Kohei Saito - Counter-planning Against Climate Fascism

On 12 June 2026 (17:00), Kohei Saito will present his new book "Dark Socialism. Hope in a Ruined World". With commentary by Lisa Mittendrein and Astrid Schöggl, introduced by Johan Hartle and moderated by Ulrich Brand.

As the climate crisis intensifies, the prevailing response is increasingly characterised not by justice or solidarity, but by scarcity management, border violence and the protection of privileges. Climate fascism is a political form in which ecological collapse becomes a pretext for authoritarian control, militarised exclusion and the unequal distribution of chances to survive. In this context, the central question is no longer whether planning will return, but what kind of planning will shape the future. This lecture rejects the false choice between market solutions and technocratic state control and advocates for counter-planning: a democratic, egalitarian and ecologically grounded reorganisation of production, consumption and social reproduction. In opposition to an economic system that is inevitably dependent on ever-increasing energy and resource consumption, top-down climate policy that leaves basic needs at the mercy of the market and elitist managerialism, counterplanning is the struggle to reclaim social coordination from capital and transform it into democracy at all levels.

When: 12 June 2026, 17:00
Where: Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien, Prospekthof, Atelierhaus, Lehárgasse 8, 1060 Wien

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Event poster.

Event poster. Please click on the image to view a larger version.