I follow Bruce Schneier’s blog “Schneier on Security” pretty closely. He’s a big influence on the way that some people view security, both digital and physical. Also he had a thing for squid, but that’s for another time.
Today he posted a link to a blog post called “An Era in Ideas: Fear” from the Chronicle in higher education. The author draws some interesting contrasts between the events of Edward Bellamy’s 19th-century novel Looking Backward and the current world we inhabit now.
In Bellamy’s book a man wakes up in the year 2000 to find that most of the things that plagued his time are gone. 11 years beyond the scope of the book in the real world of course things aren’t quite so utopian. I won’t go into the differences between what happens in the book and what has happened in real life. You should read the article for that. It’s short and poignant, and a good read.
I haven’t read the book. I plan to now that it’s been pointed out to me, but the book isn’t really what I wanted to talk about. Instead I wanted to talk about how the article presents fear.
Fear, as presented by the article, is a force that keeps us from improving our lot because we are afraid of what might be. The article puts forth that it is this very fear that keeps our society from improving because we simply can’t imagine a perfect society.
I think that’s overly simplistic, but probably rooted at least partly in truth. I think it’s more likely that there is no true understanding of what the perfect society actually IS. There are so many diverging interests that simply settling on a one true plan is impossible.
There are those who want a socialist union, where are men are equal and where there is no need for want. There are those who want limitless personal freedom, where a man is allowed to make his own way as best he can without interference from others. There are those who likely feel that society should be measured not by its effect on a particular person, but on its advancement of humanity as a whole.
There are others of course. There are some who want an Islamic caliphate that dominates the world. Lest we forget, there are those who would also like the world dominated by Christendom. Lastly, there are those who want the world run entirely by what they see as logic and reason, and to have religion removed entirely.
So, here’s what I think: I think that fear might indeed prevent us from reaching a utopian society, but it isn’t the only reason I don’t think we’ll get there. Before we can even approach the idea of utopia we first need to agree on what utopia IS. What is heaven for one will be hell for others.
As for me? I don’t believe in Utopia. On the spectrum i tend to fall in among those who wish for personal freedom over security. That said, I do want for there to be portions of my government intended to keep me safe. I want it to keep me safe from enemy militaries. I want it to ensure that a product I purchase is what the packaging says it is. I want it to ensure that if I am injured, or my car is stolen, or my house is lit on fire I have someone there to help me recover.
Beyond that? In my life I have thought of several different societies that might be Utopia. As I age, my experiences shape me so that none of these societies continue to fit what I feel society should be. I have come to realize that Utopia is what it was originally named: “No place”. There is no perfect society. The more I think about it the more I realize that that is the way things should be.
Today he posted a link to a blog post called “An Era in Ideas: Fear” from the Chronicle in higher education. The author draws some interesting contrasts between the events of Edward Bellamy’s 19th-century novel Looking Backward and the current world we inhabit now.
In Bellamy’s book a man wakes up in the year 2000 to find that most of the things that plagued his time are gone. 11 years beyond the scope of the book in the real world of course things aren’t quite so utopian. I won’t go into the differences between what happens in the book and what has happened in real life. You should read the article for that. It’s short and poignant, and a good read.
I haven’t read the book. I plan to now that it’s been pointed out to me, but the book isn’t really what I wanted to talk about. Instead I wanted to talk about how the article presents fear.
Fear, as presented by the article, is a force that keeps us from improving our lot because we are afraid of what might be. The article puts forth that it is this very fear that keeps our society from improving because we simply can’t imagine a perfect society.
I think that’s overly simplistic, but probably rooted at least partly in truth. I think it’s more likely that there is no true understanding of what the perfect society actually IS. There are so many diverging interests that simply settling on a one true plan is impossible.
There are those who want a socialist union, where are men are equal and where there is no need for want. There are those who want limitless personal freedom, where a man is allowed to make his own way as best he can without interference from others. There are those who likely feel that society should be measured not by its effect on a particular person, but on its advancement of humanity as a whole.
There are others of course. There are some who want an Islamic caliphate that dominates the world. Lest we forget, there are those who would also like the world dominated by Christendom. Lastly, there are those who want the world run entirely by what they see as logic and reason, and to have religion removed entirely.
So, here’s what I think: I think that fear might indeed prevent us from reaching a utopian society, but it isn’t the only reason I don’t think we’ll get there. Before we can even approach the idea of utopia we first need to agree on what utopia IS. What is heaven for one will be hell for others.
As for me? I don’t believe in Utopia. On the spectrum i tend to fall in among those who wish for personal freedom over security. That said, I do want for there to be portions of my government intended to keep me safe. I want it to keep me safe from enemy militaries. I want it to ensure that a product I purchase is what the packaging says it is. I want it to ensure that if I am injured, or my car is stolen, or my house is lit on fire I have someone there to help me recover.
Beyond that? In my life I have thought of several different societies that might be Utopia. As I age, my experiences shape me so that none of these societies continue to fit what I feel society should be. I have come to realize that Utopia is what it was originally named: “No place”. There is no perfect society. The more I think about it the more I realize that that is the way things should be.
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