Where to get a dream. Living utopias: 10 options for an ideal future

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Living utopias: 10 options for an ideal future

The last "official" utopia - the dream of capitalist globalization - has finally died. The scale of the global crisis forced even its staff ideologists to admit it. Globalization is now an even more abusive concept than Soviet communism. Not a single concept of an ideal society remained that would have massive supporters. But living without a dream is, firstly, dangerous, and secondly, impossible. What will be the new utopia that will take over the world?

“There is a decree that none of the cases concerning the republic should be enforced if it was not discussed in the Senate three days before the decision was taken. It is a criminal offense to make decisions on public affairs other than the Senate or the People's Assembly,”wrote Thomas More in his monarchical 16th century.

Utopia. A place that doesn't exist. More precisely, not on the world map, but in the minds of people. First, the utopia virus infects some talented madman. Then an epidemic begins. And often naive dreams turn into reality.

In 1897, at the Zionist Congress in Basel, Theodor Herzl called on Jews to create their own country with their own laws, language and customs. It seemed then as naive as the dreams of More or Campanella. Herzl knew it himself. “I created a Jewish state” - if I said this out loud, I would be ridiculed. But, perhaps, in five years, and certainly in fifty years, everyone will see it himself,”he wrote in his diary. And exactly half a century later, a by no means imaginary state of Israel appeared on the world map. Utopia was overgrown with tank troops and satellite-guided missiles.

But for more than half a century, the world has been trying hard to give up the dream. Horror stories like Brave New World! Huxley, Zamyatin's "We" or Orwell's "1984" still smell like fresh ink. After the experience of building totalitarian societies, it became indecent and very dangerous to dream of an ideal future.

It is now believed that social dreams are the lot of the past centuries. It was our naive ancestors who were all running around with all sorts of "isms." Only acute paranoia could push people into prisons or barricades for the sake of some kind of constructions of an ideal future. You can just live a normal life, get a salary, take out consumer loans, and if you really want to improve the world, donate a couple of hundred to some children's fund or to Greenpeace … Isn't it possible? Or not?

"A man without a utopia is scarier than a man without a nose," said Chesterton. The development of society is impossible without some kind of reference point looming ahead as a bright spot. We get into a car with an automatic transmission, fill it with excellent gasoline and suddenly realize that we have nowhere to go. Without an idea of the final point of the route, you don't need a car. And utopia is not so much a goal as a movement towards this goal.

We want to look at utopias not as a genre of science fiction, but as a fully realizable version of the future. It's not that easy. You can blame the existing order of things for a long time, but as soon as you offer an alternative, it seems naive and absurd. It seems that our world is arranged in the most intelligent way.

But try to look at our civilization from the point of view of some advanced alien. He is unlikely to be able to understand why conscripts, financial brokers, mid-level officials or marketing managers are needed. Our wars, our politics, our cities, our television - is this less absurd than any of the utopias? “You do not live on the inner surface of the ball. You live on the outside of the ball. And there are still many such balls in the world, on some they live much worse than you, and on some - much better than you. But nowhere do they live more stupidly … Don't you believe? Well, to hell with you, "- diagnosed Maxim from" Inhabited Island ".

What seemed absurd in the past becomes normal in the future. And vice versa. Imagine that you are a peasant living in the time of Thomas More. And you are told: “Every day you will go underground and enter the shaking iron box. In addition to you, there are still a hundred people in it, standing tightly hugging each other … "Most likely, the peasant will fall to his knees in horror and beg for mercy:" Why do you want to subject me to such a terrible torture? !! " But we are talking about a banal metro.

When you start telling someone another version of utopia, skepticism immediately arises: they say, people are accustomed to a certain way of life and it is possible to make them change only with the help of totalitarian violence. But let's take a simple example - slavery. Several centuries ago, it seemed to be the norm. In the same "Utopia" by Thomas More, it was easily reported: "Slaves are not only constantly busy with work, but also chained …" The comfortable life of a noble man was not possible without slaves, serfs, or at least servants. And we are quite managing ourselves. And we even manage to fry scrambled eggs in the morning without the participation of the cook.

