I think it depends. Overall, I think most of Star Trek isn't solarpunk, but the version of earth depicted in it very much is.
this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2025
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I generally agree, although the use of replicators is a point of departure.
Solarpunk typically emphasizes degrowth and an end to scarcity that comes from a move away from endless consumption.
It's not a criticism. Just an artistic difference responding to the 60s vs the new century.
trek is pretty posadist isn't it? where solarpunk would rather not go there?
I had no idea what Posadism was until you mentioned it. Looking at it, I think elements of it are coincidentally in there, but I don't think that's totally what it's trying to convey.
For one, Boseman, Montana definitely didn't look that socialist, and yet Cochrane developed a warp drive; it was the new connections and widened view of the galaxy that facilitated the development of socialism. Sure, the Vulcans helped, but it was humans who had to change.
Also, I feel like "aliens helping in revolution" is sort of antithetical to the concept of the Prime Directive.
Overall, I think Star Trek is less about through ufologic socialism and more about peoples figuring out socialism for themselves; space and aliens are mostly just a plot device to explore.
I would also say that in general, Star Trek seems to steer slightly around discussing the actions needed to proactively achieve their society. It's an end point, and you can find some info here and there about how they got there, but it's really treated as the result of a magical tech breakthrough that resolved class conflict with the wave of a hand.
Anyway, solarpunk and Trek are definitely fellow travelers. But their tones aren't identical.
I would appreciate an explanation as to what solarpunk is.
I liked this video on it. Basically, a play on the ideas of cyberpunk, but rather than using grim art as a warning, it instead focuses on radical optimism and envisioning a world we should strive to create. Building off the the ideas of renewable power, hence the solar, it posits that technology used in the right way can bring us to a beautiful and healthy society, freed from the capitalist systems that are poisoning our environment and selves.
Ya I’ll have some of that please.
If you haven’t already come across them, you should check out some of the communities over on https://slrpnk.net/, we’ve got stuff from urban development and farming to transport, tech, and aesthetics :)
It's like Cyberpunk but, instead of the world being taken over by evil corporations it's run by a bunch of hippies lol
It's also a real life movement that's basically wants the above to happen.
Isn't the Venn diagram a circle?
That was my thought as well.
I think you replied to yourself...
It's not quite: a key feature of solarpunk is nature, and our relationship to it. Trek is definitely aligned in concept, but aside from specific episodes, our relationship with nature is not a central theme.
Solarpunk is also usually closer to the present or more direct in its critique of current challenges like climate breakdown.
Thatsthejoke.jpg
Oh. They're different servers! That's actually a very clever joke. I'm sorry I didn't pay close enough attention to appreciate it.
That got a chuckle out of me. Heh.
All good, I know many front ends hide the instance for local users by default. I went to .world to get a screenshot with both instance names in them lol.
I think the realities of physics will make true interstellar travel hopeless, so to me solar punk as an aesthetic is the more real idea of humanities possible utopia, should one ever exist. With that, I think it also pretty strongly ties the art with action. These facts giving a more grounding for praxis than start trek.
The way I've been looking at it, if you want a chance at the starships, start with the spandex.
If we want a good and honest chance of being able to do interstellar travel of any sort, we're not going to get there by building an Enterprise and then hope that someone cooks up a warp drive for it before we finish ruining our only planet.
Maybe physics is all wrong and there really is a warp drive to be had. If there is one, it's not the sort of thing you can count on. We have to survive as a species until it happens.
Conversely, there's a real easy bet to be had. In 1.29 million years, Gliese 710 will be 0.17 light years away. The GAIA mission has identified some other candidate stars that are going to get fairly close sooner. So there's a solarpunk space travel bet of simply providing a stable society over the long term such that we can surf the stars.
Solarpunk is kinda the version that starts with the spandex. I'm at the point in my life where I kinda hate the whole Eugenics-wars/World-War-III thread to Trek because it kinda mutated away from the hopeful idea that we can survive a downturn into the idea that the collapse will create a new world which is ... risky.