Solarpunk - The future of humanity?

[OmniNaut]

Me - interested in creating a better future for humanity. Probably being exposed as a kid to Star Trek TNG created a more optimistic view of the future, although sometimes really hard to hang on to an optimistic outcome of this experiment that we call humanity.

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Leo is doing a good job exposing falsehood of humanity in his blog and the forum, the forum can have a more pessimistic bubble set by the constant negative (although true) contents of Leo's contribution, which feeds the negative sentiment that can linger here sometimes.
Exposing falsehood doesn't mean that there is no room of setting a more positive outlook and emphasizing the Truth that is already in this world.
Yes, human psychology is more attracted in nature to negativity, but we also need hope.

I think it's really important to balance open truthful mindset with hope. 
Somehow within culture now is the notion that being hopeful is being naïve, that notion has to DIE. You can be hopeful and still see what is going on in this world.
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One of the things I was attracted to is a new wave towards Solarpunk

 

Not to be surprised this has a SD Green vibe, which comes to no surprise to no one that this is the tone that arises.
 

And because of it's SD Green nature it neglects to be totally inclusive, and does not cater to integrating all SD level (Purple and up) Purple as it comes to family not Tribal.

“Solarpunk that only rejects capitalism risks falling into moralism. True Solarpunk transcends capitalism by integrating its strengths while designing systems that correct its failures.”

SD Green solutions work fine small scale but lack the realism of upscaling to large scales of cities and countries.

So I want to start this topic as a discussion about, what it really takes to create large scale optimistic but realistic new approach to build a human society.

Will it be something like Auroville? Also that lacks the realism of large scale integration.
Will it be Singapore, with its high integration of advanced Urban Planning.
Will it be more (Northern) European countries, with more socialistic-capitalistic approach.

Edited 8 hours ago by OmniNaut

[Bjorn K Holmstrom]

To realize Solarpunk at large scale, we need to build the governance hardware and economic software to run it. These solutions must provide complete pathways from where we are to where we want to go. It also needs to reach critical mass in the hearts and minds of the people as an actual possibility we can realize together.

Edited 8 hours ago by Bjorn K Holmstrom

[Sandroew]

I LOVE Solarpunk. Also i kind of forgot about the first lady's youtube channel. She has excelent videos. Thanks for posting.

[OmniNaut]

4 hours ago, Bjorn K Holmstrom said:

To realize Solarpunk at large scale, we need to build the governance hardware and economic software to run it. These solutions must provide complete pathways from where we are to where we want to go. It also needs to reach critical mass in the hearts and minds of the people as an actual possibility we can realize together.

I agree, a contender for this will be AI. But it all depends in how truthful it will be implemented, by the tech companies and governments. Can we trust them with this?

Also there will be limitations in what AI can do. It's not a miracle but a tool. A tool in the proper hands with a truthful mindset can do wonderful things.

 

2 hours ago, Sandroew said:

I LOVE Solarpunk. Also i kind of forgot about the first lady's youtube channel. She has excelent videos. Thanks for posting.

👍🏻

[Basman]

The problem with these stage green idealists is that they seem to kind of ignore cause and effect. Why would it follow that the future is inherently anti-capitalist and a communal pseudo-anarchy at the same time? There has to be a cause resulting in said vision. Certain things are not possible due to the limits of human nature and survival either.

Like, I don't see humans dividing into smaller and more independent settlements for any reason if it's not caused by some kind of effect. Like maybe you'll see fairly technological/self-sufficient settlements temporarily crop up during the colonization of an alien planet. By the way, that doesn't follow that these settlements are necessarily going to be more peaceful than what we have today, especially if these settlements individually are more resource poor (IE. cause for conflict).

It's also not possible to abolish capitalism since trade is part of human nature. You would only really see that diminish through some kind of post-scarcity inducing technology diminishing the need for trade as a whole. Again, there has to be a cause to get the effect.

Pure idealism ends up just being a bunch of fantasies if your not careful, or a projection of a far flung future where technology has rendered today's survival challenges obsolete. Like for example environmentalism. We currently can't survive without pollution. Notice how these green ideals cannot be generally realized until we reached a certain point technologically and socially. It's not a practical way of thinking to fantasize about a future where our problems have already been solved somehow.

