Notes on Utopia
What is Utopia?
Is it a pleasant feeling of a perfect social lounge such as depicted in Utopia by Jaeden Camstra feat. Candid, a pleasant swelling and almost nostalgic feeling?
A world with no problems?
A world where society has figured it out, that nobody is sad, angry, or guilty?
Would that world be possible?
What would it look like?
The following writings are not a cohesive point, or even a solution to a problem. It is a collection of various thoughts and notes on the broader topic of utopia, political alignment, empathy, and humanity as a whole. Some my leeway into the next, some may build upon a previous, and some my take a completely different position than the previous. In my mind, I have gone through a lot of change over the years I have started academia that has lead to both personal and social growth, especially since starting my MFA. I have ideas and contradictions swirling within that feel daunting to address, as this fundamental shift in myself is something I do not take lightly. Through this, you might feel as if you(the reader) have a chance to step into my head, and you might wholeheartedly disagree with my thoughts, or maybe even find new things to consider for your self.
What is wrong with Utopia?
Utopia can not really exist, as to pursue a utopia would be similar to pursuing perfection, perfection which is also unattainable as it exists only as a construct and not as something tangible that can be attained. We live in a time when our planet is dying, the after-effects of industrialization and modernity have created societies and functions that harm us, harm our families, harm our already short lifespan, harm our environment, harm our ecosystems.
Society through the lens of fiction and reality alike have viewed utopianism as a dark horse, something that only is pursued by the naïve and short-sighted. Society now is so avid on defending systems of belief we exist under currently that they often do not take the time to consider healthier alternatives, or motions of change. This can often be out of a lack of education, or, in the case of America for example, a sense of blissful ignorance and complacency.
“Good Enough” is not good enough. When did we choose to forget as a society about the history of our own people? When did we become complacent in viewing the current system as the only tangible form of society when this system itself is only roughly 200 years old?
Utopia can be strived for.
To strive for utopia is human nature, the bettering of ourselves, our planet, our community, our lives. Our species is not special, we are animals, we are part of the ecosystem. We have garnished this toxic ideation that we have been chosen by evolution to be the masters of the planet through our gift of consciousness, intelligence, and opposable thumbs. We are not masters, we were not born to rule, we were born to co-exist with the planet and it’s diverse creatures.
Utopia will not be a perfect society. There is no perfect society. Utopia will not happen tomorrow if we take action today. There will be struggle, there will be issue, people will disagree on the many topics and ways of handling any given situation.
Human beings are not a parasite.
Humans, contrary to the legalist point of view, are not born evil. The idea of human nature being intrinsically related to violence, war, and aggression has been suggested by many philosophers Western and Non-Western alike, with a focus on an individualist point of view that humans are always centered at the idea of self-service and gain. I believe this is not true, humans are social based animals made to survive and nurture their selves within community.
It is human nature to want to help and care for those who are not capable of self care, dating back to hunter-gatherers acting upon this rational form of compassion. It is because of hierarchical and social systems imprinting on us that we believe that we are selfish, or that an ungoverned populous would cause infighting and no regards for others.
The system, such as Americas for example, creates social reasons for rules in the society such as owning and purchasing money, food, housing, or any other basic necessity. Thus, the act of stealing is also created by society, most commonly as a condition of the system itself. Those who do not have money, and thus do not have food, must take what is necessary for them to survive.
It is true that fear and desperation are mechanics within our nature for survival, yet every person experiences this fear differently. One might be afraid of heights while the other afraid of water, typically connected to a lived or learned experience that causes them to be wary or scared. The government grapples onto and effectively manipulates the fear and contrasting comfort of safety to create an environment of control, to which questioning their policy causes a “necessary reaction” from appropriate government forces.
And still the most fear is felt within the government itself, fear of losing control, fear of an educated populous, and fear of losing the power they grasp onto so desperately. Power universally and wholly corrupts, that is of no question. Therefore, it is much easier to convince a population that dependency is a must, to reinforce a narrative that without the state, society would fall to death, ruin, theft, and poverty.
There is no future under capitalism.
Capitalism is unsustainable. It it a system defined by self-service, individualism, and crippling meritocracy. The very definition of a free market capitalist economy is greed and profit, there can be no ecologically sustainable world and biodiverse community as long as we operate a system in which a select few remain in power.
