Musings

As the USA is frozen over today, it seemed like a terrific time to do a further bit of speculation as to what human society in the future might look like. I have no special expertise as a futurist, but I am pretty good at technological forecasting, and I think some of its principles can be applied to the search for solutions to our social ills and dilemmas.

I imagine I confuse some of you with my comments regarding my political philosophy. I talk about being a semi-anarchist, and yet in most of my posts on the subject suggest that future society will be highly cohesive and to a degree, regimented. And, yet, I go on and on about the great value of individuals and individual initiative in advancing civilization.

The greatest struggle of our age has been trying to balance the needs of the individual against the needs of society as a whole. The second greatest struggle has been in lifting human beings from a brutish and selfish lot into an educated and compassionate branch of Primates that almost, but not quite, fit the definition of ‘Human Being’.

Part of the process of getting through our adolescence as a species, has been trying on various political systems to see if they fit, and might qualify as a suitable replacement for, or upgrade to, that great institution that led us down the pathway to civilization in the first place: Religion.

In dealing with people, one thing is for sure: The more educated they are, the more thoughtful and compassionate they become. And, the use of violence in settling disputes is far less frequent. In the past, our evolution down this course has gone in fits and starts, with many setbacks. Yet, we have made a lot of progress in a fairly short time, considering that our genus left the womb two million years ago, and our own species has been doing its thing for only about three hundred thousand of them.

Now, we face the very real prospect of a wrenching, nearly total collapse of all we have accomplished as an organized global society. We have the choice of entering a new ‘dark age’ or finishing the job that was started in earnest when the glaciers retreated.

To do this, we must first realize and admit that ‘modern’ political systems are a primitive response to social ills, primarily massive overpopulation. Well, I believe that population pressures are about to greatly diminish as a result of the old bugaboos, war, drought, and famine. But this time, an accelerant to the die-off has been added: global climate change.

It is entirely possible that the earth will lose 4/5 of its human population within the next thirty years. We will be extremely lucky if we avoid this outcome. I’d give ten to one odds that we don’t. There simply isn’t enough time, and if the U.N. is an example, we do not have functional institutions to deal with the urgent issues in a rational and timely manner.

When the dust settles, and it is time to rebuild and reorganize, it is possible to construct a society with no political systems at all. NO government. Just us. Educated, compassionate, responsible citizens who take responsibility for our actions, and contribute, unasked, to the common good. Instead of coercion and the use of force to control behaviors, we can exercise self-control if we choose to do so, and rehabilitate those who don’t. Instead, we could have volunteerism, ad hoc committees, uncompensated relief and support groups, and instead of warriors, boy scouts. These are the types of organizations that might fill the void of government. A lot of small, specialist groups that form and dissolve as required to deal with any problems that arise and impact everyone. Educational institutions would be the binding agents for the new society, and the Rule of Law will be an agreed upon codex of principles that is reviewed often, by everyone, and modified as needed.

Back in the days of pulp science fiction like, ‘Amazing Stories’, I read a novel by A.E. Van Vogt, titled ‘The Pawns of Null-A’, which described such a society. This book attracted my attention because it was, to my knowledge, the first attempt to describe a social system based on the principals of General Semantics.

While General Semantics may not be a cure-all, the book is entertaining, and it might stimulate your own thinking as to what a genuinely human society could become if we learn from the lessons of the past, and apply our new knowledge to problem solving, before those problems get out of hand.

Either our graduation day is at hand, or we go about business as usual and become relegated to the dustbin of history.

Things aren’t always as they seem