Beyond a ‘post-cure’ world: Sketches for a new futurology of hepatitis C

Australia's recent investment in, and optimism about, direct-acting antivirals to treat hepatitis C brings with it the promise of new drug futures, including possibility a post-hepatitis world revolution in lives people affected by disease. But is situation more complicated than we might assume? What expectations are being produced about post-cure lives? And what overlooked along way? We argue that policy, practice research can instantiate problematic orientation towards medicine ‘the future’ explore ways moving beyond these orientations. The essay then proceeds into two main stages. First, combining critiques from existing preliminary insights study on ‘post-cure’ lives, outline some key logics regarding cure post-cure, explain why such problematic. against assumption availability medical will alone reverse entrenched social, political structural dynamics drive infections limit service access. To do so, note, overlook net meanings power relations co-constitute injecting use render those associated them marginalised disenfranchised. Such erases legacy laws policies devised pre-cure world, their role generating limiting being. Second, introduce ideas field articulate vision for call ‘futurology’ C, designed counter assumptions take us temporal logics. Our futurology inspired work Cuevas-Hewitt (2011) ‘futurology present’. Cuevas-Hewitt's approach discards linear temporalities, reform, instead pays attention multiplicities becoming perpetual present. Taking up Cuevas-Hewitt, our own sketches C’. This set practices thinking, researching, writing otherwise engaging characterised not an imagined, singular future look like, or treatment as revolutionary, but calls multiple ‘perpetual presents’ already us, aims foment hope change.