The question of utopia is a question of social norm and social values. In every society there is a majority - “normal people” - and there are different groups of people who “want the strange,” or, more crudely, marginalized people. Utopia turns some of the “strange” versions into normal, while yesterday’s “normal”, on the contrary, becomes exotic. Utopias are not needed in order to immediately begin to implement them, destroying those who disagree and wasting all the resources of mankind on this. Utopias give value, meaning and direction to a world that will never be perfect.

But where will utopias come from if they are all thrown off the steamer of modernity and exposed by dark dystopias? Perhaps ideas will arise that we are not even aware of now. But it is possible that those utopias that still live and are even realized as the local experience of individuals and communities will attract attention. We offer 10 utopian ideas, each of which rests on values that, perhaps someday, will be shared by millions.

Psychological utopia

In response to what was born. Mass neuroses, numerous tragedies, wars, crimes that occur from the mental illness of individuals and masses.

Great goal. Psychological health of a person and society.

Forerunners. Behavior classic Berres Skinner. The author of the sociometry method and psychodrama technique Jacob Moreno. The founder of humanistic psychology, Abraham Maslow.

Economy. It is understood that "psychological capital" is no less significant than financial. The main incentive is not money, but psychological health, comfort, wisdom.

Control. Psychologists take part in almost all significant decisions related to politics, finance, and the army. Social conflicts are overcome as psychological. Politics is the art of curing mass neuroses.

Technologies. Intensive development and technologization of psychological practices. Natural sciences also benefit from revealing the personal qualities and abilities of scientists, getting rid of unnecessary conflicts in the academic environment.

Lifestyle. Relationships between people imply openness, frankness, mutual support, direct expression of any emotion. It is normal to radically change your lifestyle, work, place of residence. What we today consider downshifting (for example, changing the position of director to a gardener) has become commonplace. Education has ceased to be the privilege of children and continues throughout life.

Residents of Utopia - about dissenting marginals. “In general, we have no dissidents. There are people who are very much attached to their neuroses and manias and even call psychologists “Fuhrer” and “evil manipulators”, and everyone else is “happy idiots”. We are not offended."

From the newspaper "Truth of Utopia". “The Ministry of Personal Development vetoed the draft state budget. According to representatives of the ministry, this document is certainly well developed in terms of the needs of industry and defense, but the psychological component leaves much to be desired."

Where does it exist now. Psychotherapeutic groups of different types and schools, communes with a psychological bias (following the example of Western communities for the treatment of drug addicts).

Neoliberalism

In response to what was born. Low efficiency of the state bureaucracy and the excessive influence of state institutions on literally all spheres of society.

Great goal. True freedom, natural self-organization and prosperity based on free enterprise and individualism.

Forerunners. Milton Friedman, Friedrich von Hayek, Chicago School of Economics.

Economy. The market economy is becoming total, all barriers to trade have been removed.

Control. The world government only monitors the observance of the rules of the game and has minor social obligations to the poor and the disabled.

Technologies. The question of which technologies to develop is decided only by a market governed by commercial interests and strict copyright laws.

Lifestyle. "There is no such thing as society" - this is how Margaret Thatcher formulated the credo of neoliberalism. Competition for the best place in the sun takes place between people organized into enterprises in free market competition. Multiculturalism has become the norm: everyone knows several languages and plays freely with quotes, musical phrases and philosophical maxims of different cultures, without falling into dependence on the dogmas of any of them. People are free from all and all gender, ethnic, religious differences. There are no more nation states. Due to the fact that market expediency is a common language for all spheres of life, relations between people have finally become clear and transparent, and most importantly, less hostile. Nothing evokes hatred - no different identities, no sexual infidelity.

