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Futurist Jim Dator is famous [in part] for quipping: “Any useful idea about the future at first seems ridiculous.” As we futurists seek out the fringes, we will often confront those useful seemingly ridiculous ideas. Some stay ridiculous, but some become useful. In my After Capitalism research, when I first came across Degrowth, for instance, I thought “ridiculous.” But I “held space” for the idea and started to see more signals and eventually saw its usefulness.
Enter rewilding. Again, at first, we might be tempted to say ridiculous. But I’m now in the camp of useful. I mentioned it in the Imagining After Capitalism book, as part of a section on “Reintegrating with Nature.” The more I learn about, the more I like it.
What really hooked me was a video we used in our Activating the Future class last summer, in which we used a piece on Reclaiming Indigenous Architecture in Hawaii — an exhibit at MoMA. The gist is that indigenous wisdom worked with nature, in a sense understanding what nature was doing, or trying to do, and using that to inform design/architecture. What became abundantly clear in my After Capitalism research is that under capitalism, nature has been viewed as something to be conquered, tamed, and mastered. The result is we are often working against nature, and we are increasingly paying for this type of thinking. The video shows how re-designing in a “work with” mindset, along with taking advantage of today’s technology, can enable much more effective outcomes. It’s not either-or, but both-and. Rewilding does not mean we abandon technology, but use it in a supporting role that works with nature. This just makes plain good sense, doesn’t it?
I’ll beg the pardon of advocates who have long seen the usefulness of this concept. My students are pointing me in the right direction. Matt Alofs gave me a reading list and directed me to re:wildyourcampus. Alison Rand did an amazing semester-long project in Futures Research class on Rewilding in the Age of Machines. You know the phenomenon when you start thinking about something, you see it everywhere? Yep! – Andy Hines
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