Ever since my little rant against the current systems in which we live, I've been mulling over Utopianism, and I've come to conclude that it's a rather dangerous pastime. Hitler, Lenin and Chairman Mao were Utopians in their way; each had a vision of how things should be, and sought to impose it upon other people. Actually, various sorts of societies have been dreamed up by lots and lots of people over the ages, and almost all of them seem to me deficient because they either ignore or, worse, propose solutions for, the people who don't want to live in their particular Utopian visions of the world. Hitler's solution was only the most extreme of these.
SO: If one creates a post-capitalist Utopia, what does one do with the people who wanted and liked living under capitalism? Similarly, if one creates a Free Market or even anarcho-capitalist world, what does one do with those who don't live there? If one posits a society free of Religion, what does one do with theists, etc. etc., etc.? The same basic question crops up for almost any sort of 'perfect society,' and the reason's pretty simple.
Utopia pretty much depends upon one's point of view. What is a perfect society for one person will not be so perfect for others. The danger comes when we forget this and seek to force people to conform to our vision 'for their own good.' There seems to be a little Hitler or Stalin present in most Utopian thinkers, even if their thoughts fall short of the extermination of dissent.
To demonstrate this, I'd like my readers to try a little Utopian exercise of their own. I'd like you to imagine your own perfect society, and practical ways by which it might be accomplished. Then I'd like you to imagine what sort of person or group might feel excluded or might lose out in your society, and think of ways to deal with them (hopefully as benevolently as possible -- let's say that outright extermination is not an option). If anyone completes this exercise, I'd be fascinated to hear some results!
And, if you're bereft of ideas, here's a link to the Wikipedia page on Utopias. I also recommend The Faber Book of Utopias, ed. by John Carey (Faber & Faber, 1999). The latter makes very sobering reading, as many of those who've proposed Utopias and/or tried to enact them seem to have been quite deranged.
And yet, we should remember that the world in which we live has been in part shaped by various different or even clashing Utopian visions. Pay a visit to your local shopping Mall, and tell me that isn't the image of a Consumer Utopia.....
SO: If one creates a post-capitalist Utopia, what does one do with the people who wanted and liked living under capitalism? Similarly, if one creates a Free Market or even anarcho-capitalist world, what does one do with those who don't live there? If one posits a society free of Religion, what does one do with theists, etc. etc., etc.? The same basic question crops up for almost any sort of 'perfect society,' and the reason's pretty simple.
Utopia pretty much depends upon one's point of view. What is a perfect society for one person will not be so perfect for others. The danger comes when we forget this and seek to force people to conform to our vision 'for their own good.' There seems to be a little Hitler or Stalin present in most Utopian thinkers, even if their thoughts fall short of the extermination of dissent.
To demonstrate this, I'd like my readers to try a little Utopian exercise of their own. I'd like you to imagine your own perfect society, and practical ways by which it might be accomplished. Then I'd like you to imagine what sort of person or group might feel excluded or might lose out in your society, and think of ways to deal with them (hopefully as benevolently as possible -- let's say that outright extermination is not an option). If anyone completes this exercise, I'd be fascinated to hear some results!
And, if you're bereft of ideas, here's a link to the Wikipedia page on Utopias. I also recommend The Faber Book of Utopias, ed. by John Carey (Faber & Faber, 1999). The latter makes very sobering reading, as many of those who've proposed Utopias and/or tried to enact them seem to have been quite deranged.
And yet, we should remember that the world in which we live has been in part shaped by various different or even clashing Utopian visions. Pay a visit to your local shopping Mall, and tell me that isn't the image of a Consumer Utopia.....
1 comments:
Money talks
Buy up some bad land somewhere that has no occupants, or if there are a couple, then buy them out.
Make sure the seller gives you sovereign rights.
now you can create your utopia
invitation only
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