Resident of Utopia - about dissenting marginals. “In some places, there is still a dense fundamentalism - nationalism, religious intolerance. But all this is gradually fading away. So I am personally concerned about groups that believe that it is necessary to dramatically increase taxes on non-commercial expenses - from 1 to 1.2% - to help the weak, the disabled, and animals. I myself deduct contributions to the charitable foundation and I think that such a decision would be an infringement of my rights."

From the newspaper "Truth of Utopia". “Claims that emotional support spoken out loud should be priced at a higher rate than tactile support is simply ridiculous. We adhere to the point of view that such actions should be assessed by the result, and the volumes of payments should be negotiated in contracts, as it is done today in all developed regions of the world."

Where does it exist now. In its most striking manifestations, neoliberal utopia was partially realized in Great Britain and some countries of Western Europe.

Pedagogical utopia

In response to what was born. Imperfection of education, and most importantly - upbringing of children.

Great goal. Education of a humane, creative, comprehensively developed person, harmonious development of mankind.

Forerunners. The Strugatsky brothers with their "Theory of Education", J. K. Rowling and her professor Dumbledore, Makarenko, Janusz Korczak, are modern educators-innovators.

Economy. Education and upbringing is a key area for investment.

Control. The educator has a status close to that of a top manager. The Board of Educators has the right to veto any political decision.

Technologies. Advanced learning tools such as "social simulators" based on virtual reality technologies.

Lifestyle. Children are placed in special boarding schools from a very young age. At the same time, parents and children can see each other whenever they want. Parents have a lot of free time to devote to sports, art, charity or education.

From the newspaper "Truth of Utopia". “I have already passed all the tests, trials and interviews, the commission recognized me as suitable for work as a teacher. I confess: it was not easy, I am proud that everything worked out. It seems to me that I was a successful leader and deserved the right to work in a boarding school,”the director of a furniture company, who is planning to change his specialty in the coming months, told our correspondent. Let us remind that the competition for the places of educators appearing in connection with the growth of the population reaches ten thousand people per place”.

Resident of Utopia about dissenting marginals. “In the years of my youth, there were still backward parents who refused to send their children to boarding schools. Now there are practically no such people, since the growth opportunities for those who have dropped out of the System are extremely limited. But, of course, I categorically disagree with the Makarenko group, which demands to prohibit communication between parents and children under the age of 18”.

Where can you see it now. "Advanced" Russian schools (including boarding schools, for example, the Moscow "Intellectual"), summer educational camps.

Information utopia

In response to what was born. The inability of the human brain to assess the correctness of the decision, including the one on which the fate of humanity depends.

Great goal. Freeing people from routine, all non-creative work should be done by machines.

Forerunners. Ideas for rebuilding society on the basis of information technology are put forward by a variety of people - from rebel programmers in rumpled T-shirts to respectable analysts from consulting agencies.

Economy. Fully open and virtual to a large extent. Thanks to this, all economic actions have a cumulative effect, increasing the well-being of the entire population.

Control. The transfer of legislative power into the hands of the entire population. Any important decision is made on the basis of almost instantaneous universal voting on the Internet. Administration functions are kept to a minimum. The development of technology for the expression of the will of the people is carried out by artificial intelligence.

Technologies. First of all, informational. One hundred percent computerization of the world. The Global Network is communicated to every inhabitant of the planet. Artificial intelligence creation.

Lifestyle. Almost all information that exists in the world is accessible, and at the same time there are powerful algorithms for its search and processing. This applies to everything - from business to sex. Marriages are not made in heaven, but thanks to the exact calculation of the compatibility of the future couple. Computer diagnostics made it possible to identify diseases at a very early stage, which sharply increased the life expectancy of the population.

Residents of Utopia - about dissenting marginals. “They say that in Africa and South America there are still entire tribes who refuse to use the capabilities of artificial intelligence and connect to the Web. Recently, the ultras have caused great concern - they believe that all decisions, including those related to their lives, should be made by artificial intelligence, since its decisions are more accurate."

