# This damn civilization thing is too complicated! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 15, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856 "2009-06-15T17:44:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/1 "2009-06-15T17:44:16Z")
I say let’s go back to gathering, and possibly hunting for the most energetic amongst you. The good news is that the cattle will practically be sitting ducks, hunting-wise. And in other , er… well, kinda good(ish) news, there ought to be several billion corpses around in relatively short order that could be salted down to get us through the winter. I say we take a couple of summers to plant fruit trees and vegetables in every open space, and then we shut pretty much everything down. We just need to keep up enough of modern society to produce and distribute decent pornography. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/2 "2009-06-15T17:48:35Z")
you do know we will need a commitee at the very least right ?🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/3 "2009-06-15T17:59:40Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I say we take a couple of summers to plant fruit trees and vegetables in every open space, and then we shut pretty much everything down. That ain’t gathering–that’s agriculture! You start planting trees, and pretty soon you need an army to defend them and a priest and a king and all that crap. The hell with that–we’ll eat wild food. > [@Boyo Jim](#): > > We just need to keep up enough of modern society to produce and distribute decent pornography. You won’t need it–we’ll all be naked! And we’ll all be in much better shape once we shit-can agriculture. Porn will be life and life will be porn! ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/4 "2009-06-15T18:03:06Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > you do know we will need a commitee at the very least right ?🙂 I suggest we form an anarco-sydicalist commune. We’ll take it in turns to be a sort of executive officer for the week but all the decisions of that officer have to be ratified at a special bi-weekly meeting by a simple majority in the case of purely internal affairs but by a two thirds majority in the case of… … or fuck it. Let’s just get oursevles a king. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/5 "2009-06-15T18:04:55Z")
I’m talking about planting stuff _now_, for the gathering _later_. And committees… don’t get me started on them! Look at the very word. All those extra Ms and Ts and Es. You know how the spelling was decided, don’t you? That’s right, by committee! ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/6 "2009-06-15T18:22:45Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I’m talking about planting stuff _now_, for the gathering _later_. three words capital gains taxes You sure you dont wanna go the pirate route matey? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/7 "2009-06-15T19:32:44Z")
And let’s use leaves as money! Luckily, I have a forest in my back yard, so I can afford to just stay in the bath… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/8 "2009-06-15T19:38:26Z")
Bastard, trying to dilute our new hunting and gathering age of enlightenment with agriculture. You know who had farms? Nazi Germany, that’s who. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/9 "2009-06-15T19:40:02Z")
I’ll ask my son to help me pack our shopping cart. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/10 "2009-06-15T19:46:13Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Bastard, trying to dilute our new hunting and gathering age of enlightenment with agriculture. You know who had farms? Nazi Germany, that’s who. No comrade, we are in the pre-“hunting and gathering” state as of now. In order to achieve a perfect hunting and gathering society, we must lay the groundwork by some preparatory agriculture by THE PEOPLE! Oh yeah, and destroy our enemies too. They are many and they are everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/11 "2009-06-15T20:15:26Z")
Okay, I believe you, but only because this thread follows one of the themes of Fight Club and is therefore awesome by association. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/12 "2009-06-15T20:18:04Z")
I am hereby declaring it my life’s mission to assfuck every single person who posts in this thread should this benighted Utopia ever be brought to life. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/13 "2009-06-15T20:23:30Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > And committees… don’t get me started on them! Look at the very word. All those extra Ms and Ts and Es. You know how the spelling was decided, don’t you? That’s right, by committee! You really don’t want to confuse committee with comity. Not that there’s any real chance of that, I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/14 "2009-06-15T20:25:46Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I say let’s go back to gathering [snip] I say we take a couple of summers to plant fruit trees and vegetables in every open space > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I’m talking about planting stuff _now_, for the gathering _later_. > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > No comrade, we are in the pre-“hunting and gathering” state as of now. In order to achieve a perfect hunting and gathering society, we must lay the groundwork by some preparatory agriculture by THE PEOPLE! This word you keep using… I do not think it means what you think it means. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/15 "2009-06-15T20:32:40Z")
Well, you’d have to sabotage all of the Earth’s ecosystem so that agriculture is no longer viable. Otherwise some group of jackasses will start farming again, build cities, and then proceed to, in the parlance of our times, “roflstomp” everyone. How to sabotage the ecosystem adequately without ruining it for foraging, I couldn’t tell you. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/16 "2009-06-15T20:36:09Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > there ought to be several billion corpses around in relatively short order Got that right. Wait, you weren’t talking about human corpses, were you? ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/17 "2009-06-15T20:41:27Z")
I’m gonna hoard conch shells. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/18 "2009-06-15T21:00:18Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > I am hereby declaring it my life’s mission to assfuck every single person who posts in this thread should this benighted Utopia ever be brought to life. I got to admit assfucking that many people might be some people’s version of utopia but you can leave me out. Bring on the loin cloths and spears (I was a javelin thrower in college that finally might be useful) ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/19 "2009-06-15T21:02:55Z")
Three words which I’m sure will convince you that the hunter-gatherer lifestyle just won’t work: No. More. Beer. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856/20 "2009-06-15T21:31:49Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > Three words which I’m sure will convince you that the hunter-gatherer lifestyle just won’t work: > > No. More. Beer. Oh, what? Like, no-one will be able to obtain the title “Beerhunter?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-damn-civilization-thing-is-too-complicated/499856.md?page=2)