Life without the benefits of civilization! Western values ​​Without these benefits 94

Good health, friends! We are often asked the question: “How can you live without electricity and other benefits of civilization?” I myself was born and raised in Moscow. Even before moving to Earth, I reviewed many of my habits and consciously gave up some of them (watching TV, drinking alcohol, eating meat, etc.) Therefore, for me personally, the only thing that confused me from the very beginning was hand washing. Although my grandmother and even my mother did laundry by hand all their lives, it seemed like very hard work to me. Let's start with washing. Now our family washes everything entirely by hand. The first year was difficult for me. Although my husband helped me. It washes all the large items that were difficult for me to wring out. In the second year it became much easier. We adapted. We replaced all the difficult-to-wash items with easy-to-wash ones (terry towels have been replaced with diapers). A clear division of clothes into work clothes, home clothes and holiday clothes also helped. And of course healthy minimalism in things. Some of our neighbors have washing machines. On the Internet you can now find different options for washing machines for Dachas, which can easily be powered by solar panels or a generator and without a central sewer system. Light. Everyone has light. The basic principle is this: LED strips are connected to a battery (even a car battery) and charged on average once every two weeks from solar panels or a generator. The lighting is good, there are LED strips of different powers. We try to combine battery charging time for lights and other electrical appliances (phones, laptops, flashlights, etc.) It is unacceptable for us to run a generator every day. It's noisy and not environmentally friendly. Unless you are ready to reduce your electricity use to what you can get from solar panels. Or if using a generator once a week is not enough for you, then it is better to consider a Settlement with central Electricity. We buy phones with a powerful battery so that we can charge them once a week or two. Gas. We cook on a gas stove using a gas cylinder, which lasts on average for several months (3-6 months). Cylinders can be refilled at a gas station. The price is adequate -700 rubles. Instead of an oven and multicookers, we use a stove. Even in an iron one, after the wood burns out, you can put a pot of porridge or bake bread. And if the stove is brick, then there’s nothing to say. You can cook anything and everything turns out much tastier than on the stove. We brew tea in a 2-liter thermos. It’s very convenient and you don’t have to boil the kettle 10 times a day. Heating is stove. It’s very nice to see live fire every day. Adjust the room temperature yourself. If the stove is iron, then in winter you need to heat it twice, in the morning and in the evening. If it is brick, then less often. The main thing is to stock up on dry firewood in advance :) Water. Well water. Clean and tasty without bleach or other terrible additives. Finally my skin became normal and smooth without any creams. You have to go for water 2-3 times a day. This is a great reason to get out into the fresh air. There are no problems with hot water either. A tank is installed on the stove and when the stove heats up, the water is heated, or you can install a tank with a heat exchanger. In the summer, when the stove is rarely lit, you can heat water in the sun in a bucket. Fridge. We don't have refrigerators. This is irrational. They "eat" a lot of electricity. To preserve food, we use a cellar, underground or well (you can put food in a bucket and lower it into the well). We were able to completely abandon some electrical appliances, significantly reduce the use of others, and replace some electrical appliances with manual ones (foot-operated sewing machines instead of electric machines). But we and our children do not spend hours on the Internet, do not play computer games, but instead walk a lot on the street :) Living on earth, over time, many city habits and stereotypes disappear by themselves and life becomes much simpler, more joyful and more natural!

Of course, arguing that civilization is a blessing and a conquest of humanity is stupid. For example, a Sudanese resident who is forced to drink water from a puddle knows the value of running water. But here's the strange thing: why learn the multiplication table - and what is the calculator for? Why go somewhere - everything will be shown on TV.

Hence the question: do the achievements of civilization add not to humanity in general, but to an individual biological, social, intellectual being, happiness and a fuller sense of life? "The Week" has selected some of the benefits given to us, each of which has at least two views (the skeptical one belongs to the historian of material culture Alexei Andreev).

Which one is more reasonable is up to the reader to decide.

1. Television

Pros - I turned it on and found out all the news, I don’t have to run to the cinemas and theaters, they will show the best. Have you forgotten the New Year? You sit all night in front of the screen and rejoice!

Cons - it “zombifies” us! And he imposes fake idols. But we don’t go to theaters - we emotionally deprive ourselves. We lie on the couch for days.

2. Car

Pros - firstly, it’s cool, everything is on foot, and you’re on wheels. No need to jostle in the subway and trolleybuses. Feeling of freedom, speed, comfort.

Cons - You waste time in traffic jams, and how many nerves are spent on traffic cops and pedestrians. Plus gas, insurance, repairs.

3. Genetically modified products

Pros - there are no worms in them, and the products always look appetizing and beautiful.

