Abstract
It is not often that a book questions our theoretical notions from the title onwards. With his title Visionary Pragmatism, Romand Coles immediately makes us question how both concepts fit together; how could pragmatism even be visionary? Pragmatism by (my) definition is practice-oriented, coincidental or even ad hoc and could be considered an antonym to visions or practices of visioning. As such, the book is thought-provoking from the very beginning. The sub-title adds more information about the author’s intentions: a focus on ‘radical & ecological democracy in neoliberal times’. Clearly, visioning and visions evolve around change – change towards a more ecologically friendly (and socially as the book clarifies later on) democracy. With this book, scholar-activist Romand Coles steps beyond what he refers to as ‘realist pragmatism’. He wishes to overcome the (philosophical) difficulties of a fixed present entirely disconnected from a utopian future. Coles’ purpose is to set us on a journey towards a brighter future, which would not exist if we stuck to our present neoliberal, capitalist and unsustainable pathway. As he explains, ‘I began to wonder if it might be possible to cocreate a radical democratic habitus that would become conductive to fresher, more potent thought and action in the face of the monumental crises of our times’ (p. 7).
The current pathway is not easily overcome or diverted from. The power of neoliberal capitalism is strong, and in the face of this power, grassroots communities often fail to bring forth radical ecological change beyond micro-practices. Yet, Coles remains hopeful to bring about such change on a larger scale and embarks on an odyssey to theoretically and organizationally map out pathways towards a new sustainable democracy. He does so by drawing from several theoretical fields, including social theory, political theory, complex systems theory and neuroscience. As such, he binds different thought patterns and organizational structures which could hamper or bring forth desired radical changes. I purposefully say ‘bind’, rather than combine, as Coles makes it clear that there are two different dimensions: (1) a neoliberal dimension – in which radical ecologists or activists have to act and manoeuvre according to rules of efficiency, and (2) a radical democratic dimension – in which both scholars and activists can initiate and teach new sustainable ways. Binding these two dimensions would happen by rewiring societies’ DNA and draws from systems theory. Coles hopes to break down neoliberal hierarchies and walls by catalyzing and cultivating connections from grassroots initiatives and ecological practices. He also relates this to decentralization processes through which citizens and small initiatives are able to regain power. Coles here takes inspiration from Danish wind energy collectives.
In light of the neoliberal and radical democratic dimensions, Coles warns us of the ‘Wizard-of-Oz-effect’ (pp. 120–147). This effect explains how radical ecological initiatives tend to fail as ‘left’ politicians and practitioners often (unwittingly, as Coles adds) perpetuate the existing neoliberal power. By presenting the existing order as frozen, implacable or without alternative, the system closes itself to change, new relationships and new imperative. Coles takes Habermasian scholars and organizing initiatives as examples of this failure to generate change, as they conform to the rules of – and divide between – three major systems: state bureaucracies, corporate markets and civil society. These efforts to operate within existing systems only allow for change through revolutionary rupture or planetary catastrophe (the ‘Toto effect’). Coles wishes to break from this approach because creating revolutionary ruptures may undermine democracy all together. Visionary pragmatism wishes to unlock the Toto effect on a different scale, slowly setting in motion a resonance of changed behaviours, to such a point it will create world-wide system changes. This book addresses Coles’ philosophical contemplations and actions towards visionary pragmatism.
Coles addresses both the organizational side and the theoretical side of this visionary pragmatism. Each chapter starts with an experience from his personal life, highlighting a path of action towards desired changes. For instance, he highlights his attempts towards sustainable and democratic practices at Northern Arizona University. He exemplifies his quest to teach and involve students in social engagements and to change academic habitus accordingly. After the personal and practice-oriented introductions, he shares philosophical thoughts about a singular theory of visionary pragmatism. The book is divided into four chapters, each addressing a part of the theory of visionary pragmatism. The first chapter describes the desired democracy in which visionary pragmatism would operate. Coles refers to different political systems, neurological dimensions and the concept of habitus to derive a ‘dynamic democracy of resonant receptivity’. In the second chapter, flows and power (in the Foucauldian sense) are discussed in detail. This chapter highlights flaws in our current system, such as the ‘destructive circulation of biopolitical superpower’ and privatization, which tends to disguise this superpower and decrease resilience. Flows of power need to be radically changed to feed new forms of decentralized circulation. In the third chapter, we move from defining towards practising visionary pragmatism. The chapter uses system dynamics as a way to understand how we could break down neoliberal superpowers and rewire the remaining building blocks to create the previous mentioned Toto effect. In the fourth chapter, Coles takes a journey through space and explains how ‘wormhole hope’ would set visionary pragmatism into motion to take effect.
