Responding here bc HN thread rules > So - what fraction of people do you claim would prefer to live withdrawn from civilization? I think there are a fair numb

Responding here bc HN thread rules > So - what fraction of people do you claim would prefer to live withdrawn from civilization? I think there are a fair number of people that would be happy to start a new civilization (using civilization loosely here - a commune, whatever). Once this gets big enough, it's shut down by the government, particularly if members don't operate within US law. There are plenty of things that you'd want to do to survive (clearing trees to farm, etc) that are illegal and would eventually land you in prison, even if you can get away with it for a month at a time. You're taking a very tight definition of being alone in nature, but there are other options that are not available to you including starting your own social order that are preferable to anyone who can't afford food and shelter. This is probably getting too complicated to discuss over a text-based forum, and we also seem to be reiterating about 400 years of philosophy.