Lost and Imagined Futures in the Anthropocene: Human Action Before the Apocalypse

Abstract

In the Anthropocene, our own present has become passive, as the anthropic derangement of the environments proceeds relentlessly, and the space for political action inevitably narrows. The sensation that these rapid changes have provoked was often described as an acceleration, a sudden realization that, at any time, there is no more time. Historical time, intended as the social dimension of change and as one of the traditional coordinates for human action, thus feels increasingly corroded, liquified, decomposed. In such a future-deprived world, reflecting on the future as one of the sociopolitical instruments of change and, possibly, emancipation, becomes pivotal. In this context, this paper aims at reflecting on the future of the world – and on its possible end – in the Anthropocene, through the scope of human action. This will be achieved by delving into the double issue of the historicity the Anthropocene and of ecopolitical subjectivity, in order to assess the sociopolitical role of imagined futures and apocalyptic perspectives.