Neo-Utopian Socialists ? a vision for the future.
? Utopian Socialist? is a term used for the early socialist from about the French Revaluation to about 1830. Out of it came modern socialism, communism and Marxism. However, theses later branches of socialism, in a way, turned their back on the utopian socialist.
As a movement utopian socialists were dwarfed by the later socialists and did not really form part of socialism / communism as it developed in the 19th and 20th centuries. The only really part of it that survived is the co-operative movement that was started by Robert Owen. He also established some communities, some of which were successful in themselves but failed for reasons outside their control.
?Neo-Utopian Socialist? could be used to describe latter 20th early 21st century movements in this idea. It is ?socialist? in the sense that it is about societies (and to my mind, ?societies? in a loose definition of the word, not necessary ?all together in one house? type of community). It is utopian in the sense of ?designed societies? rather than a ?perfect society? (I don?t believe in a perfect society). In other words, it is about thinking about how we live rather than just letting it happen.
A fictitious example of neo-utopian socialism could the United Federation of Planet in Star Trek, which is a society without money where the citizens attempt to improve on themselves. More real examples include Open Source and techno communism. Another example, in the context of PO, is Holonic Societies for the Future and the idea of a Terran Federation, a non-authoritarian Worldwide network of autonomous communities based on the concept of a holon.
Holonic Societies for the Future is a networking project for networking communities together. It builds on the idea of forming self-sufficient communities that are autonomous and joins then together so that they can self-organise to form larger and more complex projects. It is a project that takes a holistic view and sees the network as a Worldwide inter-connection of communities forming a ?Terran Federation?, going beyond the concept of nations. With such networking, it is argued, a higher standard of living could be achieved than otherwise possible, as today?s self-centred capitalism would not be able to survive in a sustainable world as it depends on growth. Networking, however, would allow communities to build up industry to create what communities perceive as being needed for a good standard of living. In doing so it offers a ray of hope in an otherwise bleak future.
The project is new but already it has attracted a few participants who work in the area of sustainable communities and even have their own communities.
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