From the newspaper "Truth of Utopia": “Yesterday, 85 referendums were held on the planet. Of these, the voting on the Earth's development budget was of a planetary nature. Let's remind that the main subject of discussion was the financing of the project “Artificial Intelligence in Every Home”. The program was again rejected by 49% of the vote against 38%. Thirteen percent of citizens abstained. Let us remind you that a year ago more than half of the voters voted against this project”.

Where can you see it now. Social networks on the Internet, dating sites, online stores, Internet tenders, "electronic governments", ERP systems.

National-religious utopia

In response to what was born. An impasse and moral decline, into which many countries have entered, abandoning their own traditions for the sake of wealth.

Great goal. If not heaven on earth, then Holy Russia, righteous Iran or modernized but enlightened India.

Forerunners. Leaders of the Islamic revolution in Iran, supporters of religious grounds for building the state of Israel, leaders of the Vatican, Mahatma Gandhi, numerous leaders of Protestant sects in the United States, Russian religious philosophers of the early 20th century and many others.

Economy. Development through conservative modernization, that is, the use of traditions - alive or revived in the construction of market and social institutions. Example: Islamic banking (lending money at interest is prohibited by the Koran).

Control. Institutions and all major decisions are consistent with the national cultural tradition, in difficult issues, decisions are not for a secular leader or a referendum, but for the righteous charismatic.

Technologies. Humanitarian and pedagogical technologies are enriched with mystical tradition, techniques of prayer, yoga, rituals.

Lifestyle. Every minute of life is filled with meaning, prayer. Whether you're doing programming or banking, it's not just work, it's soul-elevating obedience. A strong work ethic leads to prosperity; Of course, each country has its own customs and traditions, but all people are believers, and in all countries they understand each other well, and therefore are religiously tolerant.

Residents of Utopia - about dissenting marginals. “There are also atheists, but for them we organized an atheist church so that they would not be infringed on their rights. Much more dangerous are those groups that believe that their religion should become the only one, even if by military means. They do not understand that they are contrary to the will of God: if He wanted, there would be only one religion in the world."

From the newspaper "Truth of Utopia". “Another dispute between Shiites and Sunnis took place in Medina. According to sociologists, more than half a billion viewers watched the discussion on TV, and more than ten thousand people from all over the world gathered in Medina itself. Equally interesting is the discussion between Judaists and representatives of the Vatican, which will take place next Wednesday in Jerusalem. Already today there are no vacant places not only in the hotels of the Holy City, but also practically in all of Israel and Palestine."

Where does it exist now. In religious communities, in some families, which combine patriarchal values with inclusion in modern society.

New Age

In response to what was born. Churchmen and politicians hide from the people not only the truth, but also the path to spiritual perfection, enlightenment, turning people into stupid slaves, puppets, unable to cognize mystical reality.

Great goal. Each person should have access to mystical experience, sexual pleasures, new emotions.

Forerunners. American beatniks, Russian theosophists (Gurdjieff, Blavatsky), Carlos Castaneda, founders of syncretic churches such as Bahaism, mystics and gurus of all stripes, hippies.

Economy. Free and fair exchange without money. Take what you want and do as you know, unless it harms another; no copyright or property accumulation.

Control. Spiritual teachers occupy key positions in society. Each school builds its own hierarchy. At the head are gurus, further advanced followers, beginners at the very bottom, etc. But in fact, all these various teachings form a worldwide, albeit heterogeneous mystical church.

Technologies. Scientists and engineers are also sectarians, and their work is a recognized form of spiritual practice.

Lifestyle. People are united in groups, communities, etc., each of which chooses its own set of spiritual practices, made up of scraps of ancient mystical teachings, religions and philosophies. All sorts of healing options are replacing academic medicine, but if anyone wants, there are pills. Sexual relations are entirely dependent on the teachings of which the members of the group are adherents - from free love and sexual perversion to total abstinence. The fundamental principles of life are non-violence and love for all living things. Vegetarianism, various gymnastics, the absence of bad habits (soft drugs and psychedelics do not count) are in vogue.

