Two things that seem necessary to create utopia and avoid dystopia: fluidity, or adaptability, and balance.
Fluidity would accommodate for the fact that people's needs, wants, and desires are constantly changing. Omelas accounts for this in their utopia by providing an option for everyone. For example, there is religion and everyone worships as they choose or choose not to. Another idea regarding fluidity is one discussed in class while attempting to define utopia: the idea that utopia needs to be thought of as a journey and not a destination. Along that principle a utopia could be a society working together to achieve harmonious perfection. By that standard utopian happiness would be created from hope.
As I contemplated utopia further, I thought of Lois Lowry’s The Giver and the “perfect” society that is portrayed. In exchange for not feeling pain, the society also doesn't feel happiness and all of its occupants are resigned to “Sameness.” So in order to avoid a gray world, another element that would have to exist in the definition of utopia would be balance. Many scenarios of utopia have vast extremes, for example The Giver. Balance or “everything in moderation” is necessary in order to avoid creating a dystopia.
Freedom seems to be another struggle when defining utopia. Too much freedom would lead to chaos, but with too little freedom you live in a dictatorship. Again, the idea of balance needs to be applied, but how would it be decided who regulates the rules? Freedom existed in Omelas but only in the sense that the people could walk away if they found the inhuman treatment of the child wrong. They couldn't choose to free the child or that whole society would cease to exist. Choice seems to be the most important freedom in a utopian society.
While I read your post I thought a lot about the last class discussion we had on how Utopia appears to be a work in progress. The odds of all the people in a society reaching a conclusion as to how that society should or should not be is almost theoretically impossible. I remember last class we all discussed how there is a possibility that there could be multiple Utopias because everyone's idea of "perfect" varies. I agree that adaptability and balance are interesting concepts towards defining a Utopia. It is hard to know what is good when there is nothing bad to compare it to like in Omelas with the child. I think it is really intriguing that you mention balance, because I have not really considered how a Utopia could exist if there is not something bad to balance all of the good.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that you point to fluidity and balance as necessities for a Utopian society. Due to the vast differences people have, the laws within a Utopian society would need to be suitable for any possible person living within it. In regards to freedom within a utopia, I think it depends on a person's culture. In the West, many of us feel that certain freedoms are human rights. However, I imagine that in some cultures, people may actually prefer a lesser amount of freedom. Because no society can exist in such a state where every person is satisfied, then perhaps a Utopia would be the acceptance of this fact and continually work to maximize the happiness of all groups of citizens.
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