In Pursuit of Utopia #2: “Illumination”
From https://schoolsucksproject.com/bonus-in-pursuit-of-utopia-episode-2-illumination/:
Daniel McCarthy and I continue on monthly discussion on the history of Utopian visions and their consequences.
In this episode: In the 17th century a small group of religious luminaries built a colonial society around the mission of preparing their tremulous followers for ascension to heaven.
In the 18th century, an even smaller group of scientific and political luminaries draw up plans to bring about their conception of heaven on Earth.
In the following episode, we’ll discuss how these two visions collide in the new world.
About Your Instructor:
Danny is a 24-year-old SSP listener, blogger and researcher, and the author of an upcoming book on the historical pursuit of utopia.
About This Series: In the 21st century, we’re living in a mosaic of fractured and failed Utopian visions from the past; socialism, social justice, liberation movements, archaic revival, radical environmentalism, and even the “information” revolution are a just a few notable examples. Whether we trace the concept of utopia back to Thomas More 500 years ago or even all the way back to Plato, the ideal world has been pursued from the top down, frequently resulting in varying degrees of dystopia for people…not at the top.
