I can get behind Bellamy's idea of a futuristic society...let's ignore that this supposedly should have happened 15 years ago, and there's a wealth of decent ideas involved. Sure, it's a little communistic, what with equal wealth distribution regardless of how hard you work, but at least there's no dictators or corruption! I like the idea of set ages for beginning work and retiring, especially because Bellamy allows for the chance that someone selects an occupation about which they may later change their mind; unlike some of the Utopian societies we've looked at so far, this one has everyone contributing to society, but in a way that they aren't stuck in the position they're born into, or the one their parents preferred. Leete's astonishment at Julian's remarks about working harder for the same amount of money are encouraging, since it seems everyone in the year 2000 would love nothing more than make an honest living doing something that helps other people. I can't even imagine a world where the 40-something waitress at Applebee's loves her job and doesn't seem like she's only one bad tip away from burning the place down.
I can't decide if I like the idea of everyone sharing the same amount of wealth on a personal credit card with no rollover, but I guess that prevents anyone from amassing any money and becoming "wealthy" in any way, so that everyone remains within the same social class. The handicapped are given suitable and productive tasks, which is nice, and I can't think of a good reason not to let those unable to work at all share in the wealth somehow; after all, it may seem unfair that they don't have to work, but then again, if they suffer from a physical or mental handicap so severe that there's no job for them, I think the cons may outweigh the pros in that case, and it's better than one of those Utopias where they just euthanize the non-productive.
Morris' idea of a futuristic society isn't so different in most ways, considering the same beginnings with a man who falls asleep for too long and awakes to a whole new society. Furthermore, both stories tell of a world without monetary value, class systems, or private property. Morris takes a unique stance on marriage, noting that people are not contractually bound to one another and so while they are monogamous, they are free to pursue other interests if they so choose, so long as they realize that their actions have consequences; basically, this is the equivalent of "dating," and in many ways it hardly seems different than how plenty of people live today, by choice or otherwise. Frankly with the current rate of divorce and young folks getting married in college to be romantic or spontaneous, we could do without contractual marriage, if only because folks like those make the institution hardly meaningful.
I do like that both stories seem to think that one day, somehow people will work by choice and for passion rather than because of salaries or because their degree wasn't good for anything else. If I could take just one thing from each of these stories to make a reality, it would be the notion that working is a privilege we should all want desperately to engage in, and that it is something about which we are passionate and excited. Even choosing a college degree based on personal interest, I don't have a guarantee of working a job that has anything to do with what I enjoy, and that's pretty sad.
I agree with many of the points that you make here. Like you, I favored Bellamy’s society and did so because of the reasons that you have stated. I really enjoyed the shorter workdays (depending on profession) as well as the shorter time that people are expected to work. While this system somewhat mirrors our system of retirement, I think that I liked Bellamy’s more because of the attitude that they had about that time after people finished work. I loved that they considered this the youthful stage and the best part of life. Today, we think of people who are retired as burnt out and having a new interest in travel or Florida because it takes them away from life and lets them relax. In this society, people are not burned out when they retire; they are young and ready to enjoy the best time of their lives. I loved how he drew the parallel that we count down to twenty-one and they count down to forty-five.
ReplyDeleteMy other favorite part of the excerpts that we read from Bellamy was the inclusion of the disabled and mentally handicapped in the society, as you highlighted. I have a soft spot for this, and the fact that these people were addressed in a positive way in this utopia is very refreshing. I loved that Leete found it almost laughable that a society would ignore these people just because they were different. I really thought that this part highlighted my favorite part of the society- that if you were trying your best, you were doing exactly what was asked of you. I love that they recognized that people are all different and that no two people share the same strengths. They capitalized on this, which I think adds more individual focus into the society.
While Morris did seem to incorporate more individuality into his society, I found it to be very unbelievable and also found myself constantly thinking that a society like that would never work. I understand why Morris said what he said, but I do not think that without regulations people would work as hard as they do in Morris’s society. If both of these worked flawlessly, I would probably pick Morris’s society to live in because I appreciate many of the ideas that he included. There are a few things that I would like to bring with me from Bellamy’s society, however, like the promised inclusion of all members in society.
It is nice to think that one day, there could be a nice society where everyone enjoys their work and is really willing to do it. The saying goes that if you find a job you love, you'll never work a day in your life. But as you stated, even choosing a college degree that best matches your interests will not guarantee your happiness in your future career. I think a lot of this unhappiness in our workplace does stem from the stigma we put on different people with different jobs due to the difference in pay. People treat people who work minimum wage jobs, like retail workers or people in food service, terribly because some people have an inflated sense of superiority and think they are better than them. If all the wages are the same, would we still not appreciate these people? Or would they at least seem to enjoy work more knowing that they can still provide for their family without reasonable struggle? It is obviously a question we cannot answer, but I think if everyone did get a base pay like in Bellamy's text, people would be much happier.
ReplyDeleteI know it is not very realistic and part of me does think that people with higher jobs deserve more money. I feel like a brain surgeon deserves more money than a telemarketer, partially because they have more schooling to pay for. But I do see the merits in everyone receiving enough money for living, something in theory we have with "minimum wage" but that we all know is not actually enough.