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Dystopia vs Utopia?
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| Beat Blog |
I've been reading a lot of classic science fiction novels lately which deal with the state of the world in the future, such as George Orwell's 1984, Aldous Huxley - Brave New World, and a fair amount of Philip K. Dick, most recently A Scanner Darkly.
A vast, vast majority of science fiction writers seem to predict that future civilization will be dystopian - a malfunctioning wreck characterised by extreme division of classes, unprecedented corruption, ruthless governments, food shortages, diseases and a whole other pile of nasty .
I'm inclined to agree.
I look around and see how selfish and consumer oriented western culture is, and with exponential population growth, I can't see how the human race can continue to live happily on Earth in the far future, say 1000 years from now.
I envisage a world choked with pollution and decay, where you can no longer buy flowers because every spare patch of land is needed to grow food, and foods like beef and pork have become a delicacy as demand far outstrips supply.
What are your thoughts? Are you optimistic that the brightest minds of our race can overcome our problems and eventually create a near-paradise, or are things only going to get worse from here on in?
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Disclaimer: I'm no hippy. |
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| Sunsnail |
| I think that people have always had a pessimistic view of the future and so far IMO it has turned out ok. I see no reason why it won't be ok forever. |
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| MrJiveBoJingles |
I think we'll be fine unless a giant meteor hits us.
Also, we'll probably be robots in a thousand years. |
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| diggerz |
| As long as we love one another, everything will be 'alright'. :wtf: |
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| Arbiter |
| Neither. No perpetual dystopia or 'paradise' awaits us. Those are just foolish dreams created by people who want to give the 'future' a form that they can hold on to. But the truth is that our existence in the future will continue to be characterized by 'change,' just as it always has been. |
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| SuspicionVandit |
| We will evolve. Just like trance evolved to survive extinction, we will adapt to our environment. |
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| nefardec |
| quote: | Originally posted by Beat Blog
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news flash
people have been unhappy forever.
utopia does not mean paradise, which refers to a garden or 'pleroma', a natural, primeval abundance, innocence, etc
utopia means 'no place'. the very word itself implies that such perfection cannot be achieved inasmuch as 'places' are concerned.
dystopic though is also a stretch. dystopia implies something overly negative and almost allegorical.
the future will be categorized by never living up to our expectations 20 years earlier, ever
where the is my moonbase |
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| CONNERMAN2000 |
I tend to tackle this sort of subject with a sense of optimism; humans will not sit around and let destruction and decay consume and define them. Whereas the world is full of greedy s, this very same world is also chock full of fantastic minds, and caring people who want to make a name for themselves by providing necessary means to help.
Organizations such as the Red Cross, the Peace Corps, EPA, etc., etc., althought perhaps arbitrary to the 'global' perspective of our species' problems, are just examples of how not all people are bastards.
We'll figure out a way. I know it. Oil will run out, we'll all start riding bikes. Hopefully. |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| how does 1984 deal with the future? |
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| CONNERMAN2000 |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
how does 1984 deal with the future? |
:haha: |
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| dark_Omens |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
how does 1984 deal with the future? |
Read it, and then look at the original date of publish.
Humans don't like to be unhappy. It seems if too many individuals became too upset, there would be an uprising. The only thing I could see causing mass hysteria would be some catastrophic event. If you've seen (or read -- although they differ) Children of Men, you might know what I mean. |
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