https://infosec.exchange/@tinker/113908272119868814
'So solarpunk is an artistic aesthetic, literary genre, and social activism.
The artistic aesthetic tends to focus on the elements of solarpunk (discussed
later) in an uplifting, colorful, and hopeful presentation. While it has no set
limitations, popular aesthetics are art nouveau and studio ghibli styles.
The literary genre is "protopia" in style. It shows a pragmatic utopia while
addressing present day social concerns. Some of it shows the ideal within a
hopepunk and/or cozycore plot. Others have higher conflict and show the current
social concerns being addressed and remediated.
The social activism side seeks to bring about that protopia world in the
present day. The focus is to bring about a post-scarcity world where everyone
has the basics of life covered while emphasizing increasing time for rest,
luxury, the arts, culture, and community.
While these themes are covered in other movements (many of which are not
opposed and work well with solarpunk), the solarpunks themselves seek to use
modern day (and near future) technology to assist in this post-scarcity world.
Technologies such as automation, renewable energies, and economies of scale -
currently utilized by various ruling classes - to instead be used by the
working class. Further efforts are made within degrowth (removing technology
for technologies sake, and consumption for consumption's sake).
While not solely limited to anarchic politics, many of the approaches are
non-hierarchical in nature and when they are hierarchical, they often focus on
local political structures, decentralized, and distributed, with cooperation
between various local groups for a national and inter-national co-op structure.
Long and short, solarpunks were tired of being warned of the present dystopia
of cyberpunk without solutions to overcome that dystopia. They yearned for
positive stories and art that showed a direction to pursue. And they wanted to
act in the now to bring about that change.
Solarpunk is not the only movement towards protopia and progressive social
change. And it should not be the only movement. But it adds its take on how to
approach remediating current social and environmental and material crises.'
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
