# What is a Perfect Society?



## *Aussiegal*

Hi everyone

It would seem to me, that everyone has their own idea on what a perfect society should be. Through watching the news and reading the paper, you can easily see how different groups are trying to enforce their beliefs on others, in order to create some sort of Utopia, or harmony. Unfortunately these extreme views are the only ones that seem to be covered by the media. My question is not whether these views are right or wrong, it is meerly what do people all over the world view as a perfect society?


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## Nil-the-Frogg

Honestly, I think that the very concept of "perfection" is a dangerous fantasy.


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## RIU

Hi Aussiegal,

I don't know exactly what could be a perfect society for _all _the people that live in that. What is your concieve of a perfect society? The sample, Utopia, is one of the most stupid books that I have read in my live. This is my opinion, of course.

What we should consider? Perfect society for all the people? For the majority of people? For the rulers?


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## *Aussiegal*

Hey 
In response to "RIU" sorry if I wasn't so clear before  
Things I'm looking for are like, 
*the type of government system - if any at all - you think would be ideal
*religions - if there was an ideal society, would there be religious freedom -would one religion be more encouraged than another etc
*what set of ideals and beliefs would the culture of an ideal society be built apon - what sort of philosophies would be inherint in it
*anything else you think would be nesessary to what you think is a perfect society - Just looking for personal opinions


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## alexacohen

I'm afraid there's not an ideal perfect society. People are far too different, and what is perfect for one person wouldn't be perfect for another.
The only perfect society would be one in which all the people thought and acted the same. It's a frightening thought. 
I wouldn't like to live in Brave New World.
I'm too imperfect to live in a perfect society. I would be a misfit.


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## HIEROPHANT

I still cannot figure out what do you mean by perfect.
But I think that a "good" society would be one in which nodoby exploits anybody else.
Unfortunatly the society is divided in castes, that overuses other castes.
All over the history and all over the world people has oppressed people.

I think the only way in which you can be free from other people would be living in your own: you hunt for your food, you build yourself a refuge. You get the whole reward for every work you do.
Even close to other people, everybody just thinks for himself.

But, of course, this would not allow the nowadays economy and welfare, nor the survival of the species (a child or an old man cannot survive alone).
So I can think at a perfect society only for a small group of people and for a small period of time - like for example for few shipwrecks, all young men.

In a country, I think it's impossible.


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## Kajjo

In my perfect society...
...people won't harm or hurt others
...people would honour other's property
...people would work as hard as possible to sustain themselves and don't be a burden to others
...people would care for their family and close friends
...people would be allowed to pursue happiness in their very personal manner
...religion would be a very private issue of no concern to society in general
...the number of laws and regulations would be as small as possible
...the degree of personal liberty would be as high as possible

Thus, I think the perfect society is about how people behave, thus about perfect people.

Kajjo


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## fuzzzylogix

A perfect society would be one WITHOUT:
- politicians
- lawyers
- military
- weapons (any kind)
- poverty
- religious zealots
- arrogant idiots (deadly combination - just look at Bush)

WITH lots of:
- nudity
- girls
- free love
- pot
- free concerts
- clean air
- sustainable renewable energy
- longer vacations
- less work
- higher pay

Yup!!! That sounds pretty damn near perfect to me!!!!


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## Dempsey

A perfect society would need some seriously abnormal people populating it. I would only go so far as to imagine an _ideal_ society.
Perhaps anarchy, which is based upon working together. Unlike capitalism, which is based on fighting and competing against eachother. It's sad, because it has been proven that humans are more productive when they work together, not when they compete against eachother.


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## Trisia

fuzzzylogix said:


> A perfect society would be one WITHOUT:
> - politicians
> - lawyers
> - military
> - weapons (any kind)
> - poverty
> - religious zealots - *agree completely*
> - arrogant idiots (deadly combination - just look at Bush)*what about insults? I don't like Bush myself, but still...*​WITH lots of:
> - nudity - *no children younger than 18 in your world, then?*
> - girls - *you mean no boys allowed? Get outta here *
> - free love - *I'm not even going down that lane*
> - pot -* I hope your perfect world has lots of doctors*
> - free concerts - *and the artists are supposed to live on...what? Pot?*
> - clean air
> - sustainable renewable energy - *discovered perhaps by those people that don't work and have lots of holidays*
> - longer vacations, less work & higher pay *your perfect work would probably disregard the laws of economy.*
> 
> Yup!!! That sounds pretty damn near perfect to me!!!!



