The politics of solarpunk societies (1)
An outline of the political systems that could be implemented in a solarpunk world.
As described in previous articles, the solarpunk movement tries to reimagine a better -yet realistically achievable- world for everyone and the planet regarding social, ecological, and economic sustainability. One key aspect of its success is running a better political system than the one currently used.
The solarpunk political movement is, however, somewhat undefined. Nonetheless, its diverse interpretations share the same core values: anti-capitalist, ecological, social, and egalitarian. This article imagines what such a world could look like in terms of politics.
The problem
Before we go deep into it, it is necessary to briefly argue why anti-capitalism is one of the core values of a solarpunk society. Capitalism is the main driving force of climate chaos. Industrial capitalism has been driving plunder and reckless production of needless commodities. Because of this, it has pumped monstrous amounts of greenhouse gases into the air (1.5 trillion metric tons of CO2 emitted since 1751). This endless production was also the leading user of coal energy. Coal permitted corporations to expand their profit margins by squeezing more their employers in less time. The core imperative of capitalism is growth. However, growth demands the destruction of the environment and, often, human rights. As a result, capitalism growth is not in balance with our planet's healthiness. Indeed, capitalism converts more and more of the natural resources into raw materials, promoting an unsustainable rate of extraction. Deforestation or fishery decline are some of the outcomes of such extraction. Whatsmore, 100 (big multinational) companies have been responsible for the 71% of global greenhouse gas emissions since 1988. There is no denial: capitalism is driving the climate disaster. In addition, exploiting the workers of capitalist corporations severely impacts their mental health. A future post will discuss more detailed arguments against capitalism in the Solarpunk Worlds newsletter.
Democracy, as it is currently practiced in western countries, doesn't work correctly. We constantly witness politicians who govern have little-to-no initiatives to act in the people's best interest. For example, some countries allow lobbying groups to corrupt political decisions by pumping billions of dollars into their campaigns. In other countries, politicians are corrupted by excessive power. They are only concerned about securing their position for a few more years, even if this comes at the cost of making false promises. Worse, we (the citizens) are so habituated to this system that we don't even bother to act against it.
The solution
"It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism." - Mark Fisher, in his book Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative?.
Although he might be right, we will try to examine the alternatives to our current capitalist democracies in this section.
A solarpunk society will most likely be based on anarchist principles. It might sound scary to some, but all it means is that everyone affected by a decision will have the opportunity to have a say in it. This type of anarchist system has multiple implementations. One easy option is making simple polls and referendums. Another option is to create community-based organizations that can manage themself autonomously. That is, in a decentralized manner. The beauty of such approaches is that everyone has the right to live the way they want, as they choose the community they want to belong to. Besides, these self-sustained local communities are limited in size and power. As a result, all the decisions are made locally, generating more accepted and relevant results.
Solarpunk communities aren't some kind of isolated tribes that can't relate with others. On the contrary, interactions between different communities are encouraged, and anyone can be in multiple communities simultaneously. This medley avoids radicalizing certain groups and ensures the survival of such communities. As a silly example: a self-sustained community might fail to produce enough food for itself in one season, maybe because of bad weather conditions. Then, other communities can help the former by sharing excess food.
Another great thing about these systems is that having a sense of community unites us. Being part of a community can give us opportunities to connect with people, reach our goals, and make us feel safe and secure. A strong community can significantly benefit families and businesses in various ways. In an age where technology connects and separates us, a local community can help our well-being substantially and increase our daily happiness.
Of course, these community-based systems are not perfect either.
One reason for this is that there are always people with more voices than others in assembly discussions: people who are more listened to than others. As a result, it is common for the new people in these communities to be cohibited by others, yielding unbalanced decisions. However, the more sense of community, the more comfortable every participant will be expressing their opinion out loud. Limiting the size of the community help in this aspect.
Another concern of such systems is how to deal with vandalism (evil people will always exist...). Each community might define its own 'legal' rules. But what happens with inter-community crimes? Who or what determines what is considered a crime? Perhaps both the affected communities can make a deal... but their 'legal rules' might differ significantly. And what if the crime is committed by someone who doesn't belong to any community? Some people defend that some sort of general government should be the decisive legal organ in such cases. But then, is a single "general government" ultimately ruling the world? If not, multiple governments might be an option, which leads to a similar idea to that of countries we hold today. And how do we define which country decides the response to a specific crime? Suppose it is based on the territory where such crime is committed. In that case, we are already defining country borders, and, ultimately, the democratic capitalism that we have today will be reset.
There isn't a simple answer to all these questions. Let me know what ideas would you propose to solve these problems in the comments below.
The transition
Now that we have imagined what a solarpunk world might look like, it's time to focus on how can we get there.
First, it is worth noticing that capitalism will not fall that easily. There have already been attempts for single countries to impose alternatives to capitalism like Evo Morales' eco-socialism work in Bolivia. But unfortunately, these attempts ended with militarism and imposition from capitalist countries like the USA. This is why the transition to a solarpunk (and other forms of anti-capitalist) society can't be done in a single country but must happen globally and simultaneously.
Luckily, the progression to solarpunk societies doesn't have to happen within a day. Instead, small changes can be made to enforce local communities, decentralize the estate's power, and end capitalism. Some common solarpunk ideas will be explored in detail in the subsequent article of the Solarpunk Words newsletter. However, if you don't want to miss these solutions, you can easily subscribe to this newsletter!
Sources
https://dunmorepa.gov/news/importance-strong-communities/
https://www.notion.so/Evo-Morales-Eco-Socialism-Resources-10be506dfd3e409fb0e888afd1827ed8
https://www.notion.so/Capitalism-s-Climate-Change-Resources-283c1fbb1cc2445a9ea0595196c87cb0