Is a utopia possible on earth?

Topic: Is a utopia possible?


Disclaimer: This article is merely a utopia in a nutshell. A proper understanding of a utopia requires a lot more in depth research into all braches that make up human society.

Content

1) Introduction

2) Attempts at making a utopia

3) Utopias in history

4) The requirements

5) Possibility

-In depth

6) What will it be like?


Introduction

Utopia. The mention of the word brings us to a place of peace, tranquillity and order, a place very different from where we are now. In a utopia we see people with happy faces, a place where no one is lacking; there is no poverty, no crime, and no discrimination. Just a simple, peaceful, idyllic life for all who live in such a world.

There have been many mentions of utopia in history. It even goes all the way back to ancient times, which shows that, building a utopia has always been a dream for man. The word utopia is actually a Greek word which literally means, “Good place”. There are many types of utopias; there are ecological utopias, economical utopias, religious utopias, political utopias and scientific utopias. But the utopia that I will talk about will cover a little of everything, but in the bigger picture, it encompasses everything.

Attempts at making a utopia

There have been many attempts to create utopias in the course of human history, most, if not all of them are spawned from an ideal or an ideology. For example, the ideology called communism points towards a possible utopia, where everyone is equal, and there is no discrimination between classes. The elite mingle with the lower classes, and vice versa. It will be an economical powerhouse, where everyone works collectively for the good of the nation. Art and culture will flourish as people become able to afford luxury goods, and have the time to spend on going to operas or museums. Politically, 1 party will exist, so that there is no strife, there would be a politburo, which will convene and discuss important matters. Science will develop rapidly and will benefit all of mankind. At least that’s the way it looks on paper. In reality however, it was on the other side of the spectrum. In reality, there was a huge gap between the rich and the poor, there was no equality. The rich got richer, and the poor got poorer. The 2 different classes, the elites and the proletariat, didn’t mingle, the elites had their own agenda and made use of the proletariat to achieve it. It became an economical powerhouse, but it was built on forced labour and lies. People worked collectively for the good of the nation, but saw little rewards. Art and culture couldn’t flourish as the people couldn’t afford it. There was also a lack of luxury goods for the lower classes. Art and culture was also heavily censored, so for those who could afford it, it was appallingly limited. The only art and culture that thrived was propaganda. Even though the old Soviet Union was run by 1 political party, it was a place where politicians fought one another. There was hardly any unity. Decisions that the politburo made did not necessarily benefit the people. It seemed to benefit the elites more. Science developed rapidly, with the Soviets being the first nation in history to send a man to space, but not all science benefitted the people. Comparing the 2 scenarios, the one in theory, and the one in practice, they were both on different ends of the spectrum. The theoretical one was a possible utopia. The practical one was a definite dystopia.

Utopias in History

But not all utopias were actually created, some were stories, other remained, just ideals. For example the story of Atlantis was a story that Plato, the Greek philosopher, created. Atlantis was an economic powerhouse, where every citizen was rich. The Atlanteans had an unrivalled knowledge of science, and was supposedly able to create an elixir of youth. They didn’t believe in slavery, and so created automata, robotic servants, to carry out their building projects. The Atlanteans also had a ruling system which included a king and his parliament, sort of like a constitutional monarchy. But in the end, we all know what happened. Atlantis was wiped out in a natural disaster, and sank beneath the waves.

Another utopia comes from a religious text, the Holy Bible. The utopia I’m referring to is the legendary, Garden of Eden. In it Adam and Eve would live forever, having dominion over all animals. The only condition was not to eat the fruit from the tree in the centre of the garden. Which, ultimately, they did eat from, and were cast out forever.

If there is something in common between the last 2 utopias, then it is this. They were supposedly real and ultimately either destroyed or lost, making it unable for us to ascertain its existence. Why is this so? Because, if it existed then why on earth would anyone want to live where they were? They could simply go to Atlantis or the Garden of Eden and live there forever. The stories were made to give people hope, and something to desire for. It will be the pinnacle of human civilization if we ever achieved it.

The requirements

As I’ve mentioned before the word utopia comes from the Greek, “Good place”. So what would be required to call a society a utopia? Well, it would definitely require everything that is good, and reject everything that is bad.

So what are the good things to accept? To be considered a utopia a society will need to achieve political and economical stability. Its citizens have to be understanding and tolerant. Art and culture has to be free and readily available to all. Science has to be unhindered and created not for the benefit of one person, but for the benefit of all. There has to be a constant peace, meaning no crime, no wars, internal or external. But ultimately, for a society to be called a utopia, all its citizens have to be immortal.

