Kim Stanley Robinson — Democracy: America’s Utopian Science Fiction

Watch Kim Stanley Robinson’s full talk: Rethinking Our Relationship to the Biosphere.

“The greatest American utopian science fiction story is this one: That government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from this Earth. That story contains a future tense, and an imperative. It’s a science fiction story. It’s a utopian story. What Lincoln was saying to us was an injunction, and even a command. Democracy only exists when people go out and make it happen, especially when there are very powerful forces with a lot of money trying to buy up that very same government that we call democratic.

So, in this battle, we have to settle in for the long haul, do what can be done in the day to day, while also keeping in sight the long-term vision of a planet where we actually are in balance with the natural forces and can work with them to everyone’s benefit. Since it’s possible, then we need to do it. It’s a matter of responsibility to the children and the people not yet born.”