Utopian Vision, Not a dream but a Vision, Critical to both our natural world and all humanity
By Patrick Kerlin
Competition year: 2001
Place: 11
About Patrick Kerlin
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Utopian Vision in its very essence defines itself as a dream and therefore as with dreams, ethereal and unattainable. In our world a dream attained is but the sleep of dreams. Emperors’ dream of empires, peasants dream of owing a plough and in the realization of these personal Utopias the dream mover to more empire and a donkey to pull the plough. These are always the dreams of need and the dreams of power.
However, for the purpose of this exercise my Utopian Dream must be one that can lead to a vision that is realistic and achievable and that is the critical difference between a dream and a vision.
Thus, to present an achievable vision, I must examine the dream to find the basic factors that would prevent my Vision becoming a reality, and my vision is of a world of individual freedom and responsibility. A World wherein it is recognized that the resources of the world must be used to benefit all the worlds people not just the most powerful. It is a vision of a world espousing a universal philosophy that recognizes every human’s right to dignified labor for a living wage, to personal and national freedom and governmental representation and freedom of speech. A World that has abolished war and the weapons of war and a world where in mankind is allowed to dream.
This is but a simple vision and one might argue that it is but to what all humanity aspires. However, to date it has never come close to being achieved, and appears to be impossible to achieve. Because my vision lies in its being achieved I have had to examine why we have failed.
Regardless of platitudes, that failure lies in the very essences of our human nature. Some are naturally bigger, faster, more intelligent etc than others. This is natures way and is basic to the primary law of all nature, which is “Survival of the fittest”. So it must be accepted that all men are not born equal.
The second and principal reason is "power”. Power is the product - the bastard child – of the marriage of intelligence and the natural syndrome of “survival of the fittest”. Intelligence progresses “survival of the fittest” in all human endeavors. This is the progress of power. This power, being genetic in each one of us, is then endemic in all of us. And, because of this, it has never been properly studied and has remained largely unrecognized for the ultimately destructive force that it is. Because it is in each and every one of us we transfer it to all our structures and endeavors whether personal, national, commercial or economic. In this way power becomes separated from personal responsibility and then takes on a life of its own. Once this happens, power progression, becomes national, company, or economic policy and if successful it’s outcome becomes a template for further progression and study and incorporation into our society.
Because we live in a world where all are not born equal but are equally dependant on the worlds resources of food, energy etc… and because these resources are perceived to be finite, then the intelligent progression of the "survival of the fittest” syndrome dictates that these resources become concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. This contraction and control inevitably denies resources to more and more of the worlds population, This can only bring about more and more starvation, disease, environmental destruction and finally war, either virus or technical. War is the final arbitrator in the progress of power. When two people, two nations or the entire world’ clash in war it matters naught to power who wins. Power and resources are contracted to the victor. Therefore in my utopian vision I see a world where power is recognized as the ultimate destroyer and where laws and philosophies are enacted and proposed on a worldwide basis that diversifies and opposes the concentration of power. I see a world where in the philosophy of war becomes abhorrent and where the production of weapons of war is forbidden by general consensus.
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