Envisioning the Ideal Society

By Ethan Pressly

12^th Grade

“The Ideal Society” sounds so heroic, but yet unachievable. But why does it feel impractical? If we had an ideal society, how would we know it? Could we live in an ideal society right now? It is the only society that we know. What are the values of an “ideal society”? The “ideal society” is a concept argued by many modern and ancient philosophers. Drawing from their information and looking throughout history, I think that mankind should try to live in an ideal society.

As society seems to change by the minute, modern day philosophers like Peter Gabel offer insight on building an ideal society. Peter Gabel, the author of “The Bank Teller and Other Essays on the Politics of Meaning,” suggests that our society is far from being ideal. He states that there is political injustice towards certain issues like health care, the judicial system, and even standardized testing. Gabel believes society would benefit if people gave to health care, if there were a less objectified legal system, and if the standardized tests were abolished. Gabel’s thoughts are easily compared to the great mind of Socrates. Socrates believes that all humans should examine their lives in human existence in order to create a better society. This confirms Gabel’s thoughts of health care and the idea of society advancing as a unit.

The idea of society being linked together is explained in Roger Scruton’s, The West and the Rest. The book takes a close look at the two main societies that are present on Earth: the Islam society and the Western society. In Scruton’s writing, he states that in both societies there is a social contract that binds us together. Furthermore, Scruton has observed how the Western civilizations are tied together through their civil contract with the state before each individual’s beliefs, while the Islam nation is bonded to their religious law before their civil law. If the social contract is broken, Scruton further demonstrates how a nation will crumble. Scruton believes that as an individual, we each have to endure self-sacrifice to make society work, which supports Aristotle’s ideas. Aristotle believed that societies were founded for good, even though society might not always be striving for absolute good at all times.

The belief that through individualism a society can grow is instilled in Ayn Rand’s novel, Atlas Shrugged. She advocates that a person should only take what he or she deserves, and their happiness should not depend on the lives of others. Could an individualistic society be the perfect society? If each individual is happy with what he or she has, would that not be the perfect society? Rand’s ideas support Aristotle‘s beliefs, in which he believed that the ideal society could only be achieved if every individual puts forth his or her complete good for the better of society. If every individual puts forth everything they have to offer to society, would that not be the ideal society?

The ancient philosophers and modern philosophers have offered countless ideas about society; also drawing from history, I feel that humankind should strive for the ideal society. My idea of an ideal society is not one where everyone thinks the same, but a society where everyone shares certain goals and accepts each other. Every civilization throughout history has had its own values: for example, the Sumerians with their polytheistic ideals and advancements in agriculture; the Egyptians with technology; the Holy Roman Empire with their belief in God; and the modern society mainly governed by the United Nations with the value of civil rights for all mankind. No matter how a person looks at all of these cultures, there is one value that every society has shared: survival. With all of the different cultures and beliefs that are on this planet, humans often forget the basic value of life. So if societies were created to insure the survival of the human race, has our society tried to insure the idea of survival? Society has to start somewhere in order to make this world a better place. I feel the important issues for our society are the abolishment of nuclear weapons, the conservation of natural resources, and the advancement of medicine. These solutions are not the answer to all of the world’s problems, but they are a start.

In the “ideal society,” humans would not have the power to kill off mankind. Unfortunately, our society has the power to end life here on Earth. Nuclear weapons were developed during the early 1940’s and finally unleashed on August 6, 1945 in Hiroshima, Japan. During the Cold War, the United States of America was then led into an arms race with the former Soviet Union. Soon these two countries developed enough nuclear weapons to destroy the entire world. If our society does not overcome this nuclear power we have created, we could wipe out all existence and even the concept of society.

Nuclear weapons are not the only means of the destruction of our society. Society is slowly diminishing the resources that are provided to us. At the rate society is going, soon our planet will not have enough resources for our descendents to survive. The world can no longer take the bashing that mankind delivers to it. Society needs to reuse, recycle, and reduce our use of natural sources. It also needs to look into alternate sources of energy. Society needs to take care of the resources we are given in order to survive.

Most importantly, society cannot forget the individual, who can be slaughtered by disease. So as human beings, we need to look for advancement in medicines to control the spread of diseases like Aids, Ebola, or even Sars. There might be a catastrophic disease that might take the human race by surprise, so it is our duty as the “ideal society” to protect our descendents and ourselves. Medicine is a great foundation for the security of the lives of our descendents.

