To End Poverty: The Starvation of the Periphery by the Core

This highly readable offering from Alternative Green is well worth fifteen pounds of anyone's money. Richard Hunt, the former editor of Green Anarchist, is well known for his open-minded attitude and willingness to engage in healthy political debate in the search for common ground, hence the relationship that developed between Alternative Green and National-Anarchists from the late-1990s onwards. Richard's book - despite having been suppressed and ignored by the Left - is arguably the most important work to appear in recent years, and no amount of space can do justice to his superb contribution to the anti-capitalist struggle. This work is absolutely vital if decentralists are to face up to the demanding challenges of the new millennium, and its conclusions should be read and discussed by revolutionaries everywhere.

Beginning with an analysis of humanity in the Third World, Richard demonstrates that - left to their own devices - African tribespeople are, contrary to what most people have been led to believe, neither malnourished nor socially disadvantaged in any significant way. Using a variety of authoritative and highly useful sources, ranging from the sociological to the demographic, the author argues that we in the capitalist West have a great deal to learn from these allegedly 'primitive' and 'backward' cultures. Whilst the agricultural conglomerates of Western Europe and North America have always been portrayed as being at the very forefront of the technological revolution, Richard questions the whole nature of our economic development by arguing that life was (and still is) a whole lot easier in hunter-gatherer societies. He certainly has a strong case, for those tribes in the Third World which have decided to abandon their natural way of life and turn their attentions to the cultivation of the soil in order to alleviate the hunger and poverty caused by an increasing population have, inevitably, come to realise that the increase in labour soon results in what is described as 'the Leisure Preference'. In other words, the hunter-gatherer has it far easier than either the traditional peasant or the modern-day farmer. This, according to the author, is 'the Law of Least Effort' and he quotes at length from J. Zipf's 'Human Behaviour and the Principles of Least Effort' [Hafner, 1965] in order to drive home the point more fully:

As Richard rightly points out:

The author then attempts to summarise the role of the dominant hierarchy which permeates both humanity and the animal kingdom:

According to his detractors, this is precisely the kind of 'fascist authoritarianism' that led to Richard Hunt's break with Green Anarchist. However, whilst this argument is fundamentally correct Richard then attempts to draw what, in my view, is a rather hasty comparison between the hunter-gatherer's fulfilment of his basic needs - i.e. food, clothing, shelter etc. - and that of the two-car family:

Although the author would basically agree that a ruling class or dominant elite has an interest in maintaining its own position and of keeping its lesser rivals in check, he does seem to have missed the point here. Without urban, capitalist societies, the attainment of wealth or material possessions is not always achieved in such an easy or straightforward manner. Capitalists often rely on other people to do all the pecking for them. Furthermore, the capitalist entrepreneur may have the advantage of owning two or three cars but he may subsequently have caused widespread redundancy for those over whom he wields enormous power. If those in the factory, the supermarket or the office attempt to peck back they are dealt with ruthlessly. In other words, materialists are far more eager to display the spoils of free enterprise than consciously strive towards maintaining the peace. Let's face it, even an inclination to 'keep the peace' can be sacrificed upon the cruel altars of high capitalism. After all, conspiracy theories aside, just look at the motivation behind the 'arms for Iraq' and 'Iran-Contra' scandals. More importantly, perhaps, Richard argues that:

But whilst animals can 'rule the roost', so to speak, by employing little more than a studied glance, the more wealthy elements among our own species do not necessarily command respect from those at the opposite end of the class spectrum. If anything, the rich attract jealousy, bitterness and hostility. Regardless of whether this is really the correct attitude to adopt, rather than helping to maintain the peck order in this situation the divisions between rich and poor are fueled and thus exacerbated. Indeed, the author even says as much himself by noting that in 'primitive' societies the wealth is shared because 'small community wealth is a bit of an embarrassment.' However, Richard is correct to compare the dog-eat-dog mentality of capitalist consumerism with the social-darwinist framework of the animal kingdom. One must remember that we humans possess the ability to reason within given circumstances and, if necessary, can assist those elements which may not be able to stand up to the cruel rigours of the 'peck order'. In effect, this side of our nature represents the deployment of true socialism in the defence of the less able (incidentally, this is a reference to the kind of behaviour which should be common amongst our own people and not among the vast majority which makes up the common herd). In the animal world, as with capitalism, the weak inevitably go to the wall. But as far as Richard's comments about 'the Leisure Preference' are concerned, we National-Anarchists agree wholeheartedly that, given the chance, people certainly would revert to a lower level of technology in order to secure an increase in leisure.

