UTOPIA

Lifted from the book “Provocations: Philosophy for Secondary School” by David Birch

A utopia is a perfect society that exists nowhere. Indeed, nowhere is what the word means.
Utopias are imaginary places, plans for a new beginning, designed to show us how good things
could be if only we would listen.

Many writers have described utopias, including Plato, who believed an ideal society would have
no families; Francis Bacon, who thought that science could civilise us; John Milton, who
believed our paradisiacal lives, in which we were shamelessly naked and ate fruit and frolicked
with lions, were ruined by sin; William Morris, who wanted punishment and school to be
abolished, and embroidery embraced; and H. G. Wells, who advocated the sterilisation of ‘unfit’
people.

In 1915 D. H. Lawrence went a step further and seriously considered enacting his moneyless
utopia – ‘Every strong soul must put off its connection with this society, its vanity and chiefly its
fear’ – wondering which of his friends he should invite along to the island he would call
Rananim.

By showing us our potential perfection, utopias expose our real degradation; by telling us how
wonderful society might be, they are telling us how bad it actually is. A utopia is dismay cloaked
in desire.

Utopias are rebirths. By making a new society built on fresh foundations, they teach us how we
can revolutionise the quality of our lives together. Utopias are characterised by a pervasive and
embedded sense of harmony, order and purpose, which is often achieved through technology,
freedom or reason.

The following utopias borrow some common themes and ideas:

1. This society refers to itself as the Great Family. Its people call their elders mother or father
and their equals brother or sister. The leader is not ‘prime minister’ or ‘president’, but the
Supreme Father or the Supreme Mother. The motto of the society is: One people, One blood.
Every morning at 0900 workers and schoolchildren recite The Pledge: ‘I belong to the Great
Family. I am a child of the Supreme Father. I will strive to honour the Family and the Father. I
will never turn away. Security, Permanence, Loyalty – these are our founding principles and I
will give all that I am to preserve them.’ In this society there is no marriage because the Great
Family is the only family. Adults are randomly selected to reproduce and rear, and this task is
performed out of civic duty rather than personal affection.

Conscription is in force. Between the ages of 14 and 18 all people serve in the armed forces. It
is believed that this helps to shape proud and courageous citizens. At 18 they begin working in
the job that was assigned to them at birth, and which they will have till death. Children are
trained to only perform these jobs; they are not educated in irrelevant subjects. Only children
whose future careers require literacy are taught to read and write. The government is
responsible for producing all books and films, which contain instructive messages about unity
and fidelity. There are no elections and the leader is not voted for; as they all say, family is not a
matter of choice, but destiny. There is no poverty or unemployment. Crime is unimportant.
Government happiness surveys show that 98% of the population report feeling, ‘suitably positive
about life’.

2. It may not be right to call this collection of people a society. They live in a vast area of
wilderness, though they do not live together. They lead solitary and self-sufficient lives. Though
there is some trade, people mostly fend for themselves. They grow their own food, build their
own homes and make their own clothes. Contact with others is rare, and if it occurs, it can be
brutal. There are no laws binding these people together. Everything is regarded as a private
affair. If someone is killed and their property stolen, it is the responsibility of the family to seek
retribution, if they so wish. People are not wantonly/not provoked aggressive towards one
another, but they are defensive of their territory, and they are determined survivors. If their crop
has failed, they will see nothing wrong in taking from others. There is no sense of morality, no
belief in how things ought to be, only the acceptance that power and strength are the
determinants of how things are.

3. This society has no crime, no mental disorders; there are no physical disabilities and no
terminal illnesses. The average life expectancy is 105. It is a technologically sophisticated
society that achieves its successes through its ability to manipulate and decide the genetic
make-up of its citizens. No child is born ‘naturally’. It is law that every conception undergoes
genetic screening and there are certain traits that geneticists are legally obliged to remove; for
example, it is a criminal offence to allow the Alzheimer’s gene to pass through screening.

In this society the idea of curing a disease is seen as a medical relic, not too dissimilar from the
way we think of bleeding patients today. Diseases do not need to be cured because they are
prevented from existing in the first place. Cancer is non-existent. Moreover, genes that entail a
predisposition towards crime have been discovered and the law requires these to be screened
out. This also applies to genes responsible for depression, bipolar disorder, ‘subversive
tendency disorder’ (a classification not known to us but described as ‘an inclination towards anti-
authority attitudes and behaviour’, which, it is claimed, ‘is not bad in itself, but results in other
mental health issues brought about by excessive levels of stress and frustration’) and other
such mental illnesses.
Despite these laws the society regards itself as tolerant and pluralistic. Parents are offered a
great deal of choice. For example, they are free to decide the sex, and sexuality, of their
children. They are also free to leave these things to chance, though many parents do not. Most
choose to select the personalities and appearance of their children. For example, they may wish
to give their child the eventual physique of an athlete, the IQ of a chess champion or the
imagination of an artist. Despite the declared pluralism of the society, there are, of course,
fashion trends. Just as in our society there may be decades where the name Britney is popular,
so too in this society there are decades in which many babies grow to physically resemble
particular actors or singers. But fashion is an expression of freedom and this society believes
that its gene-technology enables and extends our ability to live as free individuals.

Questions for Reflection

Which utopia is the best? Which utopia is the worst?

Which utopia is the most/least realistic?
What do you think each utopia feels is wrong with our present society?
Do any of the utopias share similarities with our own society?

Thee third one since at the moment it is really imposibble

Freedom of choice
Lets us say the opposite way

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