WHAT UTOPIA???

Why do some people believe a utopian society is possible?
Here's why it can't really work:

The utopian belief:

A strange belief system has appeared among the more radical liberals. They believe that a utopian society is possible. The characteristics of this society include the following:

1. Nobody has to work, unless he wants to.
2. There is an abundant supply of everything.
3. Either there is no money, and everything is free, or all money is divided evenly among all people.
4. All goods are divided equally among all people.
5. People have as much time to pursue studies and arts as they want.
6. Government spends so much that the economy runs off the government spending.
7. Government takes care of everybody.
8. All people are exactly equal.
9. People can do whatever they want to do.
10. All religions have been abolished.

Why do people believe this?

There are several reasons why people believe in this:

1. Many of them use the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations as examples of this, based upon what they have read in ancient literature, plays, and books on ancient culture. What these sources leave out is that all of the work was done by slaves. Of course, any such arrangement would be illegal today.
2. Some people believe that government spending creates wealth. So they want government to spend as much as it can, so there is plenty of wealth to go around. But government can't really create any wealth. Only work can do that.
3. There are some childish people who believe that government has the power to do anything. So they think that government can pass a law, and whatever the law says will happen. They don't seem to realize that government can not magically make resources appear to accomplish what they want.
4. Many artists expect government to pay them for their art, because their profession has been made obsolete by new technologies. This is the same hollow argument saddle and buggy whip manufacturers made when the automobile displaced the horse. But what government should do, instead of buying worthless art from these artists, is to pay the artists for training in another field.
5. Some people hate doing work. So they devise schemes where they don't have to work. But the schemes also don't work.

Why can't this utopia exist?

The utopia they believe in violates natural laws, and is inconsistent with itself:

1. "Nobody has to work, unless he wants to," can not happen, because:
   • If nobody has to work, then nobody will work. No work will actually be done.
   • Without work, not enough food is produced to feed the people. This stupid planet can't produce enough food to feed any human population, unless work is done actively farming the crops.
   • The people who cite the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations as examples need to remember that slave labor did all of the farming and manufacture in those civilizations.
   • If nobody works, no products will be made. Nobody will have anything.
2. "There is an abundant supply of everything," can not happen, because:
   • Where does this abundant supply come from, if nobody is working? The products won't make themselves.
   • Without work, not enough food is produced to feed the people. This stupid planet can't produce enough food to feed any human population, unless people work farming the crops.
   • If some people do work to make some products, they will want to be paid. They will not work for nothing.
   • Someone might say that robots do all of the work. But then, where does the power come from to run the robots? Who builds the robots? Who takes care of the robots? Where do the raw materials come from?
3. Either
   
   "There is no money, and everything is free," can not happen, because:
   • If some people do work to make some products, they will want to be paid. They will not work for nothing. How can they be paid without money?
   • If they are paid in products, how could they trade them, if nobody else works?
   Or
   
   "All money is divided evenly among all people," can not happen, because:
   • Most people think there is a lot more money in the world than the amount that really exists.
   • They think that everyone would be rich if the money is divided evenly. But it works out to about $2,500 per person.
   • They do not see that the same money keeps going around and around as commerce uses it. The following is evidence of this: One time, the author got the same dollar bill (with something written on it) three times in the course of normal business within two weeks.
   • If everyone had money, then nobody would want to work. But without work, no products would be made. Without products to be bought, the money becomes worthless.
4. "All goods are divided equally among all people," can not happen, because:
   • The consumable goods would be used up very quickly.
   • Where do these goods come from, if nobody works?
   • Because work is required to raise enough food, there won't be enough food to go around.
   • Some objects are one of a kind. They can't be divided.
5. "People have as much time to pursue studies and arts as they want," can not happen, because:
   • If everyone is idly pursuing knowledge and the arts, who is doing the work?
   • Where did the idea come from that the arts are worth a lot?
     • History! The arts used to be worth a lot, when they were the only way to have pictures, human likenesses, entertainment, and music.
     • But these manual arts then became obsolete when inventors automated them with photography, cinematography, radio, television, and sound recording.
   • With the above innovations, the very few very best artists can entertain the entire world. The remaining artists can't find work, because those very best artists are supplying the entire demand for the arts.
   • If nobody is working, where do the supplies for these pursuits come from?
   • Artists want this utopia, so they can pursue their art without having to work at another job.
6. "Government spends so much that the economy runs off the government spending," can not happen, because:
   • If there is no money, this can't happen.
   • Government can't create wealth.
   • Printing money doesn't place any wealth in it. Only work creates wealth.
   • The things government usually spends money on do not expand the economy.
7. "Government takes care of everybody," can not happen, because:
   • It takes wealth to be able to take care of people.
   • Government can not create any wealth, because only work can do that.
   • The government has no power to take care of anyone without wealth to do so with.
   • In order to gain wealth, the government must tax the population.
   • In order for the population to be able to pay taxes, the population must work for pay.
8. "All people are exactly equal," can not happen, because:
   • People are different. They have different characteristics and different abilities.
   • Some people waste their resources. Other people conserve theirs.
   • Some objects are one of a kind. They can't be divided, and only one person can have each one at any one time.
9. "People can do whatever they want to do," can not happen, because:
   • Anything that one person does is very likely to make someone else mad.
   • Many things that people want to do cause harm to others.
   • Some objects are one of a kind. They can't be divided, so thievery will occur as people covet these items.
10. "All religions have been abolished," can not happen, because:
    • Religion is the most important part of the lives of most people.
    • Any attempt to ban religion will make these people very angry at the government officials who want it to happen.
    • It is very likely that, within a short time, any government that tries to ban religion will no longer exist.
    • If militant Islamics live in the area, within a short time the officials who try to do this might also no longer exist.

Appendix

These come close to the utopia described above:

1. The afterlife in the Christian religion has a similar way of life:
   • Nobody has to work hard. (Hard work is a penalty for sin in Genesis 3.)
   • There is an abundant supply.
   • There is no money. Nobody needs material things.
   • Everyone has a mansion.
   • People have time to worship God.
   • There is no government as we know it.
   • God takes care of everybody.
   • Nobody gets sick or dies.
   • People don't want to do what is wrong.
   • All false religious and evil acts have been abolished.
2. Life in the Old Testament comes close:
   • Nobody has to work for someone else.
   • People supply their own needs.
   • Everyone has his own land to farm.
   • Everyone has his own land to live on.
   • People have time to worship God.
   • Government is limited to 10 percent of the economy.
   • People take care of each other.
   • The church is the government.
   • Laws protect people from each other.
   • All foreign religions have been abolished.

The problem with these is that the first one is a future event for members of one religion, and the second disappeared in 586 BC.