Values
A big part of this project involves looking at what we find problematic in existing societies, and thinking about how we can avoid such problems or just generally do better.
Prioritization of Societal Values
I think a defining measure of a society is how it prioritises different values. One way to look at this, is how members of that society measure success. What does it mean to be successful? I think a lot of people would tend to answer: a good job, nice house, car, money, etc. But how many of us have friends with all these things -- "success stories" -- who aren't happy? On our deathbed, as we review our existence on this planet, will we be satisfied to measure our life's worth by the number of digits in our bank account?
I think in many societies, efficiency is given a higher value than happiness. People spend their whole lives working hard, their country's GDP is massive, and there are many individuals seeing great benefit from this system. More aren't. Look for example at the USA, an icon for business efficiency. Yet (as of 2005[1]), 10% of the population were taking prescription anti depressants! Never mind the people who are depressed and un-medicated, or can't afford expensive drugs. Those are some crazy numbers! And hardly the sign of a healthy society!
Some might argue that depression is solely due to chemical imbalances in an individual, but having suffered from depression myself in the past, I think it's foolish to rule out external and environmental influences. Sure, some people might be predisposed to being depressed, but for me that means they simply have a lower threshold to handle external pressures. I don't think this is rocket science... the prevalence of depression is not static around the world, and varies greatly by different countries and cultures.
Personally, using these two value examples, I'd prefer a society that is less efficient (slower innovation, smaller GDP), but the members of the society are happy, and feel they are leading fulfilling lives. To me that is a success. But such a change would be a disaster for those currently on the top benefiting from the current arrangement. Indeed, rather drug those people up, and avoid dealing with the real issues... incidentally the sale of expensive perscription anti depressants is a great industry and further fuels the GDP ($2 billion in 2005 [2]).
Think I'm exaggerating? On the 21st May, 2010, Google replaced their search engine logo with a playable Pac Man game, in celebration of Pac Man's 30th birthday. I for one was delighted at the 30 seconds of amusement this offered me... it really brightened up my day, and left me smiling, as I'm sure it did for many others. Of course, it didn't take long for some people to tally up the numbers and work out the implications in lost productivity... a few days later one could read in the newspapers that this little stunt of happiness cost the American economy an estimated $120m[3]. I hope this helps illustrate my point in terms of the happiness/efficiency prioritization.
And this of course is just one example. Let's continue looking at some other values, though of course it's hard to continue without first addressing this next issue:
Capitalism
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