[OmniNaut]

1 hour ago, Basman said:

The problem with these stage green idealists is that they seem to kind of ignore cause and effect. Why would it follow that the future is inherently anti-capitalist and a communal pseudo-anarchy at the same time? There has to be a cause resulting in said vision. Certain things are not possible due to the limits of human nature and survival either.

Like, I don't see humans dividing into smaller and more independent settlements for any reason if it's not caused by some kind of effect. Like maybe you'll see fairly technological/self-sufficient settlements temporarily crop up during the colonization of an alien planet. By the way, that doesn't follow that these settlements are necessarily going to be more peaceful than what we have today, especially if these settlements individually are more resource poor (IE. cause for conflict).

It's also not possible to abolish capitalism since trade is part of human nature. You would only really see that diminish through some kind of post-scarcity inducing technology diminishing the need for trade as a whole. Again, there has to be a cause to get the effect.

Pure idealism ends up just being a bunch of fantasies if your not careful, or a projection of a far flung future where technology has rendered today's survival challenges obsolete. Like for example environmentalism. We currently can't survive without pollution. Notice how these green ideals cannot be generally realized until we reached a certain point technologically and socially. It's not a practical way of thinking to fantasize about a future where our problems have already been solved somehow.

Yup, I agree.

So the question is there a way to take the Solarpunk optimism but make it more integrated with real life? Solarpunk 2.0? Or is Solarpunk to flawed already? 
Can we create a more integrated, optimistic and large scale -Punk model?

Dystopia is not our only outcome, although it's quite easy to fall in that trap. 
If you expose people to a positive future it will be worth fighting for.

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Lets put it like this. If you have children or nephews/nieces. Do you want them to grow up thinking life is going down and humanity is doomed or expose them to a positive outcome?

[Bjorn K Holmstrom]

2 hours ago, Basman said:

The problem with these stage green idealists is that they seem to kind of ignore cause and effect. Why would it follow that the future is inherently anti-capitalist and a communal pseudo-anarchy at the same time? There has to be a cause resulting in said vision. Certain things are not possible due to the limits of human nature and survival either.

Like, I don't see humans dividing into smaller and more independent settlements for any reason if it's not caused by some kind of effect. Like maybe you'll see fairly technological/self-sufficient settlements temporarily crop up during the colonization of an alien planet. By the way, that doesn't follow that these settlements are necessarily going to be more peaceful than what we have today, especially if these settlements individually are more resource poor (IE. cause for conflict).

It's also not possible to abolish capitalism since trade is part of human nature. You would only really see that diminish through some kind of post-scarcity inducing technology diminishing the need for trade as a whole. Again, there has to be a cause to get the effect.

Pure idealism ends up just being a bunch of fantasies if your not careful, or a projection of a far flung future where technology has rendered today's survival challenges obsolete. Like for example environmentalism. We currently can't survive without pollution. Notice how these green ideals cannot be generally realized until we reached a certain point technologically and socially. It's not a practical way of thinking to fantasize about a future where our problems have already been solved somehow.

I agree with you Basman, there definitely has to be sufficient cause and effect. And there might be. In my view, the current possible causes for decentralization is fragility and inefficiency. One might think our hyper-optimized stage Orange global system is efficient, but it is primarily efficient at extraction. I see the decisions of the 'market' as both too centralized and hierarchical. There is still enormous overproduction and waste. They also seem destined to break under polycrisis stresses such as war and climate change. When supply chains break, the people eating will be the ones with a local food system. Note that decentralization doesn't necessary mean isolation, there can still be coordinating bioregional networks.

@OmniNaut. Yes, if SolarPunk 1.0 was stage Green aesthetic version, SolarPunk 2.0 is the stage Yellow architectural version.
Instead of abolishing trade, it can make the market value regeneration and care instead of only extraction. Instead of anti-capitalist, it is post-capitalist.

Edited 21 minutes ago by Bjorn K Holmstrom