Anthropology is at the core of rewilding. Understanding the various ways in which humans act and why, helps us draw a picture of what is possible for humanity. Rewilding pulls its inspiration from the millions of years that humans lived in relative harmony with our environments–without causing the sixth mass extinction and without creating large-scale inequality, and how these crises came about. To make cultural transformations, we have to understand where material determinism and intentional idealism come together.

On this episode of the Rewilding Podcast, I’ve invited Daniel, the host of the What is Politics YouTube channel, to explain how this all works. What is Politics is a compelling series that delves into the natural histories and anthropology of politics, in the form of didactic storytelling. I came across Daniel’s long form videos on YouTube last year when I was complaining about how off the mark David Graeber’s book the Dawn of Everything is, (how much it omits, how much it ignores, how much it simply pretends doesn’t already exist on this subject) and someone sent me a link to the What is Politics critiques. People had been asking me to write a review, and I couldn’t get past the first 100 pages of what I considered a misdirection. The amount of time it would taken to review the book felt daunting, and I kept putting it off. I was super relieved to find and watch the What is Politics reviews, to see that someone had gone through the whole book with a fine-tooth comb and so much deeper than I ever could have. Now when people ask me what my thoughts are on the Dawn of Everything, I just send them to the What is Politics YouTube channel. It's a huge relief to be honest. For these reasons and more, I’m excited to have Daniel as a guest on the Rewilding Podcast, to talk about the material realities that give rise to, and/or provide the fuel for, certain human political and social organizations.

Notes

Daniel's What is Politics YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@WHATISPOLITICS69

Hierarchy in the Forest by Christopher Boehm
https://bookshop.org/a/24844/9780674006911

Chris Knight Works
Dawn Review: https://mronline.org/2021/12/20/the-dawn-of-everything-gets-human-history-wrong/
Early Human Kinship Was Matrilineal: https://libcom.org/article/engels-was-right-early-human-kinship-was-matrilineal
The Science of Solidarity: http://www.chrisknight.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/The-Science-of-Solidarity1.pdf
Did Communism Make Us Human: https://brooklynrail.org/2021/06/field-notes/Did-communism-make-us-human
The Human Symbolic Revolution: http://radicalanthropologygroup.org/sites/default/files/pdf/pub_knight_power_watts_big.pdf

The Pseudoscience of 'The Secret'
https://www.livescience.com/5303-pseudoscience-secret.html

No Time for Bullies: Baboons Retool Their Culture
https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/13/science/no-time-for-bullies-baboons-retool-their-culture.html

The Collapse of Complex Societies by Joseph Tainter

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