In *my *perfect world you'd probably be banned  (not from the forum. I love your nickname; it's very close to my one on my potential nicks list) 

I think all this goes to show that there is no possible way to satisfy everyone. I have my own idea of perfection, just like everyone else does. And I do agree that this idea of earthly perfection is dangerous. When one tries to impose his.her idea of perfection, even if he/she has in mind the happiness of others, it will indubitably end as a horrible nightmare.

(I also think Utopia was one of the most annoying books I've ever read)


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## -Epic-

"if god is all powerfull and all good doesn't that mean our society is perffect?"

I read that in a book once.


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## clairanne

hi

I think John Lennon had the right idea in " Imagine" but in reality it could never happen as we are not really a very nice animal when you really look at us closely.  We are greedy and want everything to our advantage. If we really cared about the worlds starving there are enough resources in the world for everyone but nobody would be prepared to take the necessary steps to ensure that everything was distributed properly. There is always some moral or religious reason why we cannot interfere in some repressive regime that exploits it's citizens for the financial gain of the leaders. A Good example of this (in my opinion) is the African nation that uses aid money to give all  it's cabinet members a large car to travel round in whilst the population is starving to death and dying of diseases that could be prevented with the right medication. I don't know how they sleep at night.

In this country we are quite happy to condemn people without jobs as "scroungers" and say they should all work - Do they really want small children begging on the street!


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## alexacohen

fuzzzylogix said:


> A perfect society would be one WITHOUT:
> - weapons (any kind)
> - religious zealots
> - arrogant idiots
> 
> WITH lots of:
> - nudity
> - girls
> - free love
> - pot
> - free concerts
> - sustainable renewable energy
> - longer vacations
> - less work
> - higher pay
> 
> Yup!!! That sounds pretty damn near perfect to me!!!!


Well, I'm afraid I do not fit at all in your perfect society, and neither any people I know.
I would have a really hard time if I had to peel potatoes without a knife, and please tell me who's going to define who is a religious zealot and who is not. Same goes for "arrogant idiots". Under whose definition?

Many people don't like cold either, so keep the nudity thing for yourself, unless you are going to change the climate worldwide to Hawaiian standards.
As for girls, I'm sorry, but my female acquaintances and gay friends would protest loudly in a perfect society with too many girls, though I admit my lesbian acquaintances would find it wonderful, if free love included lesbian relationships. 
As for pot, and free concerts, no one of us would give it a damn.
And as for renewable sustainable energy, I subscribe Trisia's words. I don't think people who are listening to free concerts high on pot would have either the energy or the intelligence to discover its sources.

The only thing I have to ask you is what are you going to do with the people who don't like your perfect society.
Lobotomy?


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## elizabeth_b

Well as many others had said, Perfection is not something of this world.  It stays at Plato's World of Ideas.  Now, as we are able to think on something that aproximates to that idea I would think that first Humanity would need to experience a evolution in thought.  We would need to think more as a group, as a  whole and see how all the activities and attitudes we have affects the others, the nature, our world etc…  If we could be conscious about that, then we would  have a harmonic society.  There would be respect between people, we would be able to respect the differences between us.  There would be justice, a fair share of goods, there will be no competition, people would appreciate other people values, we would be wealthy and healty, etc… 
   An Ideal world would be, for me, that one in which people respects each other and  appreciates the value of human being, just because of the fact of being human.


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## Hotu Matua

Kajjo said:


> In my perfect society...
> ...people won't harm or hurt others
> ...people would honour other's property
> ...people would work as hard as possible to sustain themselves and don't be a burden to others
> ...people would care for their family and close friends
> ...people would be allowed to pursue happiness in their very personal manner
> ...religion would be a very private issue of no concern to society in general
> ...the number of laws and regulations would be as small as possible
> ...the degree of personal liberty would be as high as possible
> 
> Thus, I think the perfect society is about how people behave, thus about perfect people.
> 
> Kajjo


 
I agree very much with this vision of an ideal (not perfect, but ideal) society. I would add care for the environment.

The point is, that as I read Kajjo's comment, I fancy that societies at some countries are ALREADY close to this ideals. Take Canada, Switzerland, Finland, Iceland...
They are very close beacause life in those countries, *most of the times* happens like Kajjo has described .

