My Utopia
In the cinematic masterpiece that is Fight Club, Tylder Durden says:
'In the world I see -- you're stalking elk through the damp canyon forests around the ruins of Rockefeller Center. You will wear leather clothes that last you the rest of your life. You will climb the wrist-thick kudzu vines that wrap the Sears. You will see tiny figures pounding corn and laying strips of venison on the empty car pool lane of the ruins of a superhighway.'
'You are not how much money you have in the bank. You are not the shoes you wear. You are not the contents of your wallet... You are not your job. You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everything else. We are all part of the same compost heap.'
'You
are not your Fucking Khaki's!'
In the world I see:
You wake up staring through double glazing, you see the dawn as it colors the sky crimson and outlines the Ash your father planted. Despite living in a semi urban area your hear nothing but two sparrows that chirp in the tree.
From your waterbed you observe the slightly undulating and solid 30 cm thick walls that you yourself molded with friends and family. Beams of colored light shine through small round pieces of thick colored glass and paint your floor.
Guests
from overseas often do not realize the small pieces of glass are simply
bottle ends that have been incorporated in your wall. You step out your
bed 'u', then you dress, in your black and somewhat baggy pants, a black
hooded cotton sweater and shoes made from synthetic material but with the
appearance and characteristics of leather.
There are no logos or brand names on the exterior of your clothing, on the interior of each item there is a small and very simple URL which as you know will get you to the manufacturers web site. From reading that and similar sites you know all your clothes and the raw materials from which they are made come from the same province you live in, they are made by laborers/co-owners that get a fair wage and share.
You
push open your wooden door with intricate carvings. Right in front of you
the are your window planters, they smell of fresh, organic herbs,
fruit and vegetables. You pluck a banana and bite down.
You walk past all the planters and reach the door where you keep your jacket, your skateboard and your mountainbike/citybike.
You opt for the latter, it always give you a subtle satisfaction and a sense of comfort to ride that bike. You've assembled it from scratch from the best possible parts and keep it well maintained. You fully understand the function of each and every part and know it to be a dependable and durable thing, a thing of beauty even.
It is not just your bike, you actually have no shoddy or short lasting products and goods to speak of. In general very few are made or demanded and you are one of the many who have no desire for them whatsoever. Functionality, inherent beauty, and durability are the prime motivations to buy something or, at least that is the case for all the people you know. You step out with your bike and look back at your home before you get on it.
As
you start biking out in to the morning you see a few large Earthships in
the distance surrounded by about 30 windmills. This small complex is high
on a mountain.
You know it as the HyRe plant. It is one of the tens of thousands Hydrogen Renewables plants that are communally owned and operated by committed locals all over the land. They produce power for your entire village using various renewable technologies.
Although you have a nice laptop and a wireless internet connection you decide to pedal over to the Community Computing Building.
The
design of this place is that of a very large Earthship.
You know there are bound to be some mates there and you are correct. Jakey is creating some digital art and Iris seems to involved in what appears to be the creation of a fanzine.
'Hiya!'
'Hiya.'
Iris says grinning and 'Hey wazzup!' Jakey exclaims while he throws you
a memo stick. You know it's the debut album by 'Grafter', he promised to
give it to you a few days back. You've already transferred E 3.00,- to
the bands' account two days before. You really look forward to playing
the music while you do your computing.
You
start up and log-in to one of black Linux boxes.
Here -as at home- the Penguin (Linux) and all Open Source and Freeware Software rule supreme, conversely do not rule at all. In your experience Linus Torvalds is a living legend. Proprietary software, Microsoft, Bill Gates and their likes are no more than an evil but fading memory to you.
While you use the computer you listen to your new album twice over, it's really good! Then you remotely access your laptop at home and listen to some old favorites from your vast collection of music. All these files you also attained through legal file sharing since that is the standard by which music is 'sold'.
Your
mood is very good and your outlook positive....
Some other aspects of this personal utopia i've outlined above:
Educational institutions would teach valuable and 'real' skills tailored to the individual. Some of the possible books on the 'curriculum' Sustainable Building Classics, S.A.S. Survival guide, English Love Poems, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance. Classes: Aikido, sewing, woodcraft, illustration, painting and sculpture, creative writing, method acting etc.
About 70 percent of the old occupations do no longer exist because they have been deemed undesirable or not serving the greater good of the community. However quite a lot of activities are now considered occupations which before were deemed hobbies.
Almost everything and anything done –no matter how mundane- with true love, endurance and dedication is considered beautiful and 'profession'. Everyone has a basic income supplied by the community, this is adequate for all the true basics needed to not just survive but also thrive. Anyone who wants to can easily take on small jobs to supplement their income in order to buy more luxurious/expensive items such as consumer electronics or various forms of entertainment.
It is very common for people to build their own home, many houses are (semi) underground and are made of recycled tires, wood and have a lot of south facing glazing. Quite a few people also choose to build their dwellings -among others- from cordwood, straw bales, cob, fabrics and papercrete. Consequently you will see a wide range of dwellings within any one urban setting: Teepees, Earthships, Yurts, Roundhouses, Cabins, Underground, Straw bale buildings etc. etc.
Humans beings hold the land in common and care for it as the native people (American Indian, Aboriginals) of the lands used to do.
All Internet domains are free and are divided such as the .tk domains are today.
The prison system as we now know it no longer exist. There is no need for it as crime is at the lowest rate ever. Some credit this to the increased opportunities and de-urbanization that has taken place.
Soft drugs are legal the world over and not considered 'drugs' at all when used responsibly.
Very few if any animals are used for human consumption. Factory and industrialized farming no longer exist.
Medical care, public transport and education is "free" and of a high caliber.
There
are few cars that get in your way, one can always cross safely since pedestrians
etc. always have the right of way in urban areas. Even the most urban areas
smell good and natural because of the many parks & green zones and
because hydrogen cars only produce water vapor.
I think everything i sketch above is possible, some of it is already happening on a small scale right now. If you think it is all mere and idle daydreaming... you might well be a Space Monkey....!
