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.
In many of the examples below, I like looking at America because I think they are a cultural leader. Indeed, Western culture is spreading and youth everywhere are trying to emulate it. Without getting all Bin-Laden on you and talking about the evil Western culture must be stopped by any means, it is worth taking an objective evaluation of American culture and looking at the good and the bad.
Contents
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
Problems a plenty.
The growing gap between the rich and the poor
No comment.
Inequalities in effort
Why can I as a computer programmer work a few hours a day and afford a massive island, whereas a carpenter might be pouring his heart into his work from sunrise to sunset every day and not be able to feed his family? Sure, I have skills that are more in demand. But is this really fair? Why can't people do what they enjoy and are passionate about, instead of choosing their life's work based on monetary considerations.
Conflict of interests
Two examples:
- Suppose you have stomach problems. Your gastroenterologist can perscribe you a $200 wireless camera in a pill, that offers minimal discomfort, or he can continue giving you and his other patient decidedly unpleasant colonoscopies at $2000 a pop. There are plenty of other examples in the medical community, where your doctor is not doing what's best for you, but rather what's best for him, her, or your medical insurance.
- Look at the meat industry. The goal is to make a profit, right? So who cares if we do it by growing animals in boxes, pumped with hormones? And never mind their quality of life (they're just animals, right?)... we also need not worry about how we slaughter them so long as we can pump out more packages faster. One might worry that cruelty we show other beings is a reflecting of ourselves, yet we judge these people solely by the figures in their ledgers. After all, if they're a head, they must be doing something right, right?
Education
- Education is fundamental to a society's development, yet why are our teachers usually paid the lowest salaries? In a society where efficiency isn't everything, people from all walks and fields of life could give up of their time in educating the future generation, and imparting from their own experiences.
- Why can we go through years of school and still not know how to think ? The majority population are constantly manipulated or indoctrinated by adverts and political propaganda. People don't learn how to evaluate information and think critically, and this is often reflected in their voting practices (where they think they are making a free choice but don't realize they are simply reacting to feelings and thoughts implanted in them by others). Critical thought and rational decision making must be a central value to our society.
- Any psychology student can tell you of the common human cognitive biases, i.e., common mistakes we make when evaluating information in forming our decisions. But something is wrong here... psychology students learn this so that when your life is screwed up, they can tell you why. Surely we should just learn these at school, and not make the mistakes in the first place? I haven't read it yet but the following website looks like it might be of use: http://www.overcomingbias.com/about
- How can we go through years of school, be able to solve complex mathematical problems and analyze literary works, but still not know how to save a fellow humans life? First aid should be a compulsory subject at school. And what about meditation, etc? Learning how to use our mind.
Attitude to the environment
Every other life form on this planet lives in perfect balance with our life. We are the only exception. We cause continuous and often irreparable damage to the environment or wipe out entire species, to satisfy our superficial consumerist needs.
- Devalue the need to consume, frown on disposable anything.
- Everything we use must be recycleable. Wet garbage must be returned to the earth, toilet waste reused. No garbage dumps anywhere. Nothing that makes for easy litter or that can hurt the environment.
- Energy must be renewable: solar, wind, wave, etc.
Relationships
The divorce rate in the US is 50%[4] (as an average of various demographics). What does it mean if every second marriage is a failure? Is marriage an outdated concept, irrelevant to today's day and age, or is society not conducive to healthy relationships? The prevalence, acceptance, and even encouraging attitude towards infidelity could be a factor. Would things be different in a society where such behaviour was unacceptable?
Or perhaps we need to completely re-evaluate the concept of relationships, like they did at the Kibbutzim during the 2nd Aliyah. Here the idea of individual ownership was so frowned upon, that it even extended to exclusivity in relationships. Buddhist teachings show the problem with forming attachments, and maybe this is another social experiment that we could look at.
