As you might have gathered, this site is about Utopia, or rather, utopianism. It’s about studying the impact that utopian thought has had on human activity over the past few millennia, and the impact it will have in the future if left untrammeled. This is not to say that utopianism is some monolithic doctrine; that all utopian thought leads to the same place. Just that, while working toward an ideal may be noble, fulfilling, and helpful, forcing ideals on others is none of those things. In fact, it has proven to be tyrannical and deadly. Utopianism is society’s greatest tool, and its fiercest enemy.
All of human history has been a quest for Utopia, from Plato to Washington to Stalin to Walt Disney. There have been many theoretical variations of Utopia, though actual implementation has been rare and unsuccessful. The United States of America, for better or for worse, was a utopian experiment – so was the French Revolution. These were societies attempting to achieve the same utopian dream, with profoundly different results. And now the American society – the better off of the two – is beginning to come apart at the seams. Put another way, the days of thinking of the USA as a candidate for “Utopia” are long gone.
The last century saw the rise and fall of many self-proclaimed utopian societies; we now know them as “dictatorships.” Whereas the utopian ideals behind the American and French Revolutions had been freedom and individuality (for some), the ideals behind these newer societies were control and collectivism (for all). In both utopian scenarios, it had been logic, reason, and social cohesion justifying (or, being claimed to justify) these two seemingly opposite ideals.
Now, there are talks of a global Utopia; a “New World Order.” This is not a new idea: It had been talked about way back during the Enlightenment, as well as in some of the totalitarian societies of the 20th century. But now, with our advancing technology (as well as changing social philosophies), we are entering an age in which the implementation of a “rational,” centrally managed society – “Utopia” in its classical sense – is for the first time truly possible. We can’t just assume that it will all work out, and that perfection will be achieved. We can’t just take it for granted that the ones really calling the shots – be they human or technological – can effectively act out and enforce what is best. How could they possibly even know what is best?
I want to study the utopian thought of the past and the present, in order to preempt and prevent the construction of a blind and arrogant Utopia in the future. I want to criticize those who think they know what’s best for everyone else, and to stop those that put those thoughts to action. And I think the best way – the only way – to stop them is to educate ourselves and others, not forcefully or deceptively, but as carefully, honestly, and humorously as possible.
If Utopia is possible, it doesn’t start with central planners, an all-encompassing technological grid, and a vision for tomorrow. It starts with us and the people we know, right here, right now. Whether we wind up with the hyper-rational Utopia of America, the Soviet Union, or the infamous NWO, or something entirely different – a decentralized, free society – depends entirely on how you use the tools at your disposal right now. And how you use those tools depends on your answer to a very important question: When you shed your political biases, your personal hang-ups, and your ideological trappings, what sort of society do you really want to live in?
My name is Dan, Danny, and Daniel McCarthy, but my posts call me “Admin.” I live in Cleveland, Ohio, in an apartment with more books than space. I spend the majority of my time at a place I’d rather not be: my job. I created this site to provide myself with an outlet for my real interests, which are diverse but pointed; hopefully the content will bear that out.
With this site, I hope to create a database of information pertaining to utopian thought, which is – essentially – any thought or doctrine which attempts to monitor, regulate, and modify the behavior of others, in the name of attaining the perfect society. This sort of thing pervades history as well as the present in a great many forms, so I’ve certainly got my work cut out for me.
I think that utopian thought is facilitated and justified by fields such as propaganda, cybernetics, totalitarianism, and culture. However, I think that within culture also lies the remedy to utopianism. Thus, I not only want to showcase the utopian ideology, but also the real, raw, cultural traditions of humanity, in western culture and abroad, that – I think – lay waste to the obsessive-compulsive need for control that marks the utopian so clearly.
At this point in history, our technological development has made the super-centralized, hyper-rigid society that Plato dreamed of all those years ago more possible than ever. Simultaneously, I think that the very same technology is the greatest tool of decentralization, mobility, and empowerment ever devised. So, I thank you for your presence and I hope for your interest. Enjoy as you explore the still very young ageofutopia.info.
