Digital colonialism, ecological crisis and the limits of techno-primitivism

Abstract

This article examines the intertwined dynamics of ecological crisis, digitalisation, and techno-primitivism through a genealogical and syncretic lens. It argues that the global ecological crisis is rooted not in a generalised “human impact,” but in the historical processes of colonialism and capitalist extractivism that have systematically depleted the Global South while concentrating power and privilege in the Global North. As digital infrastructures expand, new forms of extractivism – especially data colonialism and digital colonialism – have intensified these global inequalities and externalised environmental harms. The paper critically assesses techno-primitivism as a reaction to technological alienation, highlighting its risk of reproducing colonial logics of othering by framing “primitive” or non-Western lifeways as static alternatives. Instead of technocratic or primitivist solutions, the study advocates for a transformative response based on decolonisation and relationality. Drawing on Indigenous, African, and plural philosophical traditions, it proposes centring the knowledge, rights, and agency of those most affected by ecological and digital injustices. The article contends that only by dismantling extractivist, dualistic, and colonial paradigms and fostering reciprocal, relational approaches can more just, sustainable, and inclusive futures be achieved in both ecological and digital domains.