Richard then gets to grips with what he describes as 'The Birth of Tyranny', beginning with the role of the dictator in societies such as those in Nyungu's Tanganyika (now Tangania), eighth-century Scotland, ancient Crete and first-century Germany according to Tacitus. It is a fact that when a charismatic leader fights his way to the top of the pile, in order to maintain his position he must reward his most loyal companions by allowing them to wallow in the spoils of war and then set about disarming the rest of the population as a prerequisite for total and absolute control. Many people today have already fallen victim to this age-old strategy by way of the Labour Government's spurious ban on handguns due, allegedly, to the insane actions of a certain Scottish paedophile. Consequently, Richard argues, as the budding dictator begins to increase his power he can then:

At this point it is said that hunter-gatherer societies develop a system of hierarchical obedience and, coupled with the fact that forms of conquest and primitive taxation inevitably create a wider availability of food and other materials, leads to greater stability and a general increase in the immediate population:

According to Richard, agriculture did not lead to settlement and population growth. On the contrary, the population explosion actually preceded agriculture. In other words, people suddenly discovered that they had to work harder in order to ensure that enough food was produced to feed their offspring. But if agriculture did not cause settlement and population growth, then what did? Richard has already identified the role of the tyrant and his followers, but he also singles out the role of religion:

Richard also believes that religion was used to develop the concept of organised kingship and help maintain the ruling elite in the event of a tyrant's demise. This was achieved by creating the myth that the late tyrant had been directly descended from the gods and that, consequently, his son or daughter had been cut from the same cloth and must now become the new tyrant. This kind of organised deception undoubtedly took place, although it seems rather unfair to dismiss all forms of spirituality and label them as superstitious, man-made constructs designed to con the people and facilitate blind obedience. But the author sets out to try and prove exactly that. Indeed, although he contests the very notion of a spiritual plane his argument is flawed in that he never fully accounts for the fact that primitive communities often included psychics, seers and prophets. In his own words:

Richard then makes a few excellent points concerning the way in which populations are manipulated in order for governments to safeguard against dissent or rebellion. The most interesting aspect of governmental control is the 'planting' of cities and towns:

Richard compares this process to the modern boom towns of North America, many of which are now empty and desolate or have disappeared altogether. But whilst trade is undoubtedly a major feature in the growth and decline of cities, the author proves that:

The judiciary also has a role to play within this spectrum of engineered urbanism, because the ruling class (or what Richard Hunt describes as the 'elite') must legitimise that which has been obtained - i.e. stolen from the sweat of the people's brow:

Richard also contends that throughout history the 'elite' has tried to demonstrate its superior ability to rule by deploying the usual methods of propaganda, such as those embodied in Homer's 'Iliad' or the anonymous 'Beowulf'. However, Richard then argues that once monarchs had successfully equated themselves with the 'divine right of kings', folk sagas became redundant and 'stopped being written.' This is not strictly true. Indeed, tales of supernatural heroism were still prevalent during the late Middle Ages (Geoffrey of Monmouth's 'History of the Kings of Britain', for example) and whilst such forms of propaganda have become increasingly toned-down in more recent times, the importance of the biopic is still encapsulated in Martin Gilbert's highly-selective and fawning appraisals of Sir Winston Churchill, or Andrew Morton's stomach-churning odes to Diana, the late Princess of Wales. Other important examples of the way governments function, include extensive road-building in order to allow for the transportation of 'loot' obtained through trade:

Not to mention the monopoly of arms:

The book then goes on to examine the relationship between the three interrelated trading zones associated with exploitative profit-making; namely the periphery, the hinterland and the core:

Richard claims that the exploitation of the periphery by the core is currently being undertaken by the West at the expense of its Third World neighbours. In fact Richard Hunt is opposed to the whole concept of trade. In his view, trade destroys co-operation and:

Typically, money also has a role to play in this insidious process:

Ingenious really, isn't it? But can societies actually cope without money? Richard explains:

Put simply:

This trick can function on an international level, too, because:

This is precisely the method at work behind the present drive towards a single European currency. Unity is strength, and as the likes of Germany and France join forces their rivals are forced to take their chances with isolated nations such as Libya and North Korea.

Turning to industry and the relevance of the 'class struggle,' Richard argues that:

Richard is clearly suggesting that the ideal social strata should be populated by producer-consumers; i.e. those who grow and eat their own food, make and wear their own clothes, and build and live in their own houses. In other words, those who have turned away from the System and achieved real autonomy by doing things for themselves and their own communities. The author goes on to explain what is meant by the 'division of labour', a term relating to the method used by capitalists to try and convince their workers that increased production leads to more profit for all concerned. In other words, what some economists have called the 'trickle-down' effect. Richard explains:

Basically, this system has its roots in Adam Smith's 'The Wealth of Nations' (1776), the handbook of orthodox capitalism. According to Richard Hunt, Smith blatantly ignores the fact that:

This maxim can also be applied on a national level as regards the capitalist theory of 'comparative advantage':

Chapter 5 deals with regression and examines how empires like those of Rome and China began to expand in accordance with their respective increases in population. But once a population begins to decline, however, the effects are abandoned fields and empty towns. Richard describes how empires must increase their populations or risk losing the extensive control they wield over other areas, due to the huge expense and effort of maintaining them:

Consequently, as the Germanic rebellion led by the Vandals, Huns and Goths systematically attacked the outermost fringes of the Empire people began to leave the towns and return to their former lands. Thus, the cities fell into decay.