Disadvantages - no one really knows yet whether this will come back to haunt some kind of gene mutation, but they intimidate people terribly - and who enjoys being intimidated?!

4. Plastic surgery

Pros - Michael Jackson is now white, and Pamela Anderson has breasts - wow!

Disadvantages - as a rule, the matter is not limited to one operation; you have to go under the knife again to hide the traces of the previous intervention. And in general, natural things, even as they age, are still prettier than artificial ones.

5. Internet

Pros: accessibility and speed of obtaining any information, fast communication.

The opportunity to easily and simply create your own page and even earn money.

Disadvantages - yes, everyone gets in here! There are tons of mediocrities, and no editing or censorship. And often the reliability of the information is questionable.

6. Computer/online games

Pros - the opportunity to communicate with the whole world without leaving your chair.

Cons - in real life, gamers cannot even put two words together. And the games drag on so much that there is no time left for the rest of your life.

7. Nuclear energy

Pros - environmentally friendly energy, the ability to generate energy in countries and areas deprived of other energy sources.

Disadvantages - the danger of the proliferation of atomic weapons, the possibility of catastrophic accidents of the Chernobyl type.

8. Cola and other sweet sodas

Pros: delicious, refreshing, sold everywhere. And if you add Mentos to the pop, you get a lot of foam.

Disadvantages - too sweet, and makes you want to drink even more. The “next” generation has long been hooked on the fizzy product, despite the danger of chronic gastritis.

9. Mobile phone

Pros - fast and convenient communication with anyone almost anywhere in the world.

Disadvantages - a sharp increase in the number of conversations, "hoisting" calls, a decrease in the level of freedom (they can always call), hackers can track where you are by the phone signal.

Pros: ease of use, greater hygiene compared to fountain pens, low cost.

Cons - what about the art of calligraphy?! Writing is easier and faster, but it doesn’t add literacy (there’s no time to think!), but rather the opposite.

Pros: convenience and physical comfort, especially when living on the upper floors.

Cons - we deprive ourselves of the opportunity to climb on foot, at least to the lower floors, which is extremely useful. There is a danger of getting stuck for several hours.

12. Bikini swimsuits

Pros - all (almost all) the beauty of the female body is evident. And what a feeling of freedom from prejudice and relaxedness!

Cons - well, where can you hide “some kind of mystery” in a woman? Naked is often less erotic and attractive than covered. And then, another question: is this progress or just a return to a primitive state?

Paradise in a hut

Scientific and technological progress began suddenly, somewhere in the middle of the 19th century - until that time, the everyday life of mankind, even in civilized countries, was practically no different from ancient Egypt, except for the use of firearms. Just like two thousand years ago, they plowed with animals, rode in horse-drawn carriages - the same chariots, relieved themselves even in the Winter Palace in chamber pots, lit the huts with a torch and an oil lamp, and slept on straw. Then suddenly, within 50 years, they invented the steam locomotive, sewerage, running water, electricity, gas lighting, radio, airplane and automobile. Until now, historians of science and technology cannot explain this mysterious release of intellectual energy.

However, people have thought about the relationship between progress and morality before. The first prize in the French competition on the influence of progress on morality was won by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who unexpectedly answered negatively. Now, after not only Gagarin, but also Hiroshima, we would say more precisely - neither “no” nor “yes”. There is no connection, science and progress are immoral - not in a bad way, but in the literal sense of the word.

But it is much more surprising that one can answer “no” to the question of whether technological progress has improved the very material, everyday life of a person. At one time there was another competition - an English newspaper invited readers to think about what the most noticeable positive effect caused by the appearance of the car. The first place was taken by the answer - “horse theft has decreased significantly.”

It would seem that this is it, an improvement in morals! However, reading the reports of our newspaper about the theft in Moscow of not just a couple of hundred outdated Zhiguli cars, but also the eighth monstrously expensive and carefully guarded Bentley, you come to the same conclusion - no, nothing new.

But how great it would be to live in glass palaces with aluminum frames, be heated by solar energy, fly to work in individual helicopters made of ultra-light nanomaterials and not envy anyone. Alas, the “luminium” will be seized and scrapped, and the neighbor’s super-helicopter with a bar and a plasma TV will only make you want to destroy it to hell.

In Australia there is such a mountain, composed almost entirely of uranium oxide; it is thanks to this mountain that the country is one of the first in the production of nuclear fuel. Everything would be fine, but the Great Lizard, the totem animal of the Aborigines, lives in the mountain, and so that she and they do not worry, the Australian government has to transfer a pile of millions of dollars to the accounts of the tribes. In essence, all the aborigines could long ago live in five-star hotels with all-inclusive facilities, but they continue to catch and eat worms and lizards alive, live in huts, wear loincloths and drink rainwater. They were somehow not interested in scientific and technological progress. And if everything seems clear with the question of the influence of progress on morality, then the relationship between progress and happiness still remains a mystery.