If we could make the vast majority of the world reach that level of liberty, order and mutual respect, we would be pretty close to our ideal. Imagine India, China, subSaharian Africa achivieving the life standards of Norway.
Imagine Calcutta and Lagos as safe and clean as Copenhaguen. Imagine women in northern Nigeria or Yemen feeling as free as in New Zealand.


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## Elealdil

The perfect society is the society which will be loved by the most people. We can't make a world for all. It's impossible. There are always people who will be against this way. So how can we integrate them ? 
We just can't.


Otherwise the solution could be finded in the antique Rome : "Panem et circenses " (Bread and circuses).



Sorry for my english


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## Nil-the-Frogg

Elealdil said:


> Otherwise the solution could be finded in the antique Rome : "Panem et circenses " (Bread and circuses).


Westerners already live in a perfect society then.


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## alfmartinez

Hello
i think that people that posted here have little or no imagination at all.
It is a very basic think to know that if you are walking, you have to know where are you going. Everybody must have an idea of what is for them an ideal or perfect world.

In my opinion, a nearly perfect world would be integrated of 5 or 6 cityes of 1000 habitants each one. One in each continent. People wouldn't need to work, that is the task of machines. Work makes people forget about studying. In a nearly perfect world there mustn't be laws, No government. People are so kind that they don't need to fight against each other. There must be some weapons secretely stored in case of alien invasion..

What people do in this nearly perfect world?
-Live (1000 or 2000 years of life expectancy)
-Study, but is not an obligation
-Sports, as healthy as possible
-Building more machines, investigating, and studying science.
-Talking.. travelling to other cities.. etc.

That's an ideal world to me. It is unapplyable today because of the close mind of the people, but i will contribute a bit to help build this future.


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## ERASMO_GALENO

Hi,

I agree with the idea that it's impossible to satisfy everybody with a single model of a "perfect" society. And I think that a perfect model is out of our range, because we in nature are not perfect at all.

I would think in a bilogical model, the world functioning as the human body does. I has different systems, organs and tissues that work together as one for the common well-being. That means to work in an integrated fashion, not seeking just our own benefit. Hard to imagine, ha?

This all sounds as part of John Lennon's "Imagine", and we all feel good when we listen to it. But I don't really think of much people feeling good when they pay attention to the line "imagine no possessions". Can we be happy just having what we really need?

No organ in our body possess anything, but gets everything, and gives what it has to give to the others. Could we do that? Could we live giving everything we have and getting back just what we need? I asume that's pretty ilogical to many...

And to complicate a little bit more the scenario, our body has some privileged organs, as the brain and heart. Could we be happy not being part of that privileged ones? Could we be happy being just a tiny part of one great system? Once again, hard to imagine.

Even so, I think we can try.

Regards,


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## karuna

In my view the perfect society would be the one that:

1) provides each individual enough freedom and rights and necessary support to express himself creatively,
2) protects from rogue elements and takes care of an individual in times of need (illness, crises, etc),
3) lives in harmony and balance with the environment and nature; values beauty and diversity.

Many western countries are close to perfection regarding the points (1) and (2) but the point (3) is sadly disregarded. Rampant consumerism and attainment of short-term well-being is done at the expense of the environment.


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## alexacohen

alfmartinez said:


> Hello
> i think that people that posted here have little or no imagination at all.
> It is a very basic think to know that if you are walking, you have to know where are you going. Everybody must have an idea of what is for them an ideal or perfect world.


 
Sorry, mate, but you have no right to assume the people who have posted before you have little or no imagination at all.
By the same token I can state that your imagination is very limited. 
I know what I want and I know where I am going.
But that only applies to me, and I'm not conceited enough to think that I can impose, or even recommend, my point of view on any other person.


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## clairanne

hi
"5 or 6 cityes of 1000 habitants each one". I am afraid Alfmartinez' ideal world sounds like hell to me - I live in the middle of a 5 acre field and the nearest village (350 adults) is half a mile away- I can think of no worse place to live than in an urban environment. I hate sport (except watching it!) and will only study with a goal in mind (I am a classical singer so like to study language) - I am 53 and have never been on an aeroplane and do not drink or frequent restuarants- I am perfectly happy as I am .  

To me the ideal world would be if everybody was  happy, healthy and well fed - Free from persecution - whether political or religious, and tolerant of others.

But we are human beings and ever since we got a sense of "self" we are always going to think that we are superior and some will always lead whilst others follow.  It is a sobering thought that if we eventually succeed in destroying the planