Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Philosophy and utopia are great until reality punches everything in the nose—philosophically speaking of course.

Philosophical discussions are great. They may stretch the mind to see other points of view or possibilities. They may lead to better ways.

Philosophy, however, is philosophy and not reality. We need to keep that in mind. A recent article shows that some billionaires are once again trying to build a new place where they can live anew without the technical and other debt that exists in all other places on earth. Great stuff—the stuff of dreams and the outcome of some philosophic discussions.

There is one significant problem with the new utopia envisioned: it all comes to an end when someone else drives a column of tanks down Utopia Ave and says, “Your money or your life.”

No, in order to survive in reality, Utopia needs a Utopian Armed Forces or something to defend what it has. The barbarians at the gate will eventually knock down the gate and do what barbarians have done for centuries. They will pillage, plunder, and do that third thing, too.

Philosophical discussions are great. Sometimes reality collides with the outcome of philosophical discussions.

Okay, Utopia needs a lever. Utopia needs knowledge of something that the rest of the planet needs to exist. Utopia can use that lever to keep the barbarians outside the gate. That’s what the Swiss have done, right? No one attacks the Swiss because everyone’s money is in the Swiss banks. Maybe, but the Swiss also have a large, well-trained, and dedicated civilian defense force. The Swiss defense forces are good enough or have a good enough reputation to make invading Switzerland too costly.

Perhaps the next vision of Utopia will have such a lever that philosophers have discussed for centuries. Perhaps not. We shall see.