Why? This will be explained in the 2nd part, which is, what are the bad things to reject? Basically, a utopian society has to reject political and economical failure, discrimination and intolerance of any kind. Art and culture cannot be limited and denied to the masses. Science that benefits one, or does not advance the betterment of mankind must be rejected. Constant crime and war has to be rejected strongly. And of course, death has to be destroyed. Again you may ask why, and so here is the explanation. Let’s just say that all the requirements are met for a utopia, all except one, which is the defeat of death. Then with every death of a citizen, his/her relatives and friends will mourn, and grieve. That is not ideal in a utopia, for it is a “Good place”. And sadness and anguish is definitely not good. Thus if death is defeated, no one will have to suffer from sorrow and anguish, making it a true utopia.

Possibility

So is it possible to have a utopia? Yes, it most certainly is. All it requires is understanding and immortality in order to achieve the rest. So if you’ve read my other article “Is it possible to be immortal via melding with machines?” You would understand how close humanity is to achieving immortality. However, understanding is going to be, no doubt, harder to achieve. We live in a world of many races and cultures, each with their own perspective on the world. Each believing that their race and culture is the right one. And because these cultures have been around for so long, it’s going to be hard to get them to see things from a new perspective. Which is why, everyone in this world has to maintain an open mind when it comes to understanding one another. With understanding, the next step can be peace. With peace and cooperation from one another we can have political and economical stability. With economical and political stability, we can have art and culture for all. Science will be unhindered and man can live in a utopia.

If you can’t see the string of events then allow me to explain it.

Understanding -> Peace & Cooperation

Assuming that immortality has been achieved then what’s next? The next step will be global understanding. With understanding, we can become more tolerant of one another. Discrimination can become non-existent. This will allow each and every one on earth to live more harmoniously together, allowing for better cooperation between all the 193 different nations of the world.

Peace & Cooperation -> Political and Economical Stability

With peace and cooperation from all nations of the world, political and economical stability can be achieved. Let’s begin by talking about political stability. There is an organisation in New York that is like a world government. That organisation is called, the United Nations (UN). It is a place where all nations get together and discuss topics that affect their own country, or the world as a whole. The UN is further divided into many sub-committees that tackle specific problems, for example the United Nations Security Council tackles, specifically, topics relating to the security of the world. The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) address economical and social topics. So on and so forth. With peace and cooperation, the UN is the perfect place for all nations to gather and help one another. For example if a country is affected by natural disasters, all other nations will come to that nations aid, and help it to recover quickly, reducing the time it needs to recover, and allowing to get back on its feet economically. This leads me to my 2nd point, economical stability. When there is peace and cooperation between all nations in the world, any nation which is lacking will find itself with aid coming from all its friends. This allows them to build industries and provide jobs for all its citizens, allowing it to support itself, and maybe even help other nations. These processes take time, but can definitely be achieved.

Political and Economical Stability -> Art and Culture for all

With political and economical stability, citizens will be able to live in peace, hold a job, and support their family and themselves. This allows them to spend their free time on art and culture, which will by then, be easily accessible to the masses. That is because, not everyone will be working in factories. Some may be working as artists, singers, musicians, providing for the people’s entertainment needs, as it is an important aspect of human life to have time to relax and enjoy. Since the average citizens have stable jobs, and sufficient income, they can spend it on activities such as going to museums, going for operas, buying luxury goods for themselves, pampering themselves at spas, so on and so forth. With art and culture for all, people will feel contented and not feel bored and overworked, bringing the society one step closer to achieving utopia status.

Political and Economical Stability -> Unhindered Scientific progress

With political and economical stability, peace and cooperation, the world’s greatest minds can get together and help advance science and technology for the betterment of human society. That is because the scientists would have almost unlimited research funds, and ideas from all over the world. This will exponentially speed up the progress of human civilization, and herald in a new golden age of discovery and inventions.

What will it be like?

A utopia will be a man made heaven on earth. Everything that you want to do can be done. There will be no division amongst man, and crime will be unheard of. Everyone will not be lacking, and people will live in ultimate luxury. There will be a peace that has been unheard of before, due to cooperation and understanding from everyone. There will be no more wars or civil unrest. That’s what a utopia will be like at a glance. And I do believe that it is entirely possible to create one.

Disclaimer: This article is merely a utopia in a nutshell. A proper understanding of a utopia requires a lot more in depth research into all braches that make up human society.