world being as it is, it makes the most sense for someone like me to live as I do. As a hermit living on the edge of society taking what I need and contributing what I can to individuals and not companies.

For a more educated sounding person making some similar statements check out David Graeber
   • "On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs" ...