For millennia, forward-leaning people have been reasoning about how the future will unfold. The below four-quadrant matrix is one way to frame our potential path forward as a society:
Solarpunk represents an optimistic future where individuals live in sustainable balance with nature thanks to technology.
Cottagecore is a future that rejects modernity for a low-tech and idealized rural life.
Cyberpunk is a high-tech, low-life world that prioritizes urban growth over environmental conservation.
A post-apocalyptic future is a scenario where civilization has partially or completely collapsed.
Barring some cataclysmic event, I believe we’re at a societal crossroad between Cyberpunk and Solarpunk. If we want to leave an inspiring legacy for our children, we should adopt a Solarpunk vision of the future that embodies the best of what humanity can achieve: a post-scarcity world where humanity believes in technological progress and sees itself as part of nature and clean energy.
The Cyberpunk future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed. Chinese cities like Shanghai (home to 26 million citizens) have installed futuristic yet dystopian surveillance systems which leverage facial recognition technology, mass data collection, and artificial intelligence.¹
The Chinese Communist Party says its surveillance is crucial to combat crime and COVID, but many human rights activists say that the surveillance state infringes on privacy and freedom.
In the US, a burnt-orange San Francisco skyline could be indicative of things to come if we continue to see destructive wildfires, which many say are being exacerbated by climate change and our consumption-based economy.²
From a pessimistic vantage point, things look grim in 2022. We’re currently facing many problems: a pandemic, a geopolitical crisis, a pending economic crisis from inflation, and a deteriorating environmental situation.
Despite the many reasons to be cynical, we need hopeful and practical solutions.
Solarpunk provides a valuable new perspective, a paradigm, and a vocabulary to help us achieve an inspiring future within our lifetimes. Cyberpunk is a troubled and pessimistic sibling of Solarpunk.
But what does an inspiring future look like, and how can we get there? Art is something we can reference when envisioning what’s possible.
To achieve this brighter future, we should first recognize the power of art and imagination in shaping our collective destiny. We underestimate how important inspiring art is in determining the future - many mechanical engineers say that seeing Iron Man’s suit in a movie helped them understand their calling in robotics.³
The below video captures the essence of a Solarpunk future:
Adaptation and harmony between technology, nature, and humans is the ultimate goal of the Solarpunk vision.
The “punk” in Solarpunk is about rebellion, counterculture, post-scarcity, and enthusiasm. It is about going in a different direction than the mainstream, which is increasingly going in a dark direction.
Solarpunk strikes the right balance between humans, technology, and nature.
Solarpunk is a more appealing vision because it restores the optimism that many people have lost.
Solarpunk is set in an achievable future built according to principles of New Urbanism or New Pedestrianism and environmental sustainability.
Solarpunk recognizes science fiction as not just entertainment but as a form of a realistic path forward.
Solarpunk is about finding ways to make life more wonderful for us right now, and also for the generations that follow us.
Solarpunk has room for spirituality and science to coexist.
Solarpunk emphasizes harmony between innovation and environmental sustainability.
The below piece was created by an artist named Sparth and is one of my personal favorites. In the image, he depicts the future as positive and colorful.⁴
In conclusion, we should embrace the Solarpunk aesthetic and underlying principles to work towards a world where innovation and environmental stewardship coexist. As we stand at the crossroads between Cyberpunk and Solarpunk, it is crucial that we choose a path that fosters environmental sustainability, social equity, and technological innovation that’s in harmony with the natural world.
The Solarpunk future is not only possible but also achievable. If we strive for a world where the human spirit flourishes alongside nature and technology, we will leave behind an inspiring legacy for generations to come.
Footnotes
² Kelsey Rexroat, “The day the San Francisco Sky turned orange”, 2021
³ “Mechanical Engineer Creates Uncannily Realistic Iron Man Costume”, 2020