[BONUS] In Pursuit of Utopia #4: Common Sense
Originally published October 16, 2019.
From https://schoolsucksproject.com/bonus-in-pursuit-of-utopia-episode-4-common-sense/:
Today we take a look at the aims and ideals of the American and French revolutions as well as the results.
How’d they go? France quickly descended into headlessness, and the USA slowly morphed into the quasi-police/corporate state of today, perhaps wandering into headlessness territory?
Did the founders make a fatal mistake by establishing any central government at all? No matter how small they intended to keep it?
Was that utopian thinking or the absence of it? The founders were right on plenty – like in embracing the colonial spirit of rugged individualism and leaving people alone, but the seed of central planning was left in the soil. BUT, here’s the difficult question: looking at the results in France, and the current state of American society, do we sympathize with their concerns?
About Your Instructor:
Danny is a SSP listener, blogger and researcher, and the author of an upcoming book on the historical pursuit of utopia.
About This Series: In the 21st century, we’re living in a mosaic of fractured and failed Utopian visions from the past; socialism, social justice, liberation movements, archaic revival, radical environmentalism, and even the “information” revolution are a just a few notable examples. Whether we trace the concept of utopia back to Thomas More 500 years ago or even all the way back to Plato, the ideal world has been pursued from the top down, frequently resulting in varying degrees of dystopia for people…not at the top.
