Are you familiar with Gemeindebauten in Vienna? It was a housing complex built after WWI by the Socialist government that was in power from 1918-1936. It’s still one of the most livable parts of any European city. It should be a model.
Beautiful vision, thank you. You’re making the same observations and asking the same questions that Rudger Bregman did in his book, “Utopia for Realists.” Great read. Also loved The Dispossessed.
Thank you so much, Rita! (I was thinking as I read this of the people I met with in Denver doing so much work on walkability. Often unappreciated work, but there is something incredibly satisfying about seeing sidewalks and crosswalks put in so people can move about their communities safely.)
Such a great piece, Joshua. I really enjoyed reading your ideas about a better future especially after I sent out a newsletter today throwing a critical eye to our climate change measures (that don't work). I would like to explore more alternative ways of living our lives on this earth as human, with different goals and values and aspirations. I liked reading your initial thoughts on this future and looking forward to reading more.
This immediately made me think of Rob Hopkins book From What Is to What If? Which may contain some of the answers we're looking for. https://www.robhopkins.net/the-book/ He looks at examples from many countries of communities implementing imaginative policies and projects to improve their lives. He also spends some time on the psychology of imagination and being able to picture a better future. Overall it's a very hopeful book that points out that there are so many people already implementing creative solutions to the problems of capitalism and the profit motive and we can learn from each other and start making change today!
Ooh, I enjoyed Killjoy's "A Country of Ghosts" a lot!
Building structures that actually work for life is something I think about all the time, and one of the heartening things is finding others who are doing the same (usually well under the radar). You might be interested in the work of Future Natures (https://futurenatures.org)
and definitely the work of David Bollier on the commons. He has a podcast called Frontiers of Commoning that I'm always inspired by (https://www.bollier.org/transcripts-frontiers-commoning). There's also Farmerama (https://farmerama.co) -- I particularly liked their series on land ownership, cereals, and fashion -- and there is a wealth of inspiration and ideas in Building Local Power, from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (https://ilsr.org/building-local-power/).
Also, LOL, I used the very same photo you have at the top of this for my reading circle last year on Science Fiction, Fantasy, the Commons, and envisioning better futures. It's got that crossover between human awe and otherworldliness that's just perfect.
I think I need to retire to just devote my time to reading! Is there any easy way to find what you read in that incredible sounding reading circle last year?
And yes. I did short stories because it was easier for people to do than novel excerpts (in that genre, worldbuilding is such a big factor and you lose out with excerpts). Not all of them online, but I've linked to the ones that are: https://antonia.substack.com/p/identity-and-belonging-in-science
My pleasure! I particularly liked the last two, Sofia Samatar's "Tender," and "Love After the End." Short stories are awfully hard to do well and I got caught up in nearly every story in both collections.
What a beautiful vision, Josh. Thanks for sharing. It brought this very old song to mind, which I so love. I hope you enjoy it too. Keep on dreamin' and get yourself strong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjbxFu0eh1A
omg yes!! she is definitely in the solarpunk genre and talks about using sci fi to imagine a more hopeful future! I particular love her monk and robot series- short and beautiful novellas
what a wonderful follow-up to your social contract piece. dreaming up a better world and closer communities is my biggest respite for the sheer crushing feeling of capitalist society letting us fall through every single crack there could be. reminds me of Grace Lee Bogg’s work and writing about the necessity of imagining and working towards a better world.
Joshua, I am amazed how much your writings have been tracking with my Climate Fiction class! This week, they are working on a project called “Build the City of Your Dreams,” which is paired with a reading from a local artist here in the Twin Cities called “From Soap to Cities: Biomimicry in the Anthropocene.” It’s all about what she coins as mindful design. I highly suggest looking it up! And anyone here who sees this! Her name is Dio Cramer. I love teaching this class because most of my students, and it is a reminder to myself, that this is all by design. We decided that often single-use cars were the way we would terraform the land. It thrills me to see their imaginations expand, and my greatest hope as an educator is that they will carry this imagination forward.
