The City of Amaurot

I thought it would be fun to go on a trip through Utopia. I had to finish the book but wouldn't expect you all to do it. Funny, I hated social studies in school. It is interesting that we always have the same ideas and dreams for a society during every generation. Each has to sort out what inhibits them from reaching potentials and what practical things can be done to improve those potentials. There are two kinds of potential for an individual, one of productivity and the other that concerns happiness. And there are social approaches for of each of these. The question becomes about whether the potential originates from a social structure or by individual character. And if both, how much is needed of each and what takes precedence.
Utopia is an example of improvement from a social structure and many of the ideas have been mentioned by social planners in the last century. So let's have a little fun and look at the lives of the Utopians. In the same manner as in The Republic, there is an application to different areas of social structure.  Let's begin with how their cities are laid out. We will skip the political discourses and character introduction and confine ourselves to the principles to keep this brief.
Interestingly, the country is an island shaped like a crescent. Their cities have no houses, but they have wide streets and the home fronts run continuously along both sides of the streets. They are set up similar to a large mall where all the back doors open up to an enclosed common garden that everyone tends while the fronts open up to the street. They take pride in their beautiful plants but have little use for the ornamentation of their homes.The doors are on hinges similar to a diner where they swing in or out. There are no locks on the doors, but families do have their own dwellings. Even so, anyone can come and go as he pleases. There is a lot of glass, but no one has a better home than anyone else since the entire city is commonly owned. The dwellings are rotated once every ten years by lot. The front started out as one-story structures, but they now have as many as three, with a flat roof out of materials that resist fire.
Now their government is elected every year and they have two hundred representatives. Out of every ten, a leader is chosen and they are the ones who choose the prince. They have to vow that they will choose the best person for the job using no favoritism. The prince is for life although he can be easily removed if he tries to enslave the people. The prince and leaders meet every third day and there has to be a couple representatives present that are rotated in every day to make sure the common people are represented. No one is allowed to meet anywhere else concerning the matters of the state upon penalty of death. This is to avoid factions and leaders that want to change the government. There has to be a proper meeting of officials for state matters and a completely public meeting if needed for things that will affect everyone. They send for all the representatives, then have everyone discuss the matters in their homes before calling the public meeting. No decisions can be made on the same day the issues are presented just in case the debate gets heated causing rash decisions. Personal conflicts are few and the prince decides them.
All the Utopians know agriculture very well and are employed in gardens or the field. They are also educated and have trades. The fashion never changes and everyone is dressed similarly. The families make their own clothes. Work is regulated to three hours before lunch and three afterward, a total of six hours. Everyone has to work, there are no excuses. The representative's main job is to make sure everyone works. You won't find anyone sitting around. The rest of the day is spent tending gardens, listening to music, engaging in discussions, education and of course everyone exercises since health is a top priority for them. Neglecting one's mind or health is disgusting to them. Their work clothes last seven years since they don't work too hard. If someone is interested in a trade, a family who knows it will adopt them as a member and raise them up in it.
Well, I thought I could make this brief but am only half way through. The next post will continue on how the Utopians have no need for money or barter. They reserve jewels so their children can enjoy the shine but think adults should mature out of the need for shiny things. Hope you are enjoying this trip through Utopia. More next time...

Utopia

It is common for people to have the tendency to look at the world with through Utopian ideals. The word Utopia comes from a book written by Sir Thomas More in 1516. It is an interesting work of satire based in Greek thoughts of government where he mocks his present day monarchy. With the popularity today of mini series based on that period, it seems appropriate. The word he uses for the country "Utopia" means "nowhere" in Greek and it goes along with the study we have been engaging in. Sir Thomas creates fictitious cities and extols the virtues of them. One for instance, requires all the people to work in the fields for six hours no matter what position they are in. He says that it cut down on the amount of preachers, idle woman, lazy nobles, and beggars who pretend they are handicapped.

