I mentioned in my introduction that I am operating under the assumption that class inequality is inherently dystopian while our strong desires for equality and equity are inherently utopian. Now that we have a working definition of class conflict and class inequality, I will explain why I believe this is the case.
The word utopia implies a world with a perfected social order; a world of equality, happiness, unity and freedom. Utopian desires are strongly fueled by the motivation to perfect humanity (Aguirre). The idea of total class equality is a utopian desire because it calls for the institution of a perfected social order which would create a world where everyone was of the same economic status. In this world, everyone would be afforded the same opportunities and would be able to acquire the same material possessions. There would be no wars over resources and no debts to be repaid. A utopian class structure would imply a world of total economic harmony.
On the flipside we have the dystopia which is class inequality. We live in a world where wealth is equivalent to power. The larger portion of our nation’s wealth is held by the elite 1 percent who use it for personal gains at the expense of the overwhelming majority. A privileged 1 percent of Americans sit in the lap of luxury living in extreme excess while the remaining 140 million of us labor to stimulate this economic dystopia.
In the situation of class conflict, it can be easy for us to succumb to utopian desires. After all who doesn’t want equality, opportunities and freedom? However, before you hop on the utopian bandwagon, I caution you to remember that utopia is not the opposite of dystopia. In fact, it is our strong desire for utopia that creates that the utopia we so desperately try to avoid (Aguirre).
As I mentioned in my initial post, everyone has a different idea of what a perfect world would look like. I have just described my loose idea of a perfected class structure but who is to say that everyone would and should agree with me? Maybe the top 1 percent are living out their idea of a utopian economic system and it just happens to be detrimental to the rest of us. In my opinion, we will never be able to create a perfect world simply because not everyone has the same idea of what that would look like. The reason why I created this blog is not to brainwash people with my ideas of utopia rather the goal of this project is to create awareness and inspire differences in opinions on the matter.
Resources:
Aguirre, Robert. “Utopia- Dystopia- Frutopia?.” Class handout. Seattle University. Seattle, WA. n.d. Print.
URL for Image:
http://poachedmag.com/2013/11/12/swf-2013-utopia-or-dystopia/
The word utopia implies a world with a perfected social order; a world of equality, happiness, unity and freedom. Utopian desires are strongly fueled by the motivation to perfect humanity (Aguirre). The idea of total class equality is a utopian desire because it calls for the institution of a perfected social order which would create a world where everyone was of the same economic status. In this world, everyone would be afforded the same opportunities and would be able to acquire the same material possessions. There would be no wars over resources and no debts to be repaid. A utopian class structure would imply a world of total economic harmony.
On the flipside we have the dystopia which is class inequality. We live in a world where wealth is equivalent to power. The larger portion of our nation’s wealth is held by the elite 1 percent who use it for personal gains at the expense of the overwhelming majority. A privileged 1 percent of Americans sit in the lap of luxury living in extreme excess while the remaining 140 million of us labor to stimulate this economic dystopia.
In the situation of class conflict, it can be easy for us to succumb to utopian desires. After all who doesn’t want equality, opportunities and freedom? However, before you hop on the utopian bandwagon, I caution you to remember that utopia is not the opposite of dystopia. In fact, it is our strong desire for utopia that creates that the utopia we so desperately try to avoid (Aguirre).
As I mentioned in my initial post, everyone has a different idea of what a perfect world would look like. I have just described my loose idea of a perfected class structure but who is to say that everyone would and should agree with me? Maybe the top 1 percent are living out their idea of a utopian economic system and it just happens to be detrimental to the rest of us. In my opinion, we will never be able to create a perfect world simply because not everyone has the same idea of what that would look like. The reason why I created this blog is not to brainwash people with my ideas of utopia rather the goal of this project is to create awareness and inspire differences in opinions on the matter.
Resources:
Aguirre, Robert. “Utopia- Dystopia- Frutopia?.” Class handout. Seattle University. Seattle, WA. n.d. Print.
URL for Image:
http://poachedmag.com/2013/11/12/swf-2013-utopia-or-dystopia/