Overall, the book is no light read. To properly understand the notions and philosophies of Romand Coles, we need to be wide awake and ready to question our own thought patterns, notions and beliefs. While reading, I often found myself arguing with the author and his writings. Yet, Coles manages to address my questions or criticisms of his theory, either in his core argumentation or by addressing the reader directly in his personal stories. These personal stories enliven the book and support Romand Coles’ train of thoughts over the years of writing this volume. On occasion, the contemplations in the book mimic poetry, especially when the author shares personal stories to underline his state of mind: ‘We have fantasies about the powers of our imaginations to embark on vast disembodied journeys with texts’ (p. 6) or ‘radical democratic resonance of mirror neurons’ (p. 53). Still, these poetic reflections speak to the mind of scholar-activists dealing with environmental governance. As such, the reader is guided in understanding the theory of visionary pragmatism, although from the title forward the book sparks critical reading.
Now, what to take from the book? What does visionary pragmatism bring to planning and planning theory? Although the book presents itself as revolutionary and demanding radical change, the author does not succeed to engage the reader into immediate action. The experiments and practices in the book are rather small and university-oriented, for example, relating to students’ activities. Still, I do not want to diminish the significance of these activities or the (successful) attempts of Romand Coles to stimulate visionary pragmatism among his students and in academia. I simply want to express that, to me, Coles does not speak to the mind as well as other authors proposing change in planning (i.e. Jane Jacobs, Patsey Healey, Eleanor Ostrom). Nevertheless, he provides a substantive insight into the theories of visionary pragmatism and its relations to great thinkers – in planning – like Habermas and Foucault. As such, the book presents a very valuable insight into the philosophies behind a radical change towards different democracy. Moreover, the book shows how hard the author tries to incorporate new practices of radical ecological democracy and how he is slowly changing academic institutions to follow his example. Besides, this book shows – once again – how difficult it is to steer away from neoliberal or corporate society based on neoclassical economic principles. A more socially and environmentally friendly society is hard to attain. Davoudi (2014) recently also reached this conclusion in relation to neoliberalism and the effects of climate change. Our current neoliberal system is incapable of steering us towards true social and environmental governance.
Of course, Roman Coles is no fool and understands how hard it is to be a visionary pragmatist and to initiate change at a large scale. Coles ends his epilogue with these reflections and questions: How will we manage to do analogous things on much larger scales? … It will be easy to get lost. Yet we are already lost, are we not? … There is much to be done. We have very little time …. What will we do? (pp. 195–196)
In this light, I can only add that scholars and activists should keep on trying to facilitate change, whether via visionary pragmatism or other likeminded attempts. In the Netherlands, a country with strong rooted planning practices, new experiments of self-organization in planning are attempting much of what Coles strives for. For example, in urban development (see Van Straalen et al., 2017) and renewable energy, decentralization, alternative flows and changed power relations create new resonance and rewire social and mental systems. Collective societal action – the third dimension in Habermas’ theory – gains in importance. Moreover, in The Netherlands, state bureaucracies increasingly attempt to strengthen society and societal actions, even from an economic viewpoint of efficiency, effectiveness or plainly in search for budget cuts. Under these circumstances, superpowers may slowly begin to support the radical democratic resonance as Coles desires. As such, I would consider visionary pragmatism an addition to theories of change, well thought through and strongly related to practical implementation. Hopefully, scholar-activists around the globe will help Romand Coles on his journey to a radical and ecological democracy.