Foragers: a Natural Way of Life

Postindustrial society is similar to preindustrial in the sense that the economy of the former is based on the appropriation of products from robotic production, and the latter is based on the appropriation of products produced by nature. The vast majority of people throughout almost the entire history of mankind lived off hunting and gathering, so the appropriating economy can be considered a natural form of life support. Hunters and gatherers (foragers) fully met their needs with minimal labor costs through the use of fishing technologies that were so effective that many populations and species of animals were exterminated. Compared to farmers, foragers ate better and were in better health. The transition to a productive economy was not historically inevitable. The Neolithic Revolution was actually evolution - drawn out, intermittent, and incomplete. The foraging groups that have survived to this day in remote areas are characterized by a positive psychological well-being and consider their way of life to be normal and correct. Given the current trend towards a green economy, the historical experience of hunters and gatherers deserves to be studied and rethought.