Solnit: Hope in the Dark

We have discussed what we futurists and change agents might do in the current turbulence … we believers in After Capitalism know that we have a long and challenging road ahead. It may be tempting to fall into either cynicism or despair. And, on queue, I get a recommendation from UH Foresight student Sarah Brooks and US Forest Service futurist Dave Bengston to look at Rebecca Solnit’s Hope in the Dark. Just what the doctor ordered!

The book has its roots in an essay that she published shortly the US launched its invasion of Iraq in 2003. She brings in many beautiful quotes:

• for instance Maria Popova’s “critical thinking without hope is cynicism, but hope without critical thinking is naivete.”
• or “an idea at first considered outrageous or ridiculous … gradually becomes what people think they’ve always believed [sounds a lot like Dator’s first law, which say that useful ideas about the future at first appear ridiculous].
• one more – “capitalism is an ongoing disaster anti-capitalism alleviates.” I generally advocate a softer position that capitalism can be seen as serving its purpose historically and no longer aligns with the emerging future, but I appreciate her fire!

Let’s move past my love of a good quote and on to the core message.

One of the many reasons I appreciate this work is that it reinforces one of my key learnings as a futurist: change is slower than we think. Now, she is more specifically focused on activism, but she consistently drives home the point that activists almost always expect change to happen faster than it does or will. The problem with this belief, which we also see in foresight work, is that it can lead to either cynicism or giving up. I have certainly witnessed or been a part of foresight initiatives judged to have failed. Sure, our work can seem hopeless at times. But even failed initiatives play their part, and I really, really appreciate how the author makes this key and often overlooked point that a “failure” may plant seeds that bloom later. She points out how long it took women to get the right to vote and how many efforts “failed” … but activists just kept fighting and eventually prevailed.

The author’s lived experience in change movements is really impressive. She’s not just reporting on activism, she is doing it. She shares her hard-earned wisdom about how to manage our individual expectations. The book illustrates and supports the ideas with very clear examples. It’s not preachy, but makes it case and backs it up. One more quote please: “We cannot eliminate all devastation for all time, but we can reduce it, outlaw it, undermine its source and foundations: these are victories. A better world, yes, a perfect world, never.” Beautiful!  

One of the reasons that despair is chosen in troubling times is that it provides a sense of certainty, and, if you will, it takes us “off the hook.” If it’s hopeless, then what’s the point of action? At the same time, taking action is seen as uncertain and not likely to work and thus is riskier. The known “bad” can seeem preferable to the unknown “good.”

She points out the beautiful idea that even if your results look impossible to achieve, the work you do toward them has its own intrinsic reward. When we believe in something and work towards it, we can’t help but feel good about what we’re doing; much more so than lying on the couch and complaining.  

So, chin up, dear readers, and let’s continue the good work we are doing, and pass on our thanks to Rebecca Solnits for her excellent work. – Andy Hines