UTOPIAN DREAMS #1: Another World is Possible
It could all be so easy.
All we really need is food and water. Safety and shelter would be nice, and community. Education, and the free sharing of ideas, skills, resources, that would be great too. How about health care. Peace. Freedom. Love. Anything you've ever dreamed of.
So what’s stopping us?
War, mostly. In 2012, $1.7 trillion was spent globally on war according to Anup Shah’s 2012 report, World Military Spending, published on globalissues.org. Compare that to $30 billion spent by the U.N. in 2012 toward peacekeeping, poverty alleviation, and economic development-- 57 times as much!
And the USA, where I live, is the worst contributor. In 2012, we spent $678 billion of our total $3.5T budget on “national defense,” according to Wikipedia. That doesn’t even come close to accounting for the long-term costs of war, like impacts on health for returning military personnel, or ongoing physical, psychological, and emotional impacts of war-time trauma for veterans and their families. Or what about the destruction, terror, and political ill will being perpetuated worldwide?
What if, collectively, we redirected all that human life and power, time, energy, money, and put it to good use?
Another world is possible.
The basic premises of this series are that:
- If we were to work with each other rather than against each other,
& - If we were to work with the global community of life rather than against it...
It could all be so easy.
We could truly flourish. Everyone could have not only enough for themselves, but plenty to give.
Everyone could have access to meaningful lives, positive community, positive connection, opportunities to learn, grow, and give back.
Because, ultimately, that's what life and happiness are all about: connection, meaning, and giving. It really can be that simple.
All of us were gifted our lives: by our parents, their parents, their parents, and so on. And all of the innumerable beings who nourished them along the way. And we can do our best to make a better world for the future, for our children, and their children, and on and on...
That's the utopian dream.
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This is the first post in a series I’m making about utopian dreams that I hope will catalyze discussion, inspiration, curiosity and fun. I’d love to hear what "utopia" means to you, what it might look like, and how we might get there.
I'll be sharing more about the utopian dreams that have inspired me, like Starhawk's Fifth Sacred Thing, or Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy... and, of course, my own utopian dreams about all kinds of things: abundant ecosystems, creative education, waste reduction, property sharing, justice reform, city programs, and on and on.
Oh, and by the way, it's not just that another world is possible. There are infinite futures possible, beyond our wildest imaginations.
So keep those dreams dreamin'!
PS I’m new here. For more about me, check out my introduceyourself post.
Awesome to hear your vision! I definitely align with it. I have Fifth Sacred Thing on my bookshelf and it's been calling me to read it but lately things have been focused on a multitude of projects.
Let's open source everything and as Bucky Fuller would say, create the new way that makes the old obsolete. Here's to a new normal of Peace instead of war and shared prosperity instead of scarcity. Looking forward to your future posts and thoughts!
I looked up the quote you're referencing...
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
― R. Buckminster Fuller
Now that's some inspiration for utopia.
Yes, let's open source everything! (well, most things... more on that later... but down with patent law!)
Sending you big encouragement to go read The Fifth Sacred Thing when you have a chance. It is truly inspiring, and a really fun read that I had a hard time putting down. AND now there's a sequel out, that's just as good, and takes the story further! AND there's talk of making FST a movie.
Glad to have you in the discussion, @foodisfree
I love Bucky Fuller. Have you read any of his books? I still have quite a bit of his books on my list of things to read. I'll move Fifth Sacred Thing to the top of the list though! :) I've watched some of Starhawk's talks on youtube and really resonate with her.
I'm a big fan of hers, too. And she walks the walk-- for real. She also hosts gatherings and massive public rituals with the group Reclaiming, including spiral dance on Samhain, a public grieving ritual I found to be very, very powerful.
I haven't gotten to read Buckminster Fuller's works... so much to read, so little time!... but I did get to visit a co-housing village of Bucky domes in Davis, that's pretty amazing...
I definitely want to learn more about Samhain. I only first heard about it and what it represents last year. It's a beautiful ceremony. I can relate on there being too much to read! I guess that's a good problem to have. Lots of inspiration!
Yeah, it's so needed, especially in the USA and all places where we try to deny the reality of death. Reclaiming, which Starhawk is a longtime organizer with, hosts public rituals for Samhain and other occasions, holding down the pagan earth-based spirituality tradition.
PS Love the idea of "good problems," that'd be a great song name or something
I'll definitely check out Reclaiming. Thanks for the recommendation! Good problems would totally be a great song. You never know when inspiration will find you next!
The more we collectively dream about a postive future, the more we create that future we which to inherit. Be the change you wish to see.
Yes! Never stop dreaming. And don't let dreaming be all that you do. Stay present, and live presently, as you say, with the values we wish to instill.
That's such a nice and well written article. Utopia is also on my mind many times and I remembered that I wrote some thoughts a while ago.
Welcome in a great community.
I am sure you will do very well.
🌸🦋🐬
https://steemit.com/utopia/@mammasitta/it-may-be-your-idea-of-utopia-but-it-s-not-mine-the-illusion-of-paradise
Thanks, @mammasitta. I checked out your article, interesting... maybe you can write some more of your thoughts for what a utopia could look like. I appreciate the values you articulate for sure and would love to live in such a society.
However, Plato's Republic would not be it for me! Been a while, but I remember reading that and being struck by how authoritarian that vision was. If I recall correctly, it was even anti-art, saying that art agitates peoples souls, and can disrupt the state!
Your main point, as I understand it, is about whether it's worth it or not to imagine a "perfect" future... That word, "perfect," is a tricky one, because what does it really mean?
Certainly it seems very unlikely we'd ever have a future without disagreements, competing interests, pain and suffering, etc... I think utopia would simply recognize that issues like these are part of the human condition, and instead of establishing a culture of blame around it, look to treat them most effectively with love and compassion, and toward longterm harmony. But is that, "perfect?" I dunno... and I dunno how useful the notion of "perfect" really is, honestly.
what a great post! thanks ' sharing, upvoted
Thanks!! More to come :)
Great insight