Kalostopia

 Time to end my rant with a question.

Brief recap of the previous three posts in this... series?:

Human governance seems to run in a cycle:
- Someone with sufficient power/will seeks to create Utopia.
- This creates a state of dystopia for many/most others
- Someone or some group revolts against the current powers which, if successful destabilizes the current authority, and leads to some degree of change.
- Rinse and repeat

 

(Those posts can be found here:

https://r-pentomino.blogspot.com/2024/09/infotopia-rant.html

https://r-pentomino.blogspot.com/2024/10/reasoning-and-revolution.html

https://r-pentomino.blogspot.com/2024/10/utopia-dystopia-and-one-percent.html

Perhaps it is not so dire as it seems. perhaps it is the product of information overload, or the nature of a large and global population. But it does feel like we are approaching a kind of critical mass in this cycle.

Tribes are coalescing, battle lines are being drawn daily. There are hundreds of belligerent, brainless young idealists and pseudo-intellectuals taking to the streets to protest everything one can imagine. Daily, pointless revolutions are launched, over ofttimes imagined injustices, usually leading to no meaningful or positive change, but frequently causing unnecessary suffering and disruption in the lives of quiet, common folk.

We presently live in a time where individuals with the means and will can bend the very fabric of reality. A relatively small number of large organizations, (and/or individuals) who wield an inappropriate level of wealth and authority, have built systems which are easily hijack-able by unscrupulous people, for the purpose of manipulating the masses through fear, uncertainty and doubt. Hundreds of very powerful and undoubtedly well-meaning individuals, each trying to create their Utopia.

How exactly does one meaningfully revolt against them? It is difficult enough to shift the massive national empires and myopic, bureaucratic governments of today, how does one revolt against a multinational corporation? Or an insulated, influential kingmaker whose vast wealth pulls the strings of many governments, many corporations?

Now, please remember, revolts are not always violent - Gandhi's strategy was one of non-violence. (Do you suppose there is anyone today who is sufficiently and universally respected to be able to sway public opinion through a hunger strike? Or would we just plug them in to a machine, making the endeavor moot?)

And not all such revolts topple the  current regime to enact change. Rosa Parks didn't destroy the government, yet her noncompliance led to a dramatic change in the the interpretation of law. The Plebian revolutions didn't topple Roman rule, yet led to policy changes.

One could argue that many of the people who settled in America were revolting against tyranny in their own homelands. Rather than overthrow governments, they packed up and moved elsewhere, created new colonies. Not sure you could pull that one off today. Not many places left on this planet to flee to. Mars is an idea some ponder, but not terribly practical for most to consider.

My personal favorite example is that of the city of Enoch (some claim this is a fictional story, but then the Plebian revolutions are also disputed...). A man (prophet), named Enoch, took his family and friends who would follow, left the warring cities of the time, and built a  new city. A city which was peaceful and prosperous, free of internal strife. The story claims in fact, the people become so righteous, the entire city was removed from the earth, taken up to heaven.

But here then, is the question: It is possible for a group of people - globally separate - to launch a Plebian/Enoch type "revolt", and break out of the Utopia/Dystopia cycle?

Utopia is used to mean "a perfect place", and is claimed to be derived from the Geek:
eu = good
topos  = place

Note: This is actually incorrect. The Term was first coined by Thomas More in 1516, and used as the title of his book, depicting an imaginary island with the perfect, political, legal and social system. He derived it not from eu (good), but from ou (nothing). Utopia literally meant "nowhere".  Quite humorously (or sadly?) The quest for "Utopia" is in fact the quest for something which does not exist.

Dystopia is more straightforward
dys = bad, abnormal
topos = place

Would it be possible for a group to collectively abandon the Utopia/Dystopia cycle, and instead create a "city/nation" among and across global boundaries, based not on the fruitless quest for a fictitious perfection, but instead on the quest for a good, noble, beautiful place?

"The Greek adjective 'kalos' is used to describe that which is inherently good, beautiful, or noble. It often conveys a sense of moral goodness or ethical beauty, extending beyond mere physical appearance to include qualities of character and actions."

Would it be possible in this age to build "Kalostopia"? Not as a local, isolated city, but as a global community? A virtual city of Enoch? How would that start, how would it grow, what would it look like?

I believe for such an idea to work, it would need to be founded on the following key pillars:


1. Truth must be central (Or rather the sincere pursuit of truth, since truth is beyond our reach)
2. Individual Freedom must be maximized. Governance should be by best practice first, policy second,  and law only where necessary.  As such a society matures, the number of laws would decline.
3. Individual Responsibility and accountability must be commensurate with individual freedom
4. Transparency must be maximized and anonymity must be minimized (I am not suggesting an elimination of privacy, and I admit I am not quite certain what this looks like precisely - a bit tricky to unpack...)
5. Integrity, Humility and Charity must be universal and foundational.



Could such a thing be possible today - could a group of rational people with a desire for greater kindness and shared prosperity create a sub-civilization in this world, or is Kalostopia a foolish dream of a silly (old) boy?