" The creation of Utopias gives us a useful vantage point from which to see where we are”

William Morris

The trouble with Utopia is that it needs, by contemporary definition, to be democratic and all encompassing; if anyone were left out then it would hardly be Utopia. This of course means that in order to create Utopia you need to start from the basic, dare I say fundamental, belief that we all want the same thing. This, at a very basic level is, I would argue, a truism: food, water, shelter, health, family etc.

In simplistic terms, if you imagine a small community based society where each person does the work that they are most suited to, i.e. one person bakes the bread, one brews the beer, one tends the crops etc. It should work to everyone’s advantage. Money would be unnecessary, you just take what you need when you need it and everyone is happy because everyone is contributing and has the satisfaction of a job well done; and everyone is reaping the rewards. – It’s called enlightened self-interest.

But we also know that people want to be left alone to get on with it in their own way without being interrupted or dictated to. Here lies a problem.

“As human beings we all want the same things –

One of the same things we want is to be different”

Hugh Stretton

‘Ideas for Australian Cities”

It’s not going to be long before the man brewing the beer decides that it takes him more time and therefore more work to produce a pint of beer than it takes his colleague to produce a loaf of bread. So he’s going to demand two loaves of bread for each pint of beer – even if he doesn’t need them – he’ll hoard his surplus loaves and trade them for more things. He has decided that he’s worth more than the baker. Thus, a new economy has been introduced, an exchange rate, an idea of differentials and self-importance above others. For easily understandable reasons, but reasons that are blind to the social cohesion of the greater community, the beginnings of greed and discord have arrived.

“I buy some difference for myself –

I impose some difference on you”

Hugh Stretton

‘Ideas for Australian Cities”

Over time the differentials increase and a class structure is created, with it the birth of power politics and the remodelling of notions of ‘common good’ and “social responsibility”.

This is of course how it is and how it always has been. It is the reason for the principals of ethical responsibility. The problems of power politics formed the central theme of “De Rerum Natura” –

(The Nature of Things) the epic poem by Lucretius, born near the beginning of the first century B.C. and believed to have died in 54 B.C. He wrote about the struggles for leadership in the Roman world from the feuds of Marius and Sculla to the rivalry between Julius Ceasar and Pompay the Great. Lucretius preached ‘political disengagement’ from power politics as a remedy.

It is a compelling but naive stance, but it can, again in simplistic terms, be argued that the philosophical differences between Lucretius and Rome can represent the differences between the stated philosophies of  (A) Capitalism and (B) Communism. ‘Stated’ philosophies that remain of course theoretical and, to date, not born out by practical reality.

The practical realities of Capitalism and Communism have tended to play out as follows:

(A) Capitalism = the implementation of  ‘buy some difference’ and ‘impose some difference’ at the potential expense of social cohesion. And on the other hand

(B) Communism = the imposition of social cohesion at the potential expense of inspanidual difference (freedom)

Both systems demand a controlling strategy and a controlling power– The Multi Nationals - The State - which need to convince us, the population, either way, that we are acting correctly, which is of course what we want to believe, so it’s relatively easy to achieve.

The Neutralisation of Difference

So, how do you create social cohesion along side personal freedom, personal choice and personal difference and still maintain control?

You do it with mirrors.

You create the neutralisation of difference through the marketing and control of difference.  What I mean is this; you sell people the idea of choice whilst limiting the choices available. You convince people that they have an ever increasing, ever exciting array of personal choices available to them, because, they are ‘free’ people. But you ensure that these choices conform to a system of pacification based around inspanidual self-interest within the restricted confines of your power base. In effect you get people to willingly pay you, as the controlling power, to increase your wealth and therefore your control. The controlling power base (Government or big business), effectively, to go back to Stretton, buys some difference for itself –but with our money. And imposes some difference on us– but with our compliance.

So, for example: Free choice of Schools: even though of course it doesn’t really exist because everyone may want to go to Oxford or Cambridge or Eton. Free choice of Hospitals: even though of course it doesn’t really exist because the facilities are not necessarily available where they are needed. Choice of everything including which personal pension plan or mortgage company to get ripped off by; thus neatly avoiding social responsibility in the process. You offer choice on everything including the ability to increase personal buying power as long as it conforms to the overriding creed of personal advancement through the accretion of ‘things’ that support the system. In effect, any shade of black is now available in rainbow colours. The system can now provide us with our difference, our inspaniduality, as long as we buy into it. To paraphrase:

“Show your originality – buy Nike”  “Your fragrance – Your choice”  “Buy Rebel” 

“Why? ‘Cos you’re different” etc etc.

If everyone has the illusion of near infinite choice, even if it doesn’t exist, then it’s possible to create conformity without revolt. You get a largely passive zombified population but hey, they’re compliant and they’re buying without complaint.

Ironically, this compliance bolsters the ongoing strength of power politics, which distressed Lucretius so much by means of the resultant political disengagement, which he advocated.

It’s very successful. More choice? - Less choice?  You choose.

Our Tomatoes are Red. Life is Good.

Our Aspirations and differences have been carefully managed, cleaned up, made system safe, and sold back to us in neat conformist little bundles, they have been flat packed, marketed and stripped of anything that might challenge the status quo. Any challenge can be quickly tidied up, repackaged commoditised and sold back to us. Anything that doesn’t lend itself to this treatment can be presented to us as a threat of such magnitude that a significant proportion of the population will join to discredit it. They can be made to believe that it will have terrible adverse effects on the sanitised Utopia that they have had the illusion of creating for themselves. The chief concern becomes looking after number one –As long as we can be allowed to live in our caged and walled communities with our caged and walled parking spaces and our own private bit of waterfront our world is safe. We know that we want for nothing because we already have everything that’s available and things can only get better as the choice continues to increase. It no longer matters what happens anywhere else as long as our Corner of England’s Gleam and Plastic Land is not affected. We no longer care who we attack to preserve it or whether any proof of a threat actually exists in reality. The received / perceived idea of a threat is enough to set alarm bells ringing in the Elysian Fields of Superbia.

We aspire, so it seems, to a comfortable mediocrity, drained of substance, drained of vision, uninspired but guaranteed weather resistant. In our perfect world everything is the right shape, the right colour and the right price because this is our reward for being the right people.

Is this really where we are?

“In my job I achieve nothing of any real benefit to others and I keep myself to myself. The correct balance is maintained. I ensure that I achieve all my “out puts” by ticking all the right boxes in the right time frame. It all works on paper and that is my proof that it all works in reality. The correct balance is maintained. I go home to my walled community at the right time, knowing that all is well. I am an upstanding member of today’s modern Tictocracy. I dress correctly according to the teachings of the style gurus; I maintain a carefully ‘displaced’ and ‘slightly unruly’ element to my hairstyle, which indicates my independent spirit and reflects my innovative nature. The correct balance is maintained. Here is my house. It houses my family and my car. It conforms to all the boxes I ticked. It is a number 4 house, befitting someone of my social standing, next year I may trade up to a number 3.  It has the required number of shrubs in the garden, cut to the required shapes and set out in an inoffensive arrangement ensuring no messy overgrowth.  The edges of my lawn are straight and clean; the house itself is of a mock architectural style, which I am not sure of. It is located in a nice mock rural village with low maintenance rural charm. My windows are all made of plastic. Real plastic. My bricks and roof tiles have been carefully chosen so that they will always look brand new; they will not discolour. There is no room for random acts of nature, here, everything will be perfect forever. The elements will not attack my private flat-pack Utopia anymore than will the hooded youths. My world is good because I live in Never Weather Land and tomorrow is dressing down day."

K.

Keith Ball is unwell !