Icymudpuppy
12-14-2011, 12:36 PM
I know of a place where there is a perfect socialist Utopia.
All the residents are provided with all their needs. The authorities provide ample food which is nutritional and readily available and measured to maximize their productiveness. They all are provided with housing with furnishings to meet their needs and maximize their productiveness. Even their love life is organized by the authorities so that every resident can have the fulfillment of offspring. They have absolute security in the knowledge that they are wholly protected from outside threats by dangerous elements, and they have full medical coverage including vaccination, checkups, prenatal care, etc. They only work 4 hours a day, yet provide 100% of their production and all their personal freedom to the authorities. The authorities use that production to provide their residents' needs and their own lifestyle. The rest of their time is usually spent socializing and eating with their fellow residents. This society is actively polygynous, and unmated male members are usually taken away by the authorities prior to reaching maturity for use in providing additional services outside the immediate society. You can find it at...
But first, I need to tell you about another place I know. Here, the residents are mostly responsible for themselves. They find their own food, shelter, and other needs. They are free to work as hard or as little as they want in pursuit of those necessities. The authorities provide a minimal amount of defense to try and keep dangerous elements at bay, mostly in the form of seasonal quotas to eliminate such threats before they do anything bad, and they will organize active investigations to find and punish known offenders. Still, a fair number of residents particularly the young who don't stick with their social group have a fatal encounter with one of those dangerous elements. The authorities also offer a few basic medical services such as vaccinations, and emergency care if they can get to a stricken resident in time. About once a year, the authorities take about 30% of the residents, mostly the young male members, for direct use by the authorities to provide defense, maintain the land, provide a few basic services, and of course provide for the authorities. This place can be found at...
But first, there is another place. In this place there are no authorities, but the authorities from both the previous two places are known to exert force on these free individuals, usually through violence paid for by their residents. The authorities of the other places even like to exert the violence in such a way as to steal the production of these individuals while at the same time encouraging more production by actively targeting the oldest, and wealthiest residents of the free society so that younger upstarts can inject new vitality and take their place. These free individuals are beset also by a multitude of threats from violent actors of all kinds. They must not only find their own food, shelter, etc, but must also do their best to protect themselves from threats while doing so. They have no organized medical care, no safety nets, etc, but they have freedom to go where they want, and do what they want.
The first place is a dairy farm.
The second place is a free range ranch.
The last place is a wild ungulate population.
The USA is getting closer to a dairy farm and farther from a ranch every day. I think the feminist movement encourages this idea that men are only needed for insemination, and they'd keep a few studs around for that, but the rest of us males would be sold off as slaves to a trade partner. Although I dream of a wild life, I know that there is no escaping authorities, and at least in a republic ranch, we can choose our authorities, rather than have the neighboring ranches and farms exert their authorities upon us.
Regardless, the authorities will always treat the people as just another resource to be harvested.
All the residents are provided with all their needs. The authorities provide ample food which is nutritional and readily available and measured to maximize their productiveness. They all are provided with housing with furnishings to meet their needs and maximize their productiveness. Even their love life is organized by the authorities so that every resident can have the fulfillment of offspring. They have absolute security in the knowledge that they are wholly protected from outside threats by dangerous elements, and they have full medical coverage including vaccination, checkups, prenatal care, etc. They only work 4 hours a day, yet provide 100% of their production and all their personal freedom to the authorities. The authorities use that production to provide their residents' needs and their own lifestyle. The rest of their time is usually spent socializing and eating with their fellow residents. This society is actively polygynous, and unmated male members are usually taken away by the authorities prior to reaching maturity for use in providing additional services outside the immediate society. You can find it at...
But first, I need to tell you about another place I know. Here, the residents are mostly responsible for themselves. They find their own food, shelter, and other needs. They are free to work as hard or as little as they want in pursuit of those necessities. The authorities provide a minimal amount of defense to try and keep dangerous elements at bay, mostly in the form of seasonal quotas to eliminate such threats before they do anything bad, and they will organize active investigations to find and punish known offenders. Still, a fair number of residents particularly the young who don't stick with their social group have a fatal encounter with one of those dangerous elements. The authorities also offer a few basic medical services such as vaccinations, and emergency care if they can get to a stricken resident in time. About once a year, the authorities take about 30% of the residents, mostly the young male members, for direct use by the authorities to provide defense, maintain the land, provide a few basic services, and of course provide for the authorities. This place can be found at...
But first, there is another place. In this place there are no authorities, but the authorities from both the previous two places are known to exert force on these free individuals, usually through violence paid for by their residents. The authorities of the other places even like to exert the violence in such a way as to steal the production of these individuals while at the same time encouraging more production by actively targeting the oldest, and wealthiest residents of the free society so that younger upstarts can inject new vitality and take their place. These free individuals are beset also by a multitude of threats from violent actors of all kinds. They must not only find their own food, shelter, etc, but must also do their best to protect themselves from threats while doing so. They have no organized medical care, no safety nets, etc, but they have freedom to go where they want, and do what they want.
The first place is a dairy farm.
The second place is a free range ranch.
The last place is a wild ungulate population.
The USA is getting closer to a dairy farm and farther from a ranch every day. I think the feminist movement encourages this idea that men are only needed for insemination, and they'd keep a few studs around for that, but the rest of us males would be sold off as slaves to a trade partner. Although I dream of a wild life, I know that there is no escaping authorities, and at least in a republic ranch, we can choose our authorities, rather than have the neighboring ranches and farms exert their authorities upon us.
Regardless, the authorities will always treat the people as just another resource to be harvested.