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How did we catch it?
What is the cure?

(c) 2007 - Peter C. Newton-Evans
Newton-

Ubiquity of Social Dilemmas: if everyone does what
is expected of them, the system breaks down
Ecological dilemma: beyond the point of no return,
borrowing from future (stealing from our children)
Economic dilemma: unbridled capitalism generates its
own dilemmas of volatility, instability and collapse.
Political dilemma: The shameful theater of party politics
has the masses cynical and non-participatory.
non-
International dilemma: The national security system is
generating war instead of preventing it, as supposed.
Collapse of an old world: and simultaneous birth
pangs of a new world civilization.

Resetting society: from competition, win-lose, zero/
win-
negative sum, to cooperation, win-win, positive sum
win-
Living within our planetary means: from reckless
consumption to environmental sustainability
Curbing the extremes of wealth and poverty: from
unbridled accumulation to social accountability
Proactive human rights: from fighting for legal rights
to social stewardship of each human life
A world-wide federation of nations: from nation–state
world- nation–
to world–state, under a universal legal system
world–
And many more…

Isn’t this all

Utopian

idealism?

Utopia = “without place,"
coined from Greek roots by
Sir Thomas More in 1516
Eutopia = a “good place,"
the opposite of...
Dystopia = a “bad place,”
or a utopia proven false.
Utopophilia = belief in
the possibility of a
better future.
Utopophobia = an
irrational rejection
of all utopias; a social
pathology of the
20th Century.

19th Century: Belief in human goodness,
Century:
social progress, utopophilia.

20th Century: Dystopia & utopophobia.
Century:

Today: Utopian = unrealistic, impossible.
Today:

Problem: Pessimism prevents change.
Problem:

Proposal:
Proposal: Bring back Utopia!

Social Function of
Literary Utopias
Training, Escape and Catharsis
Purpose, Identity and Inspiration
Critiques of Contemporary Society
Visions of future; proposals for change
Social “Laboratories” or “Experiments”
Exploration of Philosophical Hypotheses

Social Function:
Training, Escape and Catharsis
Ruppert: “Some utopias are fictitious, playful
Ruppert:
explorations” of different aspects of society.
Means:
Means: Eutopian and dystopian novels and films.
The danger in eutopias: Clinging to an imaginary world
eutopias:
like a drug that paralyzes action and impoverishes life
through ‘negation’, like Harry Potter's wishing mirror
that trapped him in a fantasy.
The danger in dystopias: Representing violence is not
dystopias:
only cathartic, but also increases social violence and
deepens the prevailing pessimism and negativism.

Social Function:
Purpose, Identity, Inspiration
Afnán: “People need a sense of purpose in life, to know not only
Afnán:
where they are going as individuals, but also the meaning of their
lives in the overall plan of the universe.”

Preterit Eutopias: A sense of guilt for losing paradise, or of
Eutopias:
historical identity: our ‘glorious past’ made us who we are.

Preterit Dystopias: Lessons to avoid future mistakes or warnings
Dystopias:
of divine chastisement.

Futuristic Eutopias: Inspire hope of a better world to be built, or
Eutopias:
of a heaven or Kingdom of God to be won or inherited.

Futuristic Dystopias: Fear of the final judgment or hell, or warning
Dystopias:
of what will happen if we continue down the present path.

Social Function:
Critique of Contemporary Society
They say what is wrong with the world, what is needed to improve
it, and what to expect of the future.

Afnán:
Afnán: “Utopian novels can be critiques of present-day society, a
present-
warning or alert, a call to change, a manual for reform.”

Up-scaling: They take ideas, proposals or circumstances to their
Up-scaling:
ultimate consequences to judge their value.

Ruppert: They encourage critical thought, creating tension
Ruppert:
between present society and its utopian alternative. They put
readers between “an unacceptable social reality and an impossible
utopian dream,” obliging them to question their own social
beliefs.

Social Function:
Vision of a Possible Future
Ruppert: “Utopian literature offers us diverse visions reflecting
Ruppert:
the dreams of those who built them.”
King Solomon: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
Solomon:
Buckminster Fuller: “We need to choose between utopia and
Fuller:
disappearing.”
Be realistic: Double reality - actual and potential. Imagining the
realistic:
house before building it. Martin Luther King's "dream." Self-
Self-
fulfilling prophesies. Seeds of what may come.
Bellamy: “The dawn of the new era is already close, and the
Bellamy:
plenitude of day is soon to follow. The Golden Age is before
us.” (Looking Backward)
Ruppert: “Rather than the antithesis of utopia, anti–utopia is its
Ruppert: anti–
reversal. We know what utopia is by learning what it is not.”

