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?
Yes, I’m picking up that “rugged individualist” energy. I did admit, I could be wrong. I guess I’m just looking for some sort of assurance that isn’t the case.
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.