Solarpunk

If you think of solarpunk as a future utopia that could (or could have) existed, that sounds about right.

If you think of it as attitudes/ways of life people can and do hold and act on, right now and whenever, whether we are pre-, post-, or during apocalypse, then its heft becomes clearer. For me the centers are the centering of and working cooperatively with life (including us human beans), the kind of social awareness and care that tends to go along with that, and appropriate tech (generally seeking/preferencing simplest thing that could work, most local, understandable & repairable. but not to the point of shooting ourselves in the foot).

This video does a great job explaining the practical usefulness of the 'Collective dreaming' that Solarpunk provides. In short, it gives us a collective goal to aim toward, which then prompts us to figure out what the best way of achieving that goal is with the tools at hand.

In that way, I would put forward that Solarpunk provides a useful framework to address the issues we face today. At its core it encourages decentralized grassroots community building to address problems (the 'punk' part), which is generally more effective than spinning our collective wheels trying to reform political machinery that is fully corporate captured, and I would consider a form of prefiguration.

And the 'Solar' part encourages adopting practical and ecological technology to address the issue of our planet becoming uninhabitable from our current political and economic models; adopting renewable energy (which often scales down really well, helping out the decentralized part), viewing a healthy ecology as essential infrastructure to a prosperous existence, stopping consumerism with Degrowth, etc.

In practice, Solarpunk basically lets us collectively see a plausible outcome if we embraced Eco-Anarchism (basically combining what Catalonia was able to achieve in the 30's, along with a distinct focus on restoring our planet's ecosystems).

That it isn't some impractical sci-fi concept needing yet to be invented tech, but instead an achievable goal even with our existing technology, is a very encouraging and motivating concept, IMO.

@Nacktmull @poVoq - "just". Solarpunk absolutely is a coping strategy.

That's the whole point.

It's a way to cope with this bullshit and get through it.

- cope /kōp/ (intransitive verb)
To contend with difficulties and act to overcome them

How would (or how do) *you* deal with a terrible world?

I very specifically:
- Imagine what a better world could be.
- Describe and discuss with others what a better world could and should be. Giving my ideas and hearing their's. Disagreeing with methods but agreeing on the overall goal to fight and strive for that better world
- Actively work towards that better world
- Comfort and support those who are working towards that better world
- Comfort and support those who are hurt by the current world
- Receive comfort and support from others so I can get through this current world

You're damned right it's a coping strategy.

What is there to do besides cope?
- Despair
- Give up and be destroyed
- Join the oppressors with a hope to not be destroyed and still be destroyed

Or... as you seem to be doing...

Lash out, not at the oppressors, but at those holding on to hope and those who are fighting the oppressors?

That is a thing you can do, certainly. And I bet it feels cathartic - spreading your disappointment and fear onto those who would have hope and find ways to quell their fear.

Please stop.

We are finding ways to cope. Dealing with the actual bad is bad enough. Dealing with folks like you who get in the way and bring others down makes it incredibly more difficult.

"just" a coping strategy.

I see it as a counter to capitalist realism. It's a world that could have been if the 20th century had been spent building for the future, proof that a better world is possible not just morally but in terms of the personal prosperity and happiness of literally everyone.

It's fuel for rage at our lost potential. But it's also a call for us to be the change we want to see. Even if we can't manage a solarpunk future in the next century or two amidst all the climate catastrophes, we can help the millions or perhaps billions of people that make it through get as close as we can get them.

For some? 🤷 And you seem to imply that this would be bad?