The author then explains how the gradual progression of technology saw the Benedictine monks build up a massive agricultural empire by relying upon the devious rivalries of their aristocratic benefactors. As far as their Cistercian brothers were concerned the road from poverty to profit was more inadvertent then anything else. By planting monasteries in the most uninhabitable parts of the country the Cistercian Order had no real choice but to opt for sheep farming rather than straightforward agriculture. Eventually, of course, the Cistercians managed to create a monopoly in the wool trade. Richard also provides some interesting details relating to the Church's involvement in the establishment of the early banking industry, although he only makes fleeting reference to the rise of the notorious Jewish moneylender.

Chapter 7 deals more specifically with English history, beginning with events in the Mesolithic period and going on to deal with the Heroic Age, the Archaic Age, the Norman Conquest, feudalism, and the growth of planted towns. Richard also makes an important connection between the rise of the wool trade and the emergence of the industrial mill. But during the period between 1320 and 1470 the author demonstrates that the seemingly unbridled growth in industry suddenly began to stagnate due to the lowering of the price of grain and the failure on the part of the priests and princes to pay off their financiers. This caused large-scale devastation within the Italian banking industry. But why had the price of grain dropped in the first place? In Richard's opinion it was due to the placing of new towns on the periphery, a move which led to increased competition between the old and new cores. Such competition soon led to mercantilism and ruthless trade wars, culminating in the rise of powerful nation-states:

This was followed by a policy of colonialism, an attempt to capture valuable raw materials overseas before other aspiring countries could do the same. On the domestic front, the British Isles were subject to a severe in standards of living and the working classes found themselves producing not only for the rich, but also for their own kind. This, of course, was due to the fact that long hours meant that urban workers had no time left to make their own shoes or clothes. Meanwhile, on the periphery, mechanisation led to redundancy and mass starvation. All in all, Richard appears satisfied that the disadvantages of economic growth are:

In Chapter 10 we are taken through a nation-by-nation analysis of how England managed to affect industrial growth elsewhere during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The author also deals with the aftermath of the 1917 Soviet Revolution, including Lenin's determination to seize crops and timber from the Russian peasantry and Stalin's large-scale industrialisation programme. After dealing separately with America, China and Japan, he examines the emergence of trading blocs with particular emphasis on the European Community. In short:

Thus, Richard has intelligently discovered the sinister link between the role of the trade bloc and spiraling Third World debt:

In fact Richard devotes a whole chapter to the question of how the Third World has suffered at the hands of international capitalism, beginning with how overt colonialism was replaced by a more subtle array of neo-colonialist 'alternatives' such as development, investment, loans and military aid. In reality, of course, whilst Third World countries will never be able to settle up with those who have plunged them head-first into debt, their land is used to grow crops for capitalists abroad rather than to alleviate poverty at home.

Chapter 12 deals with the debilitating effects industrialisation is having on the environment, such as global warming, the destruction of the ozone layer, nuclear waste, deforestation, erosion, biocides, industrial wastes, acid rain, and both water and air pollution. Paradoxically, however, such problems mean that industry is making a rod for its own back and fast becoming increasingly untenable. Among those examples which the author believes will not help to improves the situation are government, capitalism, socialism, religion, and the British Green Party. By this time, most of these examples have already been dealt with - on several occasions, in fact - but Richard's dismissal of the Greens is well worth a mention because it demonstrates that he is in tune with our own thoughts about the vast futility of constitutional reform. The Greens are attacked for their failure to understand how - in a determinist sense - things are inextricably related to one another. Indirect taxation on petrol, for example, which Greens believe would cut the number of cars on the road, would inevitably increase the cost of living. As Richard explains:

So despite their friendly smiles and attractive cardigans, it seems, the Greens will merely exacerbate the problems we face.

Richard believes that the only solution to the current crisis in the world today is revolution on the periphery. In other words, just as the likes of the Roman and Soviet empires have gradually been broken up, so, too, will the New World Order and its powerful trading blocs. Politically, the seeds of destruction are plainly there for all to see:

Indeed, this is true of all the establishment doctrines - capitalism, socialism etc. - but the revival of nationalism has created an opposing trend. Richard believes that in the British Isles the first step would be to leave the European Community, followed by independence for Wales, Scotland and Ulster. Consequently, the various nations will break up into separate regions and the process is repeated until the only units remaining will be autonomous, self-sufficient, armed villages. This strategy is totally consistent with the objectives of National-Anarchism and the author even points out that this scenario will not happen in an isolated manner. The process of decentralisation must take place on an international scale, otherwise a more powerful neighbour - or the United Nations, for that matter - would be able to intervene and enforce some kind of imperialist stranglehold from without. Meanwhile, Richard maintains that as each nation's core is gradually eroded the resulting political and economic changes will also lead to a radical alteration in the social strata:

Sounds great, but Richard has never been one to romanticise:

Finally, it has to be said that this is one of the most important books of the last decade. It is even more important given that we have just entered a new millennium, an age in which the dark forces of international capitalism will attempt to consolidate their global empire. Given our resources at this stage it is unlikely that we will be able to prevent such a triumph, but Richard Hunt has certainly given us an invaluable blueprint for the eventual fight back.

June 2003