Elliot Gengler - Utopias and Dystopias

 Generally, religion is seen as an enemy of progress. While there are some exceptions that come to mind, (particularly abolitionism in the mid 1800s) the rigid nature of religions means they, more often than not, act as a social anchor, opposed to progress. If, for example, being gay is considered wrong when a religion is founded, it's going to be very difficult to convince people otherwise in the modern day. The two are hard to reconcile. But Earthseed seems to offer a kind of synthesis, maintaining the strong and valuable social and cultural bonds associated with organized religion, while seeming to fit better with social changes, as change is so central to its beliefs. In a way, Earthseed, or something like it, seems like the perfect religion, especially in dealing with the chaotic world of Parable. 

One of the features I particularly associate with dystopian worlds is the degree to which travel is restricted. In our modern society, (if you can afford it) one can take a plane, boat, or car to just about anywhere in the world. A thousand years ago, a commoner would only travel as far as they could walk. That ability to travel is something we really take for granted as members of our modern society, and so its breakdown is one of the most obvious signs that a society is failing. Whether through the Oppressive governments of BNW and 1984, or the anarchy of Parable. While it's something we have grown up and spent our whole lives in, that freedom of movement is one of the most fragile aspects of our world, and seeing it crumble is one of the more subtly horrifying aspects of these novels.

One of the major advantages humans have over other animals is our ability to socialize, and to work together to help out many humans. I remember some Freshman Biology vid about how Neanderthals had squeaky voices and could only really grunt, while humans have developed more advanced vocal chords, and the ability to communicate through language. That ability to socialize has carried humans a long way, first in small hunter gatherer societies, and then into settled farming, which then leads to large empires, which are eventually able to industrialize, bringing us to where we are now.  Looking back at those hunter gatherer communities, and at the early farming societies, most would probably describe them as fitting Lauren's idea of hyperempathy. Looking at our societies today, most would consider us to be very unempathetic. We see each other die by the thousands and millions, and go on with our days. I don't think the key to that "primitive hyperempathy" has been lost, a...

I think one of the defining traits of any dystopian society is that it is permanent. Society cannot progress out of it, even if they wanted to, making a dystopia the end of history. That creates the question: Is 1984's society permanent? There are many reasons why it should be. The government has extreme control over people's lives, and is trying to control people's thoughts. Newspeak is being used to literally prevent people from understanding the concept of freedom. Despite that, I don't think the system is permanent yet, because I don't think Winston is the only person who sees through the doublethink. I think there are many people who know they are being lied to, and know they are suffering, but who don't realize that anyone else thinks the same way. The fact that even one person, Winston, doesn't behave as the government wants him to, is enough to say that the society Orwell depicts is not permanent.

The ongoing Syrian Civil War is coming up on it's 10th anniversary, and the war in Afghanistan began almost 20 years ago now. While American presence in Afghanistan has steadily declined, and Syria seems to have reached a stalemate, it seems like Americans have turned sharply against the idea of foreign intervention, many saying they just want to leave the Middle East alone. There's a similar dynamic in 1984, with the governments constantly fighting against the other powers in the Middle East. While most people act patriotic about it all, I get the impression from Winston's experience that they all realize how pointless the wars are, and how the wars will never be won. Though if they were to express those feelings, they would be arrested pretty quickly. Still, Oceania maintains that they are fighting and winning, and that the people just need to give a little more to the government, to secure victory.  I wonder if, similarly to what's happened in America in the last 20 ...

https://apnews.com/article/legislature-legislation-local-governments-nevada-economy-2fa79128a7bf41073c1e9102e8a0e5f0 The Nevada state government has unveiled a plan to allow the creation of "Innovation Zones," large areas of land which will be transferred to tech firms over the course of a few years. These zones would eventually gain the legal powers equivalent to a county, meaning they would have their own courts, collect their own taxes, and even have their own police force.  This is a bad idea. The use of flowery language (in typical 1984 fashion) hides the fact that these Innovation Zones would be a nightmare for the workers living there. Tech firms would be given massive authority over the actions of workers, making unionization would be near impossible. And, with a monopoly on local employment, employees could be paid minimum wage even for skilled labor, and given the bare minimum in terms of benefits.  If a worker wants to leave the zone, to find employment elsewhere,...