Of course when we look at realities, it is a waste to use the sharp minds in a country toward manual labor. This is a conflict in ideas that is being fought still today. A person who is uneducated or doesn't have the skills of another shouldn't be consumed with equality of wages since wages are an incentive to excel. Absent capital, people become mediocre. A professional protester would fail as a CEO. There is work to do and prices to pay to get in those positions and to receive the amount of pay some people get. Concerning government, we want representatives from among the people and yet want people who are good politicians so they govern well. We don't want leaders who are always lame ducks; just waiting their term out. And yet career politicians tend to lose touch with the people. Many governments today use a combination of short timers and long term people so these areas are addressed. This causes gridlock at times but the purpose is to slow things down enough so every area is addressed. It causes making laws more of a sacred duty rather than a frivolous activity.

The concept of equality is pleasing to everyone but it is hard to define since every person has unique desires. Possessions don't fulfill them all. It is impossible to define what each person needs because it is different with each person. Some are given to obsessions and need temperance. It is healthy for them to expect less. Others could use encouragement to enjoy life a little more. We have to make adjustments ourselves concerning the ratio between work and play. It shouldn't be up to an outside entity what we do to satisfy ourselves. We call these areas our private lives and want to self govern them. It is a part of maturity and we feel good about ourselves when we make our own decisions. When an outside entity tries to dictate them however, we complain about tyranny. Those who are doted on become dependents. That is why dictating equality from an outside entity is inferior. Laws exist to protect liberty. The best way to help in the private areas of citizenry is to educate the population from their youth about having good character. In this way they manage their lives better and reach potential through their own vision. That is why I write these blogs.  

Rights and Responsibilities

When we look at ownership, we are looking at our responsibilities toward tangible things. People like to spiritualize this in different ways. Some say we belong or are owned by an ecosystem/mother earth, others by a god of some kind, yet others claim we are owned by chaos and random events. But we have to look beyond these philosophies since they deal with intangible things. Our passions are also intangible and allowing these to be the determining factor for ownership is too vague. Using intangible ideas to determine ownership for tangible things doesn't work out well. Making claims that things are owed to us because of affiliations to a god or a class of people upsets clear thinking.

At it's most basic form, we have souls and bodies that have desires and needs. We own them both and that is what makes us individuals. If we could be islands, nothing beyond that would matter, but we need others in order to be satisfied and to have a sense of accomplishment. But when another person is involved, we have to concede certain areas of our private lives. As a worker, we have to give a portion of our day and attention to work. This is in exchange with others for pay. If we live with someone, there is an exchange also. Sometimes we feel we give too much for the benefits we receive. This is a common human issue since we always want more for less effort and it can come from either side.

These principles also apply to governing. We have a need for order and protection because of the human tendency to take more that what is given. If we rightly assume everyone has greed, the question concerns how to approach this with the least amount of greed involved. The word "rights" involves the areas in our lives that we don't want to concede to another entity. Today the meaning has morphed into the concept of wants and needs, but then it is open to broad interpenetration. What does a person need besides food and shelter? How much transportation and entertainment are we responsible to provide for another? How much should a person be allowed to keep and how much work should be required? When the concept of rights is confined to what areas we are willing to concede to another entity, our ability to define parameters becomes possible.

When government is involved with wants and needs, greed becomes a problem. Those who are on the receiving end expect more benefits while those who are governing want more security and honor in their positions. They look for creative ways to extort payment from each other. The dynamic of wanting more for less on both sides is put into play. By laying aside passions concerning what we think people should have, the question becomes confined to freedom and insuring that people keep what they earn. This is important since ownership is what motivates people to do their best.

We have concluded in the past that sharing everything equally socially makes the participants feel less responsible for their actions. They easily pass the blame on others and honor is lacking. Actual close relationships have to exist before a concept of country can be comprehended. Without loyalty and honor established among his closest peers, a person will not practice it toward a country. Along the same lines, if we share everything material, there is little practice of benevolence. Neither the recipients or the givers have an appreciation for what is being done. With ownership comes responsibility. Responsible people are more apt to take care of what they have and give the proper amount to help others. A society based in good character will coincide with good stewardship. Prodigal behavior is that which wastes what is needed for everyone to survive in order to experience the pleasure being a hero. It becomes more complicated when the resources are compulsory from a governing entity.

When we cede over areas to another entity, they have to be well defined to prevent abuse. The benefits of having an ownership based society far outweigh one that is based in sharing by compulsion. But it has to be coupled with a culture of good character. Law and order will have to be enforced by compulsion. Even this can get out of hand without well defined rights.