Plato's strict hierarchy demonstrates a mechanical rigidity that plagues many later Utopias. This fluidity must be controlled if not, order turns to chaos. Changes represent fatal intrusions to the harmonic structure. For Plato, most people would be better off if someone made the decisions for them, and once the ideal society was formed, the social pattern would remain static. Plato's dream seemed to transform human society into a Dystopian ant hive. ![]() Looking through Plato's Utopia with contemporary glasses, we can see how these rules would be vulnerable to corruption, exploitation, dissatisfaction, and even state terror. To maintain the hierarchical structure, "dangerous thoughts," "disturbing emotions," and even music were banished, and to maintain docility, the guardian class would not hesitate to disseminate lies to the community. Controlled by the guardians and military, the lowliest citizens were expected to remain obedient and follow orders of the military and guardians without talking back. When a position is given, people are stuck with it for life. Education becomes a process that sifts people into their respective classes: artisans, military, and guardians, better known as philosopher-kings. Furthermore, control of human breeding would occur through communal marriage, where children would not be familiarized with their biological parents and raised by the state through the educational system. Fundamentally, Plato argued for an autarchy: a self-sufficient city-state with enough land to feed its population, so it would not rely on trade with other communities. Plato's Republic (Quoted in Mumford 1965) was the first written account of a Utopian society. Although they seem like stark oppositions in their definition, the line between these two is blurry, and when you put Utopian ideals to practice, it often ends up as a Dystopian reality. In contrast to Utopia, which represents an ideal and harmonious society, Dystopias depict nightmarish and dysfunctional societies where people often suffer under oppressive regimes, lack freedom, and have a general sense of misery. Derived from the Greek words ou (not or no) and topos (place), Utopia is the combination of these two and would be translated to "no place" or "not a place." At the same time, the pronunciation of Utopia is similar to the Greek word eutopia, which means "good place" or "happy place." In opposition to Utopia is Dystopia: an imagined or envisioned society characterized by oppressive and undesirable living conditions, typically resulting from the abuse of power, totalitarianism, environmental degradation, or other catastrophic events. Indeed, they might turn into an oppressive Dystopian society.Īt first, defining what I mean when I say Utopia and Dystopia can be helpful. It is now famously known that Utopian ideals are potentially dangerous when put into practice. But to imagine and create new societies, we must also critically examine how these dreams come about and their content. ![]() It is the belief and active pursuit of creating that imagined ideal society based on specific principles or ideologies. Utopianism, the mode of social dreaming that allows us to believe in radically altered communities, is needed to improve society and our lives. Saturday, October 14, 7:30 PM Cathedral Church of St.In the previous post, I wrote about why understanding Utopianism is essential for us as human beings. This concert is made possible in part by a generous grant from The Salt Lake City Arts Council. Raga singer Soma Sarkar Preciado and tabla player Debanjan Bhattacharya will perform with soprano Emily Nelson and visiting artists, Medieval fiddle player Niccolo Seligmann and Persian flute specialist Kelariz Keshavarz. These two musical styles go together surprisingly well: both styles are rooted in melodic line and drone (instead of chords), both styles use unusual musical scales, and both were heavily influenced by Persian music. Our musical pairings will be based on similarities of musical scale or emotional tone, with creative improvisation. Joining forces with Hindustani raga musicians, we will place European Medieval songs side by side with North Indian classical ragas, with musicians from both traditions working together on new collaborations. In this program, we will uncover ancient connections between very different musical styles and create new ones. ![]() Musical ideas have been exchanged between the Eastern and Western worlds since the days of the Silk Road, when music, instruments, and ideas traveled along with traded goods between China, India, Europe, and the Middle East.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |