Can Perfection Exist?
Not as we are now,
but as we are meant to be,
nobody's perfect,
the greatest lie in history,
each being a wonderful creation,
given many a gift,
can offer up to others,
a transcedental lift,
the world can then start living,
in its purest form,
no longer a people divided,
a humanity transformed.
A Perfect Society
I do not believe there will ever be a way for the human race to build a perfect society, simply because of the difference in characters.
There will always be people who like to bully, cheat and who think they are better than everyone around them.
There will always be narcissists, sociopaths etc
And worst of all greed...the want for power and money.
Deep Within
There is something buried deep in a man that doesn't come out at childhood--a deep anger and resentment, jealousy, and hate. Selfishness, the need to hurt other people. It's just...there. There's nothing anyone can do about it.
Man can live to deal with this inner problem, but it will still eventually come out. Society will never be perfect, but we humans can strive to make it the best that it can be.
Nothing is perfect, but we can do better.
Many Conservative Americans have a bizarre hatred for the government- not a hatred of specific politicians or specific laws, but of the government as a whole concept. At the same time, they have a naive acceptance of the actions of big business, as if corporations would never engage in actions that harm the consumer.
With the rise of automation, it is absolutely impossible for there to be full employment. An economic system like Capitalism that is dependent on the majority of the population working is doomed to failure. An economic system where the wealth is amassed in the hands of very few while the bulk of the population can barely survive has already failed- and for some reason, people in the US accept that as the way things should be.
I’m not going to pretend there is any way to get past this beyond increasing education, and the GOP is adamantly against the populace being educated.
So, this concept of a Utopia does not provide any path to get there from here. It is just a description of what the society would be, and perhaps could be, if implemented in other nations.
The economic system would be Socialist, quite close to Communist. The government would be a meritocracy, not a democracy or a republic.
Economics
The government would own all land, and all natural resources, like mineral rights and lumber. Miners and lumber workers would be government employees. Companies would pay the government rent to be able to build buildings on particular sites of land.
These would be the primary sources of revenue for the government.
In addition, there would be income taxes, beginning with people earning 100k a year, who would pay 1% on their income from 100k to 110k. It would go up 1% for each 10k tier, until 99% of income above 200k goes to the government. Anyone earning less than 100k would pay no taxes.
Anyone with an income more than 200k would be living a lifestyle comparable to American Billionaires, while on paper being Millionaires; and because of increased opportunities, there would be a whole lot more of them.
Employment
Everyone has all of their bare necessities paid for by the government.
Most people want more than bare necessities, so they strive to earn more in the private sector. Since jobs are limited because of automation, they have three options: Careers, Jobs, and Creativity.
1.) Careers require advanced degrees, and specialized knowledge. Advanced education is provided by the government for in-demand professions. For example, if the nation needs more doctors and fewer lawyers, then Medical School would be free, but not Law School. They would have to pay for that themselves.
2.) Most unskilled or minimally skilled jobs would be replaced by automation. The few that remain would be for very few hours a week, for no more than a decade, and would provide relatively earn high wages. This would allow for everyone who wants those jobs to have a shot, and for them to earn enough to give them a “middle class” lifestyle for the rest of their lives.
3.) Residual income professions, like art, music, writing, etc. where one earns royalties from creative products sold to consumers. This would also include restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and other private businesses. Depending on how good they are, they could become very wealthy, and evolve into huge corporations.
Services
All electricity is provided by the government. Communications systems, like internet service and cell service, is provided by the government. Water, sewage, garbage pickup- all provided by the government.
Medical care, police, fire departments, education including universities, are all provided by the government, and professionals in those industries are government employees.
Private medical clinics, private schools, etc. can exist, but they must conform to strict government regulations on quality of care and educational topics.
Agriculture is grown in vertical farms, some government, some corporate. There are also vertical ranches, growing cattle, chicken, sheep, pigs and goats in skyscrapers.
Public transportation in urban areas is free.
Everyone has a government issued card allowing them to buy basic food and clothing. No one is homeless, no one is starving. If that means no one has solid gold toilet bowls, so be it.
Health Care
As stated, health care would be provided by the government, as a government service.
I have no clue why conservatives object to this concept so vehemently.
Right now, if you come home and see your house was robbed, you can call the police. They come, take your statement, and investigate. You do not have to directly pay them anything.
If they find the criminal and arrest him, you still do not have to pay them anything. The police patrol the streets as a preventative measure to stop crime- again, you do not have to pay them anything directly.
You pay them indirectly, through taxes. We all do, collectively.
If your house is burning, the fire department comes and puts out the fire. You do not even have to call them- if a neighbor spots it, they call the fire department. They do not charge your "Fire Insurance" first. They don't check your credit rating first. They do not give you an invoice after. They are paid collectively, by the government, through our taxes.
