Do you remember the avocado toast guy? I read Johann Hari’s Stolen Focus recently (you should read it, it’s great), and I learned that someone1 has come up with a name for this sort of modern reinterpretation of “let them eat cake”: cruel optimism. Cruel optimism, the way Hari interprets it2, boils down to the folly of suggesting personal solutions to systemic problems. It’s about advice given from a position of privilege to people who will never be able to apply it to their own lives–because the cards are stacked so unfairly against them–but who will nonetheless interpret their failure as a personal one.

I think this also belongs here.

  • Steve
    2•1 year ago

    I didn’t know Johann Hari had a new book but I’ll have to check it out. I loved Lost Connections . It helped me when I needed it and I recommend it often to people dealing with mental health struggles instead of relying on medication. He gives some great examples of the healing power of working collectively and cooperatively with people that definitely have relevance to Solarpunk.