Social primitivism

Social primitivism is a political ideology based around wealth redistribution combined with an opposition to modern technology. The ideology first emerged in Yesteria during the Yesterian Anti-Technological Revolution in 1779, when peasants in Yesteria rose up in opposition to the industrial revolution and the emergent capitalist class.

Socialist ideals

Adherents of social primitivism's economic and social beliefs are similar to those of socialists, while retaining some distinctive characteristics and a predominantly rural focus. Due to the nature of the anti-technology portion of social primitivism, a society run on this ideology, like Yesteria, would necessarily mean most of the population lives a rural lifestyle.

Therefore, the matter of ownership of the means of production is in many ways easier to tackle than for socialists supporting modern technology, as in social primitivism most individuals will be owners or part-owners of smaller farms. In even more primitive communities, such as the remaining hunter-gatherer groups on Yesteria's Southern Island, there is already collective ownership - or, rather, lack of ownership at all - of food sources.

Social primitivists argue for taxation on said farms to provide a minimum guaranteed standard supply of food and agricultural products to those who do live in towns, with measures to ensure that in the event of small harvests, those working the farms do not lose out. In Yesteria, the formal economy and use of currency makes up only around 40% of transactions with the majority being based on barter, or in some communities gifts, of goods and services.

Rejection of technology

The impetus behind social primitivism is a belief that with industrial technology, the ordinary people will inevitably be exploited by a capitalist class for their own gain. During the industrial revolution in Yesteria, the ideology developed in opposition to peasants being forced off their land and employed for longer hours and less food than they had received while maintaining an agricultural lifestyle. This was what prompted the overthrow of the capitalist class and rejection of technology.

The need for centralised organisation of factories and industrial business means, to social primitivists, that power will eventually collect in the hands of the few to the detriment of the many, no matter how much one attempts to stop it. Therefore, the only way to create an equal society is to reject industrial technology in its entirety. 1760 is the usual cutoff year regarding technology, though some social primitivists may differ.