I do not see many conservatives wanting police and fire departments to be in the private sector as a pay per use service.
Yet, for some reason, they consider medical care to be different. In all three cases, an emergency happens, and people need help. It is not a luxury, it is a necessity. In all three cases, people require preventative measures to help stop emergencies from happening in the first place.
In all three cases, it is to the benefit of all of us to handle these problems as fast and as early as possible- fire spreads from house to house, crime happens in waves, and illnesses spread.
It is simply logical, it just makes SENSE, to anyone who bothers to think about this issue that we NEED Universal Health Care coverage. Yes, Obamacare has problems, Trumps idea was worse, and nobody is bringing up the VA. There are plenty of nations with successful single-payer health care systems for us to emulate, instead of going back to what we had before Obamacare- which was the WORST health care system in the developed world.
Impossible
It is not possible for humans as they are now to have a perfect society because of ego, of hatred, of immaturity, not enough love and compassion to go around to make grown ups understand that's all you need.
Children, very young children, could have a perfect society because they would know nothing different. Children are inherently good and kind.
Human society today is too focused on "Me" "I", instead of "You" "Them".
That's why we have people making money teaching others "To Just Let Go".
Today's society is wound up too tight.
This is only my observation.
How Happy
Within literature throughout all of history people can find depictions of both dystopia and it’s more ideal counterpart, utopia. So, then begs the question, can such a utopia be achieved? The short answer is yes and no.
In a world where people all believed the same things, held true to equality and human rights, and were able to compromise their own beliefs to maintain peace, such a utopia could exist.
However, in our world with crime, corruption, sickness, greed, and broken moral compasses, such an ideal world could never be seen through.
For a utopia to exist, every person would have to be equal. The rich would fall on the financial ladder while the poor would climb; the famous would slide down the pole of notoriety while the common man would become equal to the former. Those with grass huts would live in decent sized houses, but those in larger houses would have to downsize.
People are not willing to sacrifice their beliefs, their comfort, or their way of life so that others might see a better future. Many people love the idea of a utopian future, but the steps to achieve such a world keep them from acting towards it.
Could a perfect world exist? That depends on your definition of perfect.
Equality, comfort for every person, opportunity. If this is your utopia, perhaps one day, with less corruption, greed, and human nature, your ideal future could be seen.
However, if to achieve these things you have to sacrifice your beliefs, lay down your free will, and live the way society tells you that you must to maintain happiness, how happy is your utopia really?
Imperfect
The thought of our society
And all the things that it could be
Are shrouded in a mystery
Never solved through history
To think that we are perfect now
Is quite a farfetched thing to vow
Not only poor things we allow
We must be flawless somehow
We've advanced through time and years
There's nothing mankind ever fears
But our success no one adheres
When spoken out they reach no ears
We may not satisfy all people
But we're taking steps toward being equal
We're working hard to become peaceful
Standing proud beneath the eagle
There may be riots, maybe marches
But that's getting revolutions started
We'll only just improve regardless
Create the light to fight the darkness
Our medications strong as ever
Education's getting better
All we do is now or never
We may as well be a trendsetter
People complain, people are scared
People may think we are unprepared
To think with perfection we're compared
A useless goal that we've been dared
But you'll just have to trust in me
To tell you of the way I see
Our somewhat flawed society
Is not as bad as you'd think it'd be
As We Are Now
A portion of your question, "as we are now," is the key to the demise of society. If society continues without drastic changes, it will face severe difficulties. Why? Human beings have become both complacent and dependent, at an alarming rate, on machines or AI to run our lives.
The most brazen example of my statement, UNITED AIRLINES. Arbitrarily, I must repeat ARBITRARILY, a computer picked a random passenger and tossed him off the plane. This example is the tip of a very dangerous iceberg. The apps used on smartphones places everything we want at our fingertips, including banking. Is it possible that one day there will be no more currency as we know it?
How much privacy do you have? That is if we care. Maybe society is changing, and we will live all our lives as open books so everyone, including hackers, can do whatever they want to all of us. Oh no, companies promise that could never happen, "A Breach," how ridiculous.
We constantly want to be entertained similar to Rome before the fall of the Empire. They found a way to dumb down the masses, so their inept government could run unchecked. Today, how convenient, fly packages to our doors, so we don't leave our houses. As a society, we demand instant gratification. Also, feed us information via the Internet even if it might be false or manipulated because who would lie to us.
What must I say about Cyberbullying or Identity Theft? The legal system is still trying to figure what to do about those. The world is not perfect it has never been nor will it ever be. Commercials are showing people walking down streets streaming a movie or a television program as they walk. Texting while driving because it is imperative we communicate now, do not wait. If we believe our lives are better with hashtags and emojis and that talking and communicating with one another is pointless than, "as we are now," might serve as a warning sign.