Parmesan, jamon and Texas steaks - is it really impossible to live without the benefits of civilization? Can. However, representatives of some tribes in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu think differently. In the first half of the 20th century, American planes began to fly to the islands of Melanesia, bringing wonderful cargo - cargo, the locals began to worship them. And they keep doing it

John Frum, a mythical black American soldier during World War II, became a messiah for the inhabitants of the island of Tanna (Vanuatu). He allegedly ordered the elders to return to the traditions of their ancestors, promising that in this case all the cargo of Western civilization would go to the islanders. When leaving Vanuatu, John promised to return. The date of his departure is considered to be February 15. On this day, the John Frum Festival is held annually, the largest holiday of believers in the great American, who will give the islanders wealth and prosperity.

Wooden helicopters and airplanes, leftover from the days of widespread cargo cults in Papua New Guinea, symbolize power. When an important guest arrives, local “airplane worshipers” try to seat him in such a structure and carry him through the entire city or village

On February 15, John's admirers paint the letters USA on their chests and backs with oil paint, because all the riches of the world are located in the USA

Traditional dance in honor of John Frum is an important part of the holiday

Festival participants carve guns, chainsaws, and air traffic controller headphones from wood. Armed with these props, they perform dance movements that imitate the actions of the “Americans.”

During the festival, residents of Tanna Island arm themselves with bamboo guns - symbols of the power of the United States of America.

Every day at seven in the morning, the American flag rises over the village of Lamakara on the island of Tanna. This ceremony is a magical way of attracting the benefits of Western civilization, including jeans, Coca-Cola, canned food and other material values.

Believers in the coming of John honor Friday. Every week, during the night ceremony, they sing ritual songs to country music: they praise Frum and his “apostles” - cowboys Johnson, Chael, Jimmy and Jerry. After DVD players and discs with films about cowboys arrived on the island, the locals immediately signed them up as friends of the Messiah

Despite the fact that cargo cults have almost disappeared in Papua New Guinea, in some regions of the country marches with wooden weapons are still held and the practice of making airplanes and helicopters from scrap materials is practiced. In the city of Kundiawa you can also see women marching with fake guns

On February 15, John Frum Day, cult leaders wear American military uniforms given to them by visitors from the United States several years ago. “We know the day John will return, but we don’t know the exact year of his coming, so we must always be ready,” says 80-year-old Isaac Wang (pictured center), a Lamakara village elder and head of a cargo cult.

Residents of the village of Jaohnanen on the island of Tanna profess a special cargo cult: they believe that Queen Elizabeth II's husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, is the embodiment of an ancient spirit. According to legend, one day Philip left the island of Tanna and went to the distant land of the white people to marry a powerful woman. According to legend, after the queen's death he must return to Tanna along with all the wealth of the British crown.

Children from the village of Imale (Tanna) play with model airplanes. Their grandfathers built runways and wooden control towers to attract iron birds from cargo. Who doesn't dream of happiness falling from the sky?

Melanesia: Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea

Photos: Vlad Sokhin

Judging by the answers, many can say in part that they do not enjoy all the benefits of civilization, which have become superfluous, from the point of view of the wording of the question. For example, a microwave oven (oven). Tell me that everyone, without exception, uses this kitchen appliance? Of course not. Here I am, living without this stove and nothing, coping with my life’s needs. Or, for example, a car. Gentlemen, with such traffic jams you can run faster with your legs than you can ride your “iron horse” to point B, isn’t it?

My old people are not too fond of the Internet, or rather, the computer and the Internet, including, well, they don’t know how to adapt to these innovations of our time. Tell me, is life boring? Again, no. They feel normal and don’t complain to everyone about the fact that the provider provides a slow connection, which is why interesting sites can barely open. They take care of their nerves, in short, they don’t freak out over trifles like the younger generation. But it’s hard to imagine yourself without a phone, and even on a desert island I’d like it to be the first thing washed up on the shore - a phone with a full charge and a balance of about 3,000 rubles, enough for all calls to all parts of the world.. .

I probably agree with the answer - TV, because although it works non-stop, no one has really watched or listened to it for a long time, so it’s a background screensaver, in a word. And without electricity - this is another answer, it’s really hard to imagine yourself, because everyone has long forgotten about splinters, and hardly anyone will be able to strike a fire with sticks in the absence of electric fireplaces.