The world we live in can be ideal, as long as society starts to address certain issues in order for its survival. The three main issues that I think society should address first are nuclear weapons, natural resources, and medicine. Society is so important, because humans need each other. As the world grows, so does society. And as humans grow, we have to learn to accept each other, so all of mankind can grow. It will never be too late to try to have an ideal society. Like the great Chinese philosopher, Confucius, said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Questions

Q1- Number the “fault lines” mentioned in paragraph one, #1 to #7 according to your personal priorities.

1) Role of government

2) Health care

3) Taxes

4) Gun control

5) Environmentalism

6) Abortion

7) Welfare reform

Q2- In paragraph three, what is meant by “ defeat of community”?

The “defeat of community” is described as any actions said to tear down society. An item that many people believe is a “defeat of community” is capitalism, because it is based on an individual. When people start to only think about themselves, a community can be destroyed.

Q3- Do you sense “the pain of isolation” in the adult’s in your community? Explain.

Yes, I see isolation in its full form in my community. There are two ways that I see it. The first way is from the victims of isolation, mainly in minorities and handicapped individuals. They often feel judged as less of a human being. Also I have seen the effects of the people that are isolating these victims, because in turn they are the real victims. They miss out on the chance to learn about other cultures and other ways of life, while growing a stronger community.

Q4- Discuss your feelings about the SAT in light of paragraph six.

As much as I do not like taking standardized test, I do feel that they are necessary. They are necessary because they “try” to set up a standard to base intelligence on. They were set up to help society grow as a whole not to prevent any one from getting into college. No matter what people might say, a standardized test does not choose favorites. It is nice to actually have a standard that is not based on gender or race.

Q5- In considering a future career, what are your “prime motivations”?

When looking towards the future, my “prime motivation” is happiness. Happiness to me is not being able to buy the best car or having a big screen TV. To me, happiness is following my beliefs. When I follow my beliefs, I offer to myself happiness. Happiness is the value of life. Without happiness, my life would feel incomplete.

Q6- What do you think about a less “objectified” legal system?

A less objectified legal system is unnecessary. If more variables are brought into court that are already shown during a normal trial today, a trial would never be completed. We cannot have a legal system based more on feelings when all people are entitled to their own feelings. A trial should not be based on emotions but more importantly on justice.

Q7- Would you describe yourself as an idealist? Why or why not?

I would describe myself as an idealist, although I am not the sort of idealist who believes an ideal society is possible. I believe that all should strive for an ideal society. It might not be possible, but it is a tremendous goal for society to work towards. If there were no idealists in the world, society would break apart.

Q8- Share an anecdote about a local idealist over age 40.

My high school principal, Mr. Clayton Naylor, considers himself an idealist. He takes his thoughts about idealism and has tried to establish them into our school. Since he has been principal, he has tried to make the school a better place for the students to interact. He has done many different things to try to make the school a better place. He started by hiring teachers with the same philosophy and has even painted the hallways in order to try to make the high school a brighter place.

Q9- How does Scruton describe the differences in political culture of Islam and the west?

Scruton displays how the west is bonded to a social contract whether it has been written out or not. Then after their social contract, they are bonded to their own personal beliefs. The Islam culture has bonded to their personal beliefs before they bond to each other. Their civil duties lie to their religion on top of all other matters.

Q10- What does Scruton suggest are the prerequisites in Western societies for citizenship?

Scruton expresses that the prerequisites in Western societies are a sense of public spirit and a commitment to the preservation of the social contract.

Q11- What is the danger to the Western social contract that Scruton identifies in the last paragraph? Do you think the Western social contract involves “patriotic self-sacrifice”? Should it do so, in your opinion? Why or why not?

From his writing, Scruton shows how the Western social contract can crumble. If people stop sacrificing for the society and forget about the social contract, society could in turn fail. I do not believe that society involves “patriotic self-sacrifice.” “Sacrifice” makes it sound like no one gets anything in return, but society offers so much that we do not even deserve for example: health care, welfare, and even public facilities like the library. One cannot look at giving towards the better of society as sacrifice, because so much is offered in return.

Q12- Comment on the quote taken from Ayn Rand’s book, Atlas Shrugged. Do you agree with it? Why or why not? Have your read Atlas Shrugged?

The quote taken from Atlas Shrugged demonstrates this idea: if we all take only what we deserve and find true happiness for ourselves, we can create a perfect world. I do not agree with this quote because I believe life is a gift, and humans already get more than they deserve. Also, I believe it is fine to find happiness in another person. In The Bible, this happiness that humans find in each other is called love. Love is known as one of the strongest emotions a human can feel. I even believe it is what binds a society together. No, I have not read Atlas Shrugged.

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