I think capitalism is a common scapegoat but is really a downstream consequence of some more basic problems of our current approach to the human condition which generally boil down to controlling that which is uncontrollable generally including suffering and death (famine, viruses, war, etc) as well as social fitness. While socialism is better in some respects, it still has few people controlling the lives of millions. There really needs to be government, state, private and public land with public being the majority. Public land and resources need to be truly controlled by the people. The exploration of that truly cooperative endeavor without the parent states control or say is the only means for human to gain wisdom and continue the necessary cycles of balance/imbalance which serve to teach us over and over what it means to be human and how to live. It would allow passion projects to become meaningful socially by enriching all life.
To be clear, i’m not advocating for libertarianism at all. I think the meta government structure would need to be socialist to help limit the expansion of greed and ensure access to stable live sustaining resources… basically functioning as the mother. There also needs to be a capitalist layer that only intersects with areas of life which aren’t essential but interesting and people outlets for climbing socially.
I tend to agree with your more nuanced take. There is a lot we can learn from socialist ideals, but I think we can reach them better by reforming capitalist and political systems (which I see as inevitable on account of the human condition). Focusing on cooperatives, public lands, etc are positive steps that can still be taken within those systems.
But I also very much agree with the author that it’s worth having all the visions (socialist, capitalist, and otherwise) as we try to come up with that better future!
Medellin (where I was born) is doing really cool stuff: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230922-how-medellin-is-beating-the-heat-with-green-corridors
Wow I love this, thank you!
Are you familiar with Gemeindebauten in Vienna? It was a housing complex built after WWI by the Socialist government that was in power from 1918-1936. It’s still one of the most livable parts of any European city. It should be a model.
I’m slightly aware of it, but not super familiar. Would love to read up on it more, thank you for mentioning it here!
Love this post.
Always dreaming of utopia, but in the meantime I’ll help facilitate my local zine library 🫡 godspeed
Beautiful vision, thank you. You’re making the same observations and asking the same questions that Rudger Bregman did in his book, “Utopia for Realists.” Great read. Also loved The Dispossessed.
This is also similar to the projects featured in my podcast, Building Hope, which I wrote about in the early months of my Substack by the same name - between January and May last year. Here’s one example: https://open.substack.com/pub/buildinghope/p/when-we-find-each-other?r=4cg2x&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
You might want to check out Antonia Malchik's A Walking Life https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-walking-life-reclaiming-our-health-and-our-freedom-one-step-at-a-time-antonia-malchik/6464959?ean=9780738234885
Thank you so much, Rita! (I was thinking as I read this of the people I met with in Denver doing so much work on walkability. Often unappreciated work, but there is something incredibly satisfying about seeing sidewalks and crosswalks put in so people can move about their communities safely.)
Such a great piece, Joshua. I really enjoyed reading your ideas about a better future especially after I sent out a newsletter today throwing a critical eye to our climate change measures (that don't work). I would like to explore more alternative ways of living our lives on this earth as human, with different goals and values and aspirations. I liked reading your initial thoughts on this future and looking forward to reading more.
P.S. I'm a huge fan of Octavia Butler as well.
Ditto Octavia Butler!
This immediately made me think of Rob Hopkins book From What Is to What If? Which may contain some of the answers we're looking for. https://www.robhopkins.net/the-book/ He looks at examples from many countries of communities implementing imaginative policies and projects to improve their lives. He also spends some time on the psychology of imagination and being able to picture a better future. Overall it's a very hopeful book that points out that there are so many people already implementing creative solutions to the problems of capitalism and the profit motive and we can learn from each other and start making change today!
Hi, please write my name down for joining this new society :)
Ooh, I enjoyed Killjoy's "A Country of Ghosts" a lot!
Building structures that actually work for life is something I think about all the time, and one of the heartening things is finding others who are doing the same (usually well under the radar). You might be interested in the work of Future Natures (https://futurenatures.org)
and definitely the work of David Bollier on the commons. He has a podcast called Frontiers of Commoning that I'm always inspired by (https://www.bollier.org/transcripts-frontiers-commoning). There's also Farmerama (https://farmerama.co) -- I particularly liked their series on land ownership, cereals, and fashion -- and there is a wealth of inspiration and ideas in Building Local Power, from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (https://ilsr.org/building-local-power/).
