Visions of Utopia

Given all of the poverty and suffering in the world, the economic disparities and the sociopolitical inequalities, the waste of human potential and the horrendous lack of medical care for most of the world's inhabitants, given this current state of affairs, it seems necessary to consider some possibilities for better and improved forms of government and social structures. Of course the real questions are how would this hypothetical new society take shape, and what would it look like? Can such a new civilization be planned in that it could be designed from the ground up as it were and then successfully implemented? What would it take to make the ideal society a reality?

Artists, writers and futurists have much to say on these matters, mostly by way of speculations and discussions rather than in presenting real solutions. Nonetheless, hypothesizing and employing one's creativity on this issue can be very helpful in many ways. One needs to imagine a structure before they can build it, and if we could combine both creativity with cold hard facts in a body of social, political, economic, and legal theories that can effectively form a new civilization then this is the important aim. In science, theory and practice cannot be separated (at least not for long), so we should be able to gauge if the new system we develop is working the way it is supposed to, and either continue on or adjust and refine. In using science and employing reason as a basis upon forming a new higher order of civilization, we need to define what we want, and be open to nontraditional views of running things. It can be difficult to imagine a social paradigm which is different from your own, and even in accepting a different way of life. But since what we have right now does not seem to be good enough, then improvement and advancement is necessary heading toward the future. And in the process of building such a new system, moral values need to be the foundation, and we should also recognize that the development stages can become an art as well as a science.

Perhaps it is the case that the next stage in the evolution of human development would be the realization that we are capable of creating our own form of social order, and thereby can also improve existing conditions if not scrap the whole thing for something better altogether. Maybe the next higher phase in human civilization is the capacity to produce new ways of living and being, based on reason and the understanding of scientific principles, particularly in regards to human nature, needs, desires, and activity.

I have considered the idea of tying together the mission of founding a new society with the Metistonic Order. Perhaps the mission statement could be something along the lines of ending world hunger and poverty, ensuring the education and health of all of the world's children, establishing bases of law and order in crime-ridden chaotic countries, defending indigenous tribes from exploitation, protecting the environment, preventing species extinctions, and so on, basically goals which would be considered morally respectable and also have a touch of the impossible to them. Ideally, the stated goals of the order should be those which are truly engaged in through organized action, are beneficial to the public welfare, involve members going on missions, and some of the goals could be perpetual (such as founding the perfect human society, etc.). In addition, there would be missions which support the growth, expansion, and the advancement of the order's interests. I do not have any exact framework for these matters as of yet, but in time I must work these details out. Also, I need to have a symbol set which would represent the order, I hope that I should discover something suitable eventually. Whether this new utopia is created by a super committee of reason or formed by some freeflow process from the ground up, as long it comes into existence is the main point.