What is the thinking behind Solarpunk?

An oft-quoted piece on Solarpunk [and often referred to on these pages…] is that solarpunk is not about pretty aesthetics. it’s about the end of capitalism. And yet the author of that quote and the piece itself came to very much regret it later. 

Even those who have previously manned the barricades feel that ‘getting political’ doesn’t necessarily help:

So in my view the best leverage point is not politics, but technology. Things like DAOs, microfab, AI models, and of course solar power will enable the actual movement of the means of production to communities in a decentralized way, and give them access to markets, bazaars.

Selling yoghurt with Solarpunk, then, might not actually be a sell-out to the capitalist beast. And in fact, we can now say that an animated ad helped define a genre aesthetic:

Chobani’s SolarPunk Future: A Yogurt Ad by Studio Ghibli? – YouTube

Fundamentally, Solarpunk is not about being for or against a particular ideology.

The original article criticising Solarpunk for being about ‘aesthetics’ also quotes the radical philosopher Slavoj Zizek thus: “It is easier to imagine an end to the world than an end to capitalism.”. And yet Zizek is no cynic.

Instead, we can see Solarpunk as radical optimism – rather than most of the thinking and visions on offer today:

Zizek argues that the predominant ideology of today is not a vision of a utopian future, but a ‘cynical resignation’, the prevailing sense that any attempt at improving society will result in totalitarian dystopia. Any improvement or change in the way that we live will bring disaster and unforeseen consequences, we are told. Solarpunk takes the shocking, ambitious stance to suggest that… perhaps we could create a better world? 

This piece ends thus:

Solarpunk is much more than a style or aesthetic. It is a movement that embodies the hope and possibility of a better future. By blending visionary thinking with practical action, solarpunk offers a roadmap for a sustainable and equitable world. It is an ideology that is both punk and hopeful, challenging us to think differently about the world and our place in it. As we confront the challenges of the 21st century, solarpunk offers a compelling vision of what’s possible if we dare to be optimistic.

And to finish, there’s a useful overview, interlinking Solar Punk with other theory [AI generated!] – which points to the need for both the visionary and the practical.

That is: ‘radical optimism’!

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