I don’t know where else to put this. I’m sorry if it’s in the wrong place and will move it if it’s not appropriate here.

Every time I read anything from so-called solarpunks, it reads like slightly left of centre ravings of doomsday preppers. They seem to love many of the same fascist talking points. For example, individualism self-sufficiency , which sounds a lot like the frontier cowboy fantasies of right-wing nutters. They promote what essentially is subsistence farming, which is a terrible way to live. There’s a reason this kind of shit leads to famine in developing countries. An almost enthusiastic fantasy surrounding primitism and the loss of technology. There are so many issues, I could go on. Unless I’m missing something (possible) I don’t see much appealing about solarpunk because it seems to have a delusional nostalgia for the “good old days”, much in the way conservativism does.

Is it really as crackpot as it sounds? If not, what am I missing?

  • Solarpunk is still very communitarian with a healthy dash of anarchism. The focus is on sustainability and using technology to support both human and ecological flourishing rather than that of metahuman entities like businesses, states, or organizations.

    What you see as “doomsday pepper shit” and “subsistence farming” is radical anticonsumerism. People wanting to support themselves and each other rather than make money and buy products.

    Solarpunks aren’t luddites or antisocial, quite the opposite. That’s what you see to be missing.

    • Ok but you do see the problem with subsistence farming, no? Because at the end of the day, that’s what it is. If there is no movement of food to where it’s needed, and communities are insular, one bad harvest and people starve to death. You say you aren’t anti-technology, but what I’m seeing is anti-tech.

      • Yes, I see the problem with subsistence farming. Again, that’s not the goal. Tech-assisted, ecologically sustainable farming is.

        Green cities, too, of course, but your objections seems to stem from misidentifing solarpunk as being about being some kind of off-grid individualists living off the land, which it is just not.

          • I’m not entirely sold on the whole solarpunk thing, either, but I got more of an “increase your self-sufficiency, reduce your gratuitous consumption” vibe. Solar panels, high-efficiency lighting/energy usage, self-hosted computing, low-power computing. These kinds of things can add resiliency, not reduce it, especially if you live in a place with unreliable regional services such as statewide blackout/brownouts.

            • And there are communal aspects as well. I’ve seen tool libraries brought up, where a community can get access to a higher quality set of tools than they would as individuals. There are other discussions on defining third places that aren’t driven by commercial interests.

  • The meaning and ideas of solarpunk are still evolving, but the main themes are freedom, community, ecology and pragmatism. I won’t go over the anarchic organisation of communities since I think you mistook the pragmatism for primitivism.

    Solarpunk is not about primitivism and a return to a low-technological era, and neither is it a high tech cyberpunk spinoff, as some others think. Solarpunk is about using practical solutions that are also ethical and egolocially friendly. This often means not throwing stuff away, but fixing what can be fixed and reusing what can be reused, because mass production and consumerism is seen as a damaging force. So instead of trying to make up new tech and produce new things, solarpunk would ask you to first consider whether you can do something already with what you have, which means that a DIY approach is encouraged. However, if new technology can improve our lives without damaging everything else, it’s acceptable.

    And it is the complete opposite of thinking about the “good old days”, as solarpunk is looking only towards the future. The ‘punk’ in the name means that when you look at all the doom and gloom in the future (capitalism, wars, global warming) you don’t fall into despair, but instead try to play your part in your community to fight it and promote a lifestyle of mutual aid and a respect for nature, with whatever level of technology can give you the best results.

    That was my attempt at a short presentation. We have a wiki and a manifesto if anyone is interested

      • It sounds like it. To me it’s really a wholesome combination of tech and nature. Like imagine growing up with all the benefits of tech but in a peaceful natural environment. That could be a farm but I don’t see that it has to be.

        • I can’t think of much I’d rather not do than live on a farm. I’m from the Midwest (Indiana) and it is a backwards, intolerant place full of backwards, intolerant people. They have tech and they still suck. I also hate gardening so that’s also in my bottom 10. The ideals of solarpunk sound nice, but I don’t know how well that would play out in reality. I probably wouldn’t like it.

          • Oh I know what that’s like, it sucks. And I used to dislike nature too, so I get that.

            Sure good question how that would play out. We can also wonder that about the culture we live in right now.

            What kind of society would you like? I wonder what you think of art deco such as the Chrysler building.

  • An almost enthusiastic fantasy surrounding primitism and the loss of technology.

    I would disagree with that statement. Solarpunk people aren’t Amish.

    Technology is ever present, but the idea is to use technology to limit its impact on nature and live more in harmony with it. For instance, a house designed to require very little heating and cooling isn’t less technologically advanced as one that needs tons of HVAC.

    And some solarpunk ideas of building resiliency aren’t crazy ideas but are based on sound engineering design principles.