Resident of Utopia about dissenting marginals. “Pacific, do you understand? Some do not understand that everything is around sisters and brothers. They do not understand that I am thrown and I have enlightenment. And they: come on, meditate! They would also suggest digging … And they will never treat you to grass."

From the newspaper "Truth of Utopia". “… Teacher John Jin Kuznetsov opened a new way for brothers and sisters to receive full and final enlightenment in just five years. In the near future, the average age of a full Tzu old man may reach 33 years.

Where does it exist now. Hipp communes, mystical communities from Baikal to Mexico.

Transhumanism

In response to what was born. The limited capacity of the human body, in particular disease, aging and death.

Great goal. The transition from Homo sapiens to "posthuman" - a being with more advanced physical and mental abilities.

Forerunners. Philosophers Nick Bostrom, David Pearce and FM-2030 (real name - Fereydoon Esfendiari), as well as science fiction writers.

Economy. Utopia can be realized both under the market system and under the socialist one. But in any case, the main investments go to science, technology and medicine.

Control. One of the main tasks of the authorities is to control the fair distribution of new technological opportunities.

Technologies. Rapid growth of developments related to medicine and pharmaceuticals. Human body enhancement technologies. All organs are subject to replacement (unless, except for the anterior lobes of the cerebral cortex, and even that is not a fact).

Lifestyle. A new body implies a new way of life and customs. Diseases do not exist, people (more precisely, their personality) become practically immortal. Emotions and mood can be regulated by direct stimulation of the brain - almost everyone has a mood switch in their pocket. Drugs and electronic chips help you think faster and remember more.

Residents of Utopia - about dissenting marginals. “There are still rare settlements in which people refuse to change their bodies, generally to use the latest technologies. But they get sick a lot, are aggressive and quickly disappear from the face of the earth. Recently, an ultras movement has emerged that calls for a complete replacement of the human body. They say out loud radical and indecent things, for example, that Homo sapiens is an inferior race."

From the newspaper "Truth of Utopia". “On the agenda of the World Summit is the question of the elimination of internal armies. The initiators of this project believe that ethical norms have changed greatly over the past decades: the absence of natural death makes the concepts of murder and war completely immoral …"

Where does it exist now. Cutting-edge scientific experimentation.

Ecological utopia

In response to what was born. Danger of ecological disaster, depletion of resources, separation of a person from their natural habitat.

Great goal. To live in harmony with nature, to preserve humanity, wildlife, the entire planet in its diversity and beauty.

Forerunners. Various green movements, philosophers like André Gorcet, Murray Bookchin or Nikita Moiseev, partly the Club of Rome.

Economy. Industrial growth is severely limited. The tax system is designed in such a way that it is unprofitable to produce products that somehow pollute the environment. Liberal incentives for production and consumption are severely limited.

Control. Above is a democratic world government. Below - self-government of communities, settlements and other small communities.

Technologies. Development of alternative energy - from solar panels to thermonuclear reactors. A sharp increase in the rate of recycling of secondary materials. Completely new means of communication. Creation of new environmentally friendly means of transport that do not require roads.

Lifestyle. It is fashionable to combine agricultural work with intellectual work. Broken things are usually not thrown away, but repaired. Many items are used collectively, for example, instead of hundreds of televisions in each family, there are several community cinemas. The use of pet labor is considered immoral.

Residents of Utopia - about dissenting marginals. “Sometimes ecovillages degenerate into corporations with a rigid hierarchy and inequality in consumption, sometimes petty leaders go so far as to start eating animal food and revive half-forgotten harmful technologies. On the other hand, there are some settlements in which they are sure that any impact is harmful to nature - they even refuse to artificially breed plants and eat only what grows by itself."

From the newspaper "Truth of Utopia". "It may seem strange to many, but thirty years ago, eating meat from living things was considered completely normal."

Where does it exist now. At the most local level, there are all kinds of ecovillages. At the most global level - the fight against climate warming and the destruction of the ozone layer.

