I’ve posted about this world before here and here.

It’s an alternate history. Colonialism never happened in the first place. The world remained tribal, and traditional cultures remain strong. But 21st century tech develops. There is a lack of capitalism and exploitation.

I downloaded these pics from the multiversal interwebs:

Traditionally nomadic cultures – such as this Australian bushman – remain nomadic in the 21st century. But their lives are made easier by technology. Under capitalism, developing technology keeps some people poor but increases the wealth of a few. In the solarpunk, non-colonial world, people use tools like this off-road tricycle to make their traditional lifestyles easier.

North American cultures follow the still-great buffalo herds. They use offroad vehicles that run on gasified biomass they harvest as they go. These vehicles are no faster than a horse. That guy on the right? I guess he’s a tourist from a traditional European country; he’s visiting his friends. They’ll speak the Esperanto-type language to each other.

This picture was taken in a subway station in Cahokia.

This is a typical sight in the northeast megaregion. This is what the longhouses of the Haudenosaunee people look like in the 21st century.

The fishing cultures of North Europe live within the ecological limits. Some fish are still wild-caught, providing 5-10% of the diet. Others are farmed in open ocean farms. Members of a large (town-sized or city-sized) tribal confederacy have the customary right to harvest from these waters, and manage the wild stock and the farms as a commons.

My post linked above discusses guilds. One guild that exists, alongside doctors, tailors, and microchip-fabricators, is the Soapwitch guild. They have knowledge of local wildflowers, oils, and that sort of thing. Their job is to provide soap, perfume, toothpaste etc. for free to members of their tribe (instead of Unilever and Colgate doing it for profit). It’s their tribe’s reciprocal obligation to give them food, shelter, protection, etc.

  • snowflake [none/use name]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
    2·
    3 months ago

    This model requires more labour-time – that’s the downside. But labour is saved in other places, like the absence of bullshit jobs… this world just produces less… That also saves labour. Building 10 cars in a Local Motors way might be as labourious as 100 cars in a big Toyota factory.

    Oh and then planned obsolescence:

    • Say you’re a capitalist. Your duty is to maximise sales. Is it in your self-interest to make the shirt that wears out in 1 year or 5 years?

    • Say you’re a community tailor. Your duty is make sure everyone in your local tribe has sufficient clothing (use-value). Is it in your self-interest to make the shirt that wears out in 1 year or 5 years?

    Things are made more durable. This reduces the amount of labour and production to be done overall.