That Ursula K. Le Guin Quote (Or Why Hope is Indeed Radical)
Eh, here I am going again, venting about this, because I am annoyed with the folks under the tag at the moment. But let's go over it once more. Because I really, really, REALLY need y'all to understand that. I know I already posted the quote last week. But I will post it again.
You remember it. That one Ursula K. Le Guin quote. The big one.
We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.
- Ursula K. Le Guin
Because the thing that gets me so much with the "Solarpunk needs to be gritty to be taken serious" folks and the like is that they do not understand this and refuse to understand this.
Capitalists are massively invested in not allowing us to imagine a world without it. Because in the moment people understand that a world without capitalism might be possible, they would start fighting for it. So a lot of effort is put into convincing everyone that a world without capitalism would not be possible, or would be massively worse. That energy is being put at making sure that you think that either it is impossible to defeat capitalism, or that without capitalism things would be really bad.
This is also why you likely have been taught some variant of the "linear progress" myth. Which then is also the reason why you probably have been taught that historically speaking queer people were always worse off than today, or that even if you are treated badly by your boss, hey, at least you are not a medieval peasant, right?
It is also part of the reason why you will not have gotten any education on anthropology, when you were at school, and if you know anything on this topic, you have learned it on your own - or because you chose an associated major at university.
Because Ursula K. Le Guin is right. Monarchy became a target of uprisings in the moment in which people started to believe that a world without it could be possible - and could be better.
That is the whole reason why I have such a big issue with how people cannot imagine a Solarpunk world without there being some big ass conspiracy that proofs that actually that world is not good after all. It is also why I have so much of an issue with people saying that any Solarpunk world without that dark secret cannot be taken serious and is unrealistic. Because all those ideas - that the world cannot be good - are part of the problem.
And I know, given that I already bring up Le Guin, that people will inevitably also reference "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas". For those who are not familiar with Le Guin's work: "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" is a short story about an utopian society in which everyone is having their best lives. When people come of age they will be told about the price of that utopia, though: there is a single child who is being kept in filth and misery. This misery is the price of the utopia that is Omelas.
However... those who reference the story kinda miss the point of that story. That story as about utilitarianism - not about the possibility of Utopia.
The other thing that people really need to remember is: even utopia will have unhappy people. Getting rid of capitalism, of nation states, of hierarchies, and all of that will still not create a scenario in which everyone is happy. Living sustainably will allow us to remain on this planet. Making sure everyone is fed, housed, clothed, educated and part of a community will indeed lower health issues - both physical and mental health related.
But some people will still be unhappy. And some people will still argue. And sometimes people will also be violent. And either way transitioning to that will likely require violence of some degree.
But that does not mean that we never should try. That does not mean a world without capitalism is not possible. And you really, really, REALLY need to learn to imagine a world without capitalism. Because if you do not imagine, you will be quite literally unable to even get anywhere there.