My own response - Copied from my journal
at least 8 fundamental rights... I’ll give it a go.
-Right to equitable access to material resources (in an age of nanotechnology and intra-, if not inter-, stellar travel, material resources are more than plentiful - they’re near infinite. Locking them up in the hands of a few powerful leaders is anathema to a true Utopia)
-Right to basic survival needs (this includes health care, not just food and shelter)
-Right to free access to information and education
-Right to free expression (this is more than just "freedom of speech", but goes on to guarentee a freedom of access to constant communication with the human race as a whole - of which the internet is only just the beginning)
-Freedom from confinement
-Right to continuity of existence (basically the right to life, but broader, to allow for the possibility of non-human sentience such as AI)
-Integrity of the individual (it is presumable that one could destroy or alter and individuals thoughts, or "download" them, in an age where computers may well tie directly into brainwaves. It is also plausible that in the far future, one group could seek to unify humanity into a sort of "hive mind" through that same method. This prohibits that, as well as guarenteeing privacy in the contemperary sense)
Well that’s seven... but those are the most important. I’m sure you can come up with one more... feel free to leave any suggestions in the comments.
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They body of laws... once again, this is an attempt to transpose our worldview on a Utopia that by it’s very nature would be dramatically different in all scopes, of which law I believe will be one of the most altered - or removed.
Law, by it’s nature, seeks to alter the behaviour of citizens - either forcing them to do things, or preventing them from doing things. Since the basic precept of a Utopian society is freedom, and open communication, it would seem that Utopia and Rule of Law are diametrically opposed.
Thus, one would expect NO rule of law. Instead, one would expect a social contract of the sort expressed above - a guarentee of fundamental human rights, and a basic recognition of those rights, by all members of the society. As such, those who fail to live up to the social standard are protected, and would be guarenteed the necessary clinical or psychological care necessary to find out the cause. At the same time, the Utopian society must be wary of forcing its own world view on its citizens. One could envision long term rehabilitation centers for those who are unable to accept the social contract, but that borders dangerously on the concept of a prison... rather, I believe that if a society is functioning healthily and ascribing to the above rights, and communication is ensured, that there will be EXTREMELY few maladjusted citizens, and those that are should come round rather easily, given the nature of treatment available.
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Government... it seems to me that government is a way of regulating behaviour and putting certain people in charge of other people. While this is necessary to today’s relatively unevolved society, where our competitive nature still holds sway, the need for governence is gradually evaporating. We as a species and as a society are evolving away from competition and towards co-operation. Additionally, we are maturing as a people. THe only government a person needs is the government inside his or her head, in a Utopian society. Once again, constant access to communication ensures misunderstandings will be extremely rare, free and equitable access to basic survival needs, material resources, and education removes the primary impetus for conflict. Government today is a necessary evil - in the Utopian world, it is merely an evil.
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How is health guarenteed? This nicely introduces an important aspect of the future Utopia (we ARE going to achieve it, I might add... this isn’t just an excercise in thought experiments)- that being, the role technology can and must play.
Already we’ve seen an exponential increase in automation since the 19th century’s Industrial Revolution. And in recent years, the advent of solid-state computer technology has seen a Technological Revolution that changed how almost everything is done. This is why, in modernized countries, the job market has shifted to a service economy (more on that in a bit). What we can expect to see in the Utopian future is a Technological Evolution whereby humans are supplanted by machines in all aspects of production and resource acquisition - in short, all menial labour can and will be done by automated systems. Since this can all be overseen by artificial intelligence (which can be properly part of the society as well, and thus recognize the fundamental charter of rights above, as well as be protected by it), it leaves humanity free to do pretty much whatever they please. Call it the end of work, the advent of a leisure society, "the plateau", what have you... it is a cornerstone of Utopia.
Anyway, the implication is that technology and automation can take care of health issues of the physical sort. Mental health I’d expect to be dramatically stronger than it is at current, due to the level of openness and communication in society. A stable society yields stable children who become stable adults, and a society free of competitive pressure removes most of the issues that cause difficulty in today’s youth and, therefore, adults.
It may seem like technology is going to be some magical "cure all" elixir for the species, but that’s not exactly it. Rather, technology is the tool that will allow us to reach a societal maturity we simply can’t attain in our world of struggle and competition. When that onus is removed, so too is the engine that drives our own destruction at present.
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Which brings us to "What makes a good citizen."
The easy answer is, a good citizen abides by the social contract and lives a happy life. Fin.
But the right answer is there is no such thing as a good citizen in a Utopian society. Neither are there "bad" citizens. In a Utopian context, there are simply citizens. All are equal and free, and thus all are equally "good". There can be no judgement of that sort. Instead, there is simply a mature, free society with citizens who are compassionate, rational, and in constant communication with each other, themselves, and the species as a whole. One would see the end of materialism, the end of arbitraty divisions like "nationalism" or tribes, and instead a unity of purpose and life that abandons the need for deciding who is "good" and "bad", who is "us" and "them". That’s the TRUE Utopia. And that’s our future.
All thoughts welcome and appreciated. 🙂