Social Function:
Proposals for Social Change
Ruppert: Some utopias are “solemn, serious proposals
Ruppert:
meant for immediate implementation.”
Julio Verne: “Whatever a man can imagine, others can
Verne:
make a reality.”
Proposals going more than a few steps beyond current
situation are perceived as ‘utopian’ or impractical.
Strategies: Break them down into smaller goals that are
Strategies:
easier to meet. Cultivate a broader historical vision. Use
artistic inspiration, rhetorical convincing and scientific
illustration to mobilize the masses of humanity towards
change.

Social Function:
The "Social Laboratories"
Utopian Experiments: They act as models of proposed forms in
Experiments:
action and referents for studying their practical usefulness.
Seek the light: Study trials with a not too critical eye, but rather
light:
seeking any light thrown on the issue. Example: 'Intentional
communities', whether religious, political or economic, such as
the Brüderhof and Cuba.
Conditions: (1) That the experiment be respected by all;
Conditions:
(2) That participation be voluntary, not forced.
When they fail: Not failure of the experiment, but of the model.
fail:
Shows the world that the proposal was erroneous.
Ideologies: Do not cling to failed models, such as materialism,
Ideologies:
whether of East or West, Left or Right. When a hypothesis is
falsified, a scientist accepts this and seeks a better answer.

Social Function:
Exploring Philosophical Hypotheses

Common questions:
questions:
How important is historicity to social wellbeing?
Is progress inevitable, contingent, or impossible?
Can we reach perfection, or will challenges remain?
Does society determine the individual, or vice-versa?
vice-
Relationship between power, freedom and happiness.
Is happiness material, or can joy be transcendent?
Are unity & diversity necessarily opposites?

A Corporate Vision of a
Desired Future for the World

A good vision should:
Be based on shared principles,
ideals and values
Be feasible
Pose a challenge
Touch the noble
essence of man.

Vision and Context

“Crisis” as danger:
Context –> Vision = Obstacles

“Crisis” as opportunity:
Vision –> Context = Opportunities

Dynamics of Vision
Vision of an
Raise current ideal situation
situation to
vision

Understanding the Lower the vision
current situation to the current
situation

Degree of Commitment
Personal Institutional
Vision Vision
Personal Institutional
Vision Vision

Higher level of
commitment
Lower Level of
commitment

Historical Project
A clear view of a historical process (past,
present and future), our current place in
it, and what task is required of us now.
With this understanding, a society can:
preserve the essential, positive elements of
its culture;
consult on how to change secondary or
negative elements.

Types of Utopias
Binary Pairs – Claude Lévi-Strauss

Eutopias vs. Dystopias Definitive vs. Progressive

Isolated vs. Integrated Revolutionary vs. Gradual

Ahistorical vs. Historical Power vs. Freedom

Necessary vs. Contingent Freedom vs. Happiness

Individualism/collectivism Uniformity vs. Diversity

Absolute vs. Relative Materialistic vs. Humanistic

Patience with
Processes
If this planet’s life were equal to 24 hours, man
would have appeared the last minute of the day.

This gives us patience, and we are not surprised
at resistance to change.

Let us emphasize guiding children and youth:
their minds are more receptive to new ideas.

A good historical perspective gives us long-
long-
term commitment.

Words of
Encouragement
“Do not think the peace of the world an ideal im-
im-
possible to attain! Nothing is impossible... Do not
despair! Work steadily... How many seemingly
impossible events are coming to pass in these
days! Take courage! Let your hearts be filled with
the strenuous desire that tranquility & harmony
may encircle all this warring world. So will success
crown your efforts... Many a cause which past
ages have regarded as purely visionary, in this day
has become easy and practicable.

Words of
Encouragement
“Why should this most great Cause - the daystar
of the firmament of true civilization and the
cause of the glory, advancement, well-being and
well-
success of all humanity - be re-
re-
garded impossible to achieve?
Surely the day will come when
its beauteous light shall shed il-
il-
lumination on the assemblage
of man.”
(‘Abdu’l-
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá)

http.cultureofpeaceprogram.org

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Utopophobia

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