Although many believe that capitalism has put in motion modernity and improved the entirety of our everyday lives, it has brought about a ruin so severe on a social and ecological basis that we have done more damage to the planet in 300 years than in the entire time humans have roamed the Earth. Globalization, Free Market Enterprise, Land Ownership, Colonialism, the need for energy, and many more systems have caused the earth to slowly rot from it’s core, all for the sake of individual liberties.
The word “growth” is commonly associated with nothing but positives. It is considered often counter-intuitive to be against the concept of growth. Yet, the practice of “Degrowth” provides grounds for a much better world. The average human simply uses too much. Too much meat. Too much power. Too much fuel. Too much.
Sacrifice and The Individual.
When speaking on the idea of Degrowth, the initial response is typically associated with “but your typing this on a computer right now, yet you don’t believe in computers?” in a snarky, condescending tone as if they’ve figured everything out and pointed out my hypocritical thought process and ways. That is true, I am using power right now, I take longer showers than I really need to (hot ones, too), and I am going to most likely have some form of meat for dinner tonight like most nights. I’m not, in any way, proposing that these luxuries in life should be phased out and we should go back to living in caves, bathing in rivers, and hunting for our own sustenance.
Degrowth is not cutting off cold turkey. It is a reduction of privilege's and a focus on necessities, for society now relies entirely on a cycle of viscous consumerism backed by advertisement of the unnecessary and over-reliance on mass production. The individual, especially in western society, lacks the understanding of how much selfishness we display in these actions.
Our world can get better.
It is not too late. We can repair, mend, or reverse the affects of what we’ve done. It may take more than a lifetime to do so, but action now could significantly improve our species and the planets future. What we need is to understand that we must cut, as soon as feasible, carbon and oil based productions. We need to lean in on carbon neutral means, even if they are not perfect. The understanding that they will produce less overall power comes with the acknowledgments of the cutbacks in our personal energy use, may it be possible to see quotas on power usage in the future, while still allowing leisure and play, could we reduce the worlds unsatiable need for energy?
We need the library.
Why must I own everything?
Why should I spend hundreds or thousands to personally own a tool or tools, for example, that I may only use on occasion, perhaps even every few years if they are only for a specific need?
Why must I own a truck to transport furniture, when I might only need it to pick up that piece from a depot?
Why should I have to buy a crib for my newborn, only to (more than likely) throw that crib out and get a bed once my child becomes a toddler?
The system of libraries are as genius as they are historically timeless. We have created communal spaces of knowledge that allows those without ability to collect a large number of books a space to borrow, learn, read, and return thousands of different pieces of literature. The ability this grants to educate someone who is less privileged than another does not even need be mentioned. To add to this, the library encourages positive treatment of our possessions, collectively as a people, we take care to not damage or hurt the books, so that the next person may enjoy it just as much.
Why not create more common areas like this for the items in life that are not needed permanently? We have seen rise to community workshops, group clay fires, and sometimes toolshares within a library, but why not take this to another higher level? Who says that one cannot just go get a garden trowel when we need it, and return it when we’re done. Maybe even having the trowel for a longer period of time with no penalty or fault given?
What would be a possible conflict with this line of thinking? Do we worry that people will damage or steal? Do we get attached a trowel, if so, should we entertain that attachment?
We need speculative fiction.
I think, to this end, speculative fictions such as literature, design fictions, or more are fantastic tools to educate a user on the potentiality of the future. Having a multitude of options is great for the enrichment and enlightenment of our development. Whether they be utopian or dystopian in nature, we can agree that each form of fiction shows the reader/viewer of a new world that can be explored or found within an idea.
It acts as a medium, both for warning signs and for optimism. Through this, we are also capable of making engagement with these difficult topics fun and enjoyable. We can be silly, overly sarcastic, extremely grim, or even rigid and authoritative to demonstrate a point. We can express our thoughts and convince someone to view the world from our side with visuals and worlds that seem so unreal and dreamlike yet like they could happen at any point in the future.
Wrapping things up.
I think with these thoughts all around I can say that I choose to believe in the concept of Utopia. Why not? It’s better than sitting around hopeless and sad watching the world crumble. As I said in my very first note, I don’t believe a full utopia is possible. Alternatively, I do believe that it is admirable and perfectly fine to pursue an idea of utopia. I also think that researching and creating dystopian views is just as valid, as those messages often carry with then a weight or responsibility of informing the reader/viewer that there is something innately wrong.
Why not try to make something better with what we have?