Cosmic utopia

In response to what was born. Impossibility of human development as a species without space exploration.

Great goal. The exit of mankind beyond the boundaries of the Earth, unlimited possibilities of cognition of the world.

Forerunners. Historically: from Copernicus to Tsiolkovsky. Today there are thousands of scientists from different countries. Well, specific projects can be found in the desks of NASA and Roscosmos engineers.

Economy. Mobilization type. Lack of competition. The main investments are in science and space technologies.

Control. Mobilization. Any political action is assessed on the basis of its usefulness and necessity for space exploration. In fact, the world is controlled by a group of scientists - the leaders of the space project.

Technologies. Breakthroughs in a number of natural sciences: astronomy, physics, materials science, chemistry, etc.

Lifestyle. Most citizens feel themselves involved in a world colonization project - the development of other planets or even other star systems. In a sense, the god from hearts returns back to heaven. There are a lot of people who do not have specific citizenship and consider themselves "citizens of the cosmos." The concept of "nationality" is being blurred.

From the newspaper "Truth of Utopia". “There, in the big space, a lot of work is going on. The installers of the space center have already started joining the elements of the first space city, which can accommodate more than 50 thousand inhabitants. Its first inhabitants will be scientists from the research center. Tsiolkovsky - it is here that the cutting edge of the fight against gravity is now taking place.

Resident of Utopia about dissenting marginals. “There are also ordinary people among us who believe that their petty interests are higher than the interests of humanity. They complain about shortcomings in the domestic sphere. However, for the most part these are people of the past, and we even feel sorry for them. It is good that the Council did not follow the lead of the extremists, who demanded that those who do not work for the project be transferred to limited consumption. Let them live as they want."

Where can you see it now. International Space Station. Mars exploration projects.

Alter-globalization utopia

In response to what was born. The injustice of neoliberal globalization. Inequality between the countries of the rich North and the poor South. The imperial ambitions of rich countries in foreign policy and racism in the home.

Great goal. Global cooperation, economic justice, harmony with the environment, the triumph of human rights and cultural diversity.

Forerunners. Leaders of socialism like Marx or Bakunin. Former mastermind of the Red Brigades Tony Negri, linguist Noam Chomsky, economist and publicist Susan George.

Economy. Serial mass production is replaced by handicraft with an emphasis on the uniqueness of the product. Financial transactions are subject to the Tobin tax (0.1-0.25%). Land speculation is prohibited. There is no private ownership of resources and copyrights.

Control. Power is delegated from the bottom up: from "strong" cooperatives, self-governing communities and townships to a "weak" democratic world government.

Technologies. A harmonious combination of high technology and handicraft art, manual and automated labor. No two cars are alike.

Lifestyle. The world is divided into many relatively small communities and communes. Each of them has its own way of life. Somewhere vegetarianism and free love are the norm, and somewhere - patriarchal traditions. The world is one, but diverse. Communities cooperate horizontally. Today the Norwegian fishing community forges an alliance with Sami reindeer herders and Japanese musicians, and then the mood changes in this community and they enter into an alliance with some African cooperative. It's the same with the individual. Each community is free to enter and exit.

Resident of Utopia - about dissenting marginals. "In my opinion, the main threat is the world government, last year it already tried to reassign the Joint Law Enforcement Force, but the council of cooperatives, fortunately, was on the alert."

From the newspaper "Truth of Utopia". “Can a person at seventy-three learn to play the kobyz? Maybe - and this was proved by a well-known theoretical physicist, a former member of the commune of the "Union of Scientists". On the day of his seventieth birthday, he moved to the "Group of Kazakh Musicians", and this year he has already performed as a soloist at a concert organized by the "Asian Folk Center" in Edinburgh."

Where does it exist now. Cooperatives of Brazilian peasants after seizing land from wealthy latifundists. Communes in Western Europe.

Vitaly Leibin, Grigory Tarasevich, Fedor Lobanov, Vladimir Shpak

A source

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