Also, LOL, I used the very same photo you have at the top of this for my reading circle last year on Science Fiction, Fantasy, the Commons, and envisioning better futures. It's got that crossover between human awe and otherworldliness that's just perfect.
I think I need to retire to just devote my time to reading! Is there any easy way to find what you read in that incredible sounding reading circle last year?
Don't we all!
And yes. I did short stories because it was easier for people to do than novel excerpts (in that genre, worldbuilding is such a big factor and you lose out with excerpts). Not all of them online, but I've linked to the ones that are: https://antonia.substack.com/p/identity-and-belonging-in-science
Oh my gosh thank you very much!
My pleasure! I particularly liked the last two, Sofia Samatar's "Tender," and "Love After the End." Short stories are awfully hard to do well and I got caught up in nearly every story in both collections.
👏👏👏
What a beautiful vision, Josh. Thanks for sharing. It brought this very old song to mind, which I so love. I hope you enjoy it too. Keep on dreamin' and get yourself strong. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjbxFu0eh1A
If you liked Dispossessed and solarpunk generally, you may enjoy Becky Chamber’s work
Oh if you’re mentioning it in that context I think I have to read her work haha
omg yes!! she is definitely in the solarpunk genre and talks about using sci fi to imagine a more hopeful future! I particular love her monk and robot series- short and beautiful novellas
what a wonderful follow-up to your social contract piece. dreaming up a better world and closer communities is my biggest respite for the sheer crushing feeling of capitalist society letting us fall through every single crack there could be. reminds me of Grace Lee Bogg’s work and writing about the necessity of imagining and working towards a better world.
This is a really important read. Staying in the present is practical but the only way we can improve our world is by looking forward.
Joshua, I am amazed how much your writings have been tracking with my Climate Fiction class! This week, they are working on a project called “Build the City of Your Dreams,” which is paired with a reading from a local artist here in the Twin Cities called “From Soap to Cities: Biomimicry in the Anthropocene.” It’s all about what she coins as mindful design. I highly suggest looking it up! And anyone here who sees this! Her name is Dio Cramer. I love teaching this class because most of my students, and it is a reminder to myself, that this is all by design. We decided that often single-use cars were the way we would terraform the land. It thrills me to see their imaginations expand, and my greatest hope as an educator is that they will carry this imagination forward.
https://www.diocramer.com/soaptocities
Didn’t think to share the link. Here it is for ease of access!
I think capitalism is a common scapegoat but is really a downstream consequence of some more basic problems of our current approach to the human condition which generally boil down to controlling that which is uncontrollable generally including suffering and death (famine, viruses, war, etc) as well as social fitness. While socialism is better in some respects, it still has few people controlling the lives of millions. There really needs to be government, state, private and public land with public being the majority. Public land and resources need to be truly controlled by the people. The exploration of that truly cooperative endeavor without the parent states control or say is the only means for human to gain wisdom and continue the necessary cycles of balance/imbalance which serve to teach us over and over what it means to be human and how to live. It would allow passion projects to become meaningful socially by enriching all life.
To be clear, i’m not advocating for libertarianism at all. I think the meta government structure would need to be socialist to help limit the expansion of greed and ensure access to stable live sustaining resources… basically functioning as the mother. There also needs to be a capitalist layer that only intersects with areas of life which aren’t essential but interesting and people outlets for climbing socially.
I tend to agree with your more nuanced take. There is a lot we can learn from socialist ideals, but I think we can reach them better by reforming capitalist and political systems (which I see as inevitable on account of the human condition). Focusing on cooperatives, public lands, etc are positive steps that can still be taken within those systems.
But I also very much agree with the author that it’s worth having all the visions (socialist, capitalist, and otherwise) as we try to come up with that better future!
Absolutely! I should have started with “awesome article”. I really enjoyed it