A lot of Solarpunk focuses on imagining the future solar utopia, and neglects the DIY punk action required to build it.
With that in mind, how do we fight technocapital?
What punk things have you done IRL?
Remember: The NSA stores everything! Never post anything that would incriminate yourself over clearnet.
I once helped some hippie friends of friends plant garlic. It was really fun, but it felt like relatively well off people larping more then something that could actually help the system of the world.
Which do you think is better, to become a homesteader, or a technologist at a large research lab working on more efficient automation? Probably going into political theory is the way to make the biggest difference, but doesn't it just feel slimy and futile? Also seems like the polititions work with the world built by technologists and folk. Like maybe nice human rights are a result of efficient means of producing food and housing, more then some legal documents.
I'd like to hear peoples stories of comfy hippie activities though, even if they don't really make sense as a path to a better world.
>>17
> Probably going into political theory is the way to make the biggest difference, but doesn't it just feel slimy and futile?
As someone with a degree in political theory & working in the field, let me tell you it makes no difference.
The people with actual power don't care, and the masses continue to believe what the (corporate funded) media tell them.
If we want to improve the world, I believe we should start at the local level where we can actually make a difference (however small).
Keep informed of the big picture and if you see a chance to make a big difference definitely take it, but don't waste all your energy on the big stuff you can't control and neglect the smaller stuff you actually can change.
Forgot pic
>>27
> people with actual power don't care
Wouldn't it make sense to try and become someone with actual power and care? That seems to be what Elon Musk is doing, if you believe he cares about anything or not, I certainly see more electric cars on the road because of him.
>>29
>Wouldn't it make sense to try and become someone with actual power and care?
Sure, if you inherit an emerald mine you should use that wealth for good.
The rest of us should focus our efforts where they're most likely to be successful, rather than burning out chasing an impossible dream.
>>33
Mmm, I see what you mean. Perhaps a better sentiment would be to become "some people" with power, rather than "some person" with power. I dont think limiting your search for allies to just where you live makes sense. However paying attention to where you live is surely some kind of solarpunk virtue.
>>4
> how do we fight technocapital?
One angle is to disconnect from the matrix.
Use uBlock Origin, put LineageOS on your phone, try to avoid using proprietary services, feed Google and Facebook fake info to confuse their algorithms.
There's a great list of alternative services at Prism Break.
Obviously this is insufficient and we still need to organize as communities, but it goes a little way towards undermining the control the hierarchy has over our lives.
Become ungovernable
>>114
> we still need to organize as communities
What does this look like?
I've seen several groups that talk about "organizing" but in practice it's just the same 5 people going to meetings and putting out "statements" nobody reads.
Has anyone had any success changing people's minds and getting them unplugged from the propaganda mainline?
>>173
> Has anyone had any success changing people's minds and getting them unplugged from the propaganda mainline?
I don't know any magic bullet, but I think I have had an influence on those around me. Keep talking to friends, loved ones, relatives and neighbors, and eventually you'll have some influence.
You can't push a message all the time else they'll just think you're boring and weird, you have to maintain a genuine relationship and occasionally mention the politics/history/philosophy.
>>29
>>27
> Wouldn't it make sense to try and become someone with actual power and care? That seems to be what Elon Musk is doing, if you believe he cares about anything or not, I certainly see more electric cars on the road because of him.
Fighting a system by becoming part of it doesn't seem very effective. I thought about doing this at one point but realized that trying to gain power and wealth in this system that is antithetical to solarpunk ideals will necessarily be self-defeating and either lead to the abandonment of these ideals, or lead to a green coat of paint over the current system without any genuine change. That's at least what those in power adopting the aesthetic are trying to do anyways: greenwash cities by adding random trees. This system will defang movements that hope to step outside of it and then absorb the trivialized remains of movements against it, if given the chance through institutionalization.
I'm not sure what the solution is, but I have a good idea of what we want it to look like. This is a new movement so we're still figuring out a lot of this stuff. As we figure out our vision more and clarify it we can spread it through culture and hopefully one day subvert the system. I know that guerilla gardening and other methods of showing people the value of solarpunk so they can adopt it (instead of making it a politicized issue for people to contest) will be stepping stones in the process. It's an up-hill battle, much like right to repair, much like the civil rights movement. But like them, people will realize the value of these ideas with time and the best we can do is figure out what those ideas are, how to spread them effectively, and how to get people to see why they're worth having. It's like being a libertarian in a fascist regime, you're gonna face a lot of pushback from people who have been misled and who benefit from things being as they are, but you'll win given enough time and momentum.
Later this year I'm giving the surplus of my food garden away to the community for free, making some community repair spaces too. The hope is people will realize not everything has to be about money, that not everything has to be so replacable, the joy of customization and repair, and the abundance of food on God's green earth.
>>34
> Mmm, I see what you mean. Perhaps a better sentiment would be to become "some people" with power, rather than "some person" with power. I dont think limiting your search for allies to just where you live makes sense. However paying attention to where you live is surely some kind of solarpunk virtue.
Building networks and connections is tricky. We're essentially bulding parallel societies from scratch. That takes time, people, resources, and lots of effort to get off the ground. Once it's in the air though, it gains momentum on its own. This atomized world we live in has made us forget how to mostly, but we're well on our way to getting there. Solarchan and the growing number of people in solarpunk is a strong indicator we're headed in that direction as a grass-roots (heh) movement.
I wish you the best in fostering some networks of your own treenonymous!
>how do we fight technocapital?
We do it the way guerrillas and terrorists do it but minus the violence part. Mao talks about establishing base areas and liberated zones, ideally in places the oppressor forces can't easily penetrate like the jungle or mountains.
We need to create underground communities and areas in places the authorities don't think to look. There we can build an alternative society where people no longer have to depend on the system to survive. Then we expand these communities by pursuing a strategy of weakening the infrastructure of technocapital. We expand like a self-replicating virus or mushroom spoors, infecting other outcast regions. We eat away at technocapital until its so weak it dies off.
>>203
> We do it the way guerrillas and terrorists do it but minus the violence part.
This is pretty interesting, how applicable do you think the writings of eg. Mau or Guevarra are to the 21st century? Do you think they can work without the violence?
I agree about creating our own small spaces and networks outside "the system" - not only do they have the potential to grow but it also feels like the only scale where we can make a real impact.
Does anyone have any specific ideas for these "outside" spaces? Is a network of friends enough, or should we have organized structures and committees? Once we have a "space", how do we grow it and begin to degrade technocapital?