Red pill or blue pill? Solarpunk or Black Mirror? There are dualisms in science fiction. Mostly between two extreme future scenarios: utopia or dystopia. But you know better than me, don't you, that the truth is always somewhere in the middle? There is an alternative to these two very radical options. “The answer, my love,” said the great Alessandro Bono, “we are living it”. Perhaps, we hope, the future we reach day after day is one protopia. That?
Utopia and dystopia: two sides of the same coin?
In science fiction literature, utopia and dystopia are poles apart. The first draws perfect worlds, the second catastrophic scenarios. Sometimes the line between them is more blurred than you think. Some dystopian worlds, such as those in Blade Runner or The Hunger Games, might be considered utopian by some individuals. And vice versa, utopias can hide disturbing aspects, as in Brave New World. But today we talk about something else.
Protopia, a term coined by Kevin Kelly, it is neither a utopia nor a dystopia. Rather, it is a company that tries to constantly work on improving itself, tackling challenges incrementally and with a growth mindset. A society that encounters obstacles, falls, sometimes seems to retreat, but proceeds. In a certain sense, our modern world also has aspects of protopia: despite a thousand pitfalls we are witnessing progress in science, technology and awareness of how important it is to take care of ourselves.
Protopia: let's cultivate it. Let's protect it.
It is not Eden, and it often oscillates in one direction only (that of dystopia). This is why our society needs our commitment: and it needs a disillusioned, calculated enthusiasm. Because protopia is a fragile balance, and to maintain it we have to "pull" from the constructive side. Maintain critical thinking and prudence, but don't indulge in Luddism.
A general feeling of rejection confuses the legitimate struggle against the excesses of power with a return to obscurantism. It threatens all factors that have brought us good progress, risking slow it down or stop it altogether. It is like a gross cure that affects both diseased and healthy cells. We have to fight it.
Protopia teaches us that the future is not a static entity, but something that is created day after day. By working together, we can continue to build a sustainable and ever-evolving world. But it is important to keep our eyes open and act wisely: if we fall into the trap of considering progress to be all good or all bad, the result will still be a form of dystopia.
