A Utopian Society

For as long as men have existed, they have had government. It began simple – whoever was the strongest person would rule the weak. Unfortunately governments like this were very unstable, as someone stronger would eventually overthrow the former ruler. This led mankind to believe that other ways would be needed to ensure stability in their land. It was this idea that influenced the many different kinds of government that we have today.

Mileth is our social experiment. While Suomi, Rucesion, and Loures each are mundane controlled states, Aislings have been allowed to take over the government of Mileth. Many of our numbers have expressed a wish to create a utopian society, one in which all is perfect. These Aislings want no corrupt politicians, no vote soliciting, and no abuse of powers. This is all well and good, but is it possible? I would say no to our current governmental system, the democracy. However, is there another way out there that could give us this "perfect society"?

Anarchy is the complete absence of government. Such a thing would be wonderful, in certain respects. The people would have every right imaginable; they could do anything they wanted, anytime they wanted. But, such a thing could be easily abused, as you could well imagine. The limitation to anarchy is that all the "subjects" in such a state would have to be perfect in order for it to work. That is, the reason anarchy does not exist anywhere is because some men are inherently evil, and will rule over those that are not. In essence, this would be the same as the "might makes right" government that I spoke of earlier.

As applied to Milethian society, such a thing would likely mean the domination of the poor mundanes. The spark of Deoch gives us much: creativity, intelligence, wit… many things that the mundanes do not have. And, while many Aislings would not have any desire to control our neighbors, there are those who would see them only as a resource to be exploited. Because of such people, a utopian anarchist society just isn’t possible. This is ironic, because anarchy is the wish of many in a democracy who are unhappy with their current leaders. It is unfortunate that they ask for such a thing without considering the consequences.

In a democracy the citizens of the state run the government. A democracy is the most flexible of the governmental systems, allowing much power to reside in the people’s hands. However, there is always a danger of abuse of power. However, democracy was made for such situations, as in most such states provisions are made to take care of those sort of people. There are two kinds of democracies – pure and representative.

In a pure democracy, the people themselves vote for all powers that the government has. From laws to taxes, the people control it. Such a thing is highly inefficient, as getting the people to vote on every little thing is quite difficult. However, the people can rest assured that their every whim will be instituted in their government, if a majority of the people wish it. If Mileth had a pure democracy, Riona would be counting up a lot of votes every time a citizen proposes a new law. Each Aisling in our city would have to go vote quite often in order to get what they want out of the government. The only problem with a democracy then is that some people will always be displeased, and discontention has no place in a true utopia.

In a representative democracy, the people elect representatives, which in turn vote on laws and taxes. This is much more efficient, as a much smaller amount of people have to vote each time. However, there is no guarantee that a representative will vote how his people want. Mileth currently has an representative democracy. We elect burgesses, demagogues, guards, judges, etc. to form a government that is supposed to carry out our wishes. A representative democracy is theoretically quite efficient. In reality, however, most representatives endlessly debate new laws in order to please the majority of their voters, and it takes a while to get anything done. With all the squabbling back and forth in the lawmaking process, it would seem that we don’t have a golden age of politics currently in Mileth. So, we must continue looking at our other options.

Totalitarianism has a horrible connotation; most Aislings think of despots when they hear this word. The truth is, a state controlled by the will of one man is highly efficient. In return for efficiency, the people sacrifice many rights that libertarians cherish. In general, totalitarian states have an extremely low crime rate, because there are usually swift punishments for those who commit them.

Imagine that the burgess of Mileth could write and interpret laws, enforce laws, and generally have absolute power. Such would be our lot under this form of government. A lot of complaints would be heard, I’m sure (and quickly silenced… ) but there would be many benefits. The heretics who run amok in our society would be quickly silenced. Theft of "dead piles" would be almost nonexistent. However, you would not be able to do as you choose. If you don’t like the burgess… tough. Such is the tradeoff in this kind of state. But, because of Milethians’ favor of democratic and libertarian ideals, such a government would be quickly rejected.

These three governments, in essence, make up every government that we know of. Each one relies on a "social contract" between the government and its people. Each body gives up some rights to gains others. They are all equal. The truth is, any one of these could be a utopian society. However, we are always missing a key element – perfect Aislings. In the Anarchist "state", perfect Aislings would not hurt or enslave each other, they would help each other for mutual benefit. The same is true with the Democracy. If all men in it are immaculate souls, then there would be no bickering over who widdled who or who should get somebody’s vote. All would cooperate and elect other pure Aislings, who would rule justly. As for the totalitarian state… absolute power corrupts absolutely. Only one who did not follow such a rule could create a utopian society. However, even I realize that I fall within such a precept; I do not try to kid myself.

And so we come back to Mileth’s current government. Yes, it isn’t perfect, but as I have labored to prove, no other government is either. We all must realize this. We, as Aislings, have a duty to create the best government possible within our limitations. It is my belief that a good job has been done thus far, and the non-believers who still wish for the perfect society should take all this to heart. You could be living under much worse circumstances.