Utopia?
Imagine: You and a group of other intellectuals have been gathered together by some deific entity. Your task:
“Design a civilization, a society in whatever fashion you please—dictate its political system, its culture and any aspects in the finest detail you desire. At the end of your task, you will die. The society you designed will come to pass and be created, and in time you will be reincarnated and born into that society.”
My question: will that society be utopia, or at least as close to it as humanly possible? Sharp readers will note this is merely a modification of the “do unto others what you would like them to do unto you” principle, only applied on a huger scale—“design unto others a place you would like to live in yourself”.
I think one obvious trait of such a self-designed society would be equality for all. After all, you’d want to allow for the possibility for being reborn as a member of a minority race or of the opposite gender.
Comments anyone? Maybe I could post this on a forum somewhere.
(Mildly acidic addendum) David’s own definition: Society is a place where, no matter how screwed up you are, there will still be a place for you. (warning: stereotypes ahead) Are you a geek with no life at all? Good! You can still be an engineer! Are you able to lie, cheat, steal, hustle and scam yet still remain a patriot? Good! You can still be a politician (Republican/Democrat irrelevant). Are you slimy enough to sell a fridge to an Eskimo? Good! You can still be a telemarketer! Are you full of pent-up rage and trauma from past parental abuse? Good! You can join the army! See, no matter who or what you are, or how much people hate your guts, society still has a place for you!
That’s the magic of society really. It takes beings that are inherently flawed and makes them coherently flawed. Kind of like a positive version of the old joke about committees: a group of men who individually can do nothing but as a group decide that nothing can be done. Harhar.
Imagine: You and a group of other intellectuals have been gathered together by some deific entity. Your task:
“Design a civilization, a society in whatever fashion you please—dictate its political system, its culture and any aspects in the finest detail you desire. At the end of your task, you will die. The society you designed will come to pass and be created, and in time you will be reincarnated and born into that society.”
My question: will that society be utopia, or at least as close to it as humanly possible? Sharp readers will note this is merely a modification of the “do unto others what you would like them to do unto you” principle, only applied on a huger scale—“design unto others a place you would like to live in yourself”.
I think one obvious trait of such a self-designed society would be equality for all. After all, you’d want to allow for the possibility for being reborn as a member of a minority race or of the opposite gender.
Comments anyone? Maybe I could post this on a forum somewhere.
(Mildly acidic addendum) David’s own definition: Society is a place where, no matter how screwed up you are, there will still be a place for you. (warning: stereotypes ahead) Are you a geek with no life at all? Good! You can still be an engineer! Are you able to lie, cheat, steal, hustle and scam yet still remain a patriot? Good! You can still be a politician (Republican/Democrat irrelevant). Are you slimy enough to sell a fridge to an Eskimo? Good! You can still be a telemarketer! Are you full of pent-up rage and trauma from past parental abuse? Good! You can join the army! See, no matter who or what you are, or how much people hate your guts, society still has a place for you!
That’s the magic of society really. It takes beings that are inherently flawed and makes them coherently flawed. Kind of like a positive version of the old joke about committees: a group of men who individually can do nothing but as a group decide that nothing can be done. Harhar.
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