Utopia:
the route of all evil?
“The lack of money is
the root of all evil.”
George Bernard Shaw.
“But no perfection is
so absolute, that some impurity doth not pollute.” William Shakespeare.
Utopia is commonly
defined as: “An imagined place or state of things in which everything is
perfect. The word was first used in the book Utopia (1516) by Sir Thomas More.” For me, this is such a redundant
definition. I would go so far as to say that I intellectually loathe it. I
cannot fathom how a society can be perfect by any objective criteria. My
contention -- or beef – with utopia is that it is, by its very nature,
subjective. As a consequence, utopia,
even as an ideal, cannot exist in an objective sense. I have used this phrase
many times, but it really applies: the only utopia that can exist is one which
is determined by mass shared subjectivity. As a consequence, only a utilitarian
utopia can exist as an ideal, let alone in reality.
If
we think about it, one man’s utopia is another’s hell. An Islamist would love
to see a one-world government with sharia law implemented. A neo-Nazi would
detest such a world, and would want a racial divide instead. I could go on ad nauseam, but I won’t. The point is abundantly clear, isn’t it?
As humans are diverse, their conflicting utopias can only result, ultimately,
in an extreme. That extreme is war.
Many
people are willing to fight, and to die for their utopia. Marxists, Nazis,
Christians, Hindus, Jews and many other groups have done so, all too gladly. “War,”
as Trotsky said, “is the locomotive of history.” As a result, utopia is probably only going to
self-actualise through mass bloodshed, as revolutions are seldom peaceful. That
said, Ghandi’s strategy of passive resistance obviously contradicts this, but
this is very much the exception to the rule.
Consequently,
we have to ask ourselves: is utopia is the route of all evil? I think that is
for you to think about, rather than for me to say.
I
would prefer it if Ghandi’s strategy would allow my utopia to become a reality, but I doubt the world’s nations will
destroy fiat currency, and throw away their nuclear arsenals any time soon.
But, Samuel, I hear you cry, what is your utopia?
As
depressed as I am with the current situation -- perhaps I have been staring
into Nietzsche’s abyss for too long -- I still have hope. My hope for humanity is that it embraces the
ideas of Jacques Fresco. Personally, I think philosophy is at its best when it
actively tries to change the world, rather than merely analysing it. I am quite
aware that I have paraphrased a Marxist quote, but in this case the quote
serves the purpose of going beyond Marxism. I’m referring to The Venus Project, which has been
criticised as utopian.
It
is easy to see how sick mainstream society is when utopia is now a pejorative
term. Surely, we should think of utopia as something to strive towards, rather
than an ideal to mock and scoff at?
The Venus Project is extremely
provocative to any philosopher, as it is filled with egalitarian and revolutionary
values. The reason The Venus Project is so revolutionary is due to the fact that it
wishes to replace the current situation with an economic system in which goods,
services, and information are free. But,
Samuel, isn’t that communism? No, it’s not. Communist countries still
employ state capitalism. In a RBE (resource based economy) there are no nuclear
weapons, no banks, no money, no military, no suppression of technology, and no
‘charismatic’ personality cults. It’s also supremely technological, utilising
bleeding edge technology that would make fossil fuels redundant, and
advertising wouldn’t occur as there wouldn’t be any competing products. It’s
rather odd, I concede. However, it’s only odd because we’ve been indoctrinated
to believe no society can function without money, and that greed and
‘competition’ are the only true motivators.
I
can’t do The Venus Project justice in
a mere couple of pages. All I can say is that according to my thought
processes, it is worthy of merit, and, therefore, further investigation. If you
value life more widely than the paradigm of money, working 9-5, and package
holiday deals, then have a genuine look at what a RBE can offer you. For me,
its tenets are altruistic, and nothing can be more profound than the love you bear
your fellow man or woman.
If
you whole-heartedly reject the ideas of Nietzsche’s (not so) Ubermensch, Ayn Rand’s love of selfishness, the basic corrupt global lottery
of quality of life, and think that
capitalism is inherently evil, I suggest you get acquainted with Jacques
Fresco.
What
can you conclude, if anything, from reading this article? I would say the
lessons which can be learnt are threefold; utopia doesn’t exist in an objective
sense; competing utopias may lead to misery; my utopia, based on Fresco’s
ideas, is extremely meritorious. I do
feel, however, that this article shouldn’t end with my words. We started with
Shaw, so we should end with Wilde, who was a philosopher, amongst other things.
“A map of the world
that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out
the one country at which Humanity is always landing. And when Humanity lands
there, it looks out, and, seeing a better country, sets sail. Progress is the
realisation of Utopias.”
―
Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man under
Socialism.
By the one and only
Samuel Mack-Poole
The Philosophy Takeaway 'Utopia' Issue 44
