In a conversation with a representative of Barcelona’s brand new city government, they call our Atlas into question, arguing that ‘people who work on the future often try to resolve contradictions within the capitalist system, and so they perpetuate inequality.’
The words hit home, and I get the feeling that it’s going to be difficult for us to make these radical left-wing dreamers, who won Barcelona’s municipal elections, compatible with, for example, Melinda Gates – also a dreamer.
Two ideas come to mind: the first is that the engine that drives humanity is the capacity to dream without limits, combined with the courage of those who dare to build the future with their own hands.
The second is that the act of putting the universal right to dream on the table, and fighting tooth and nail for those who make dreams come true, is so profoundly transformative and so transversal that, yes, it could represent a meeting point for Melinda and my interlocutor.
And this is what the Atlas is all about. Launching September, we don’t just want to offer a collection of amusing and tidily arranged curiosities. Our real aim is to build a shared space, open to everyone who is shaping, or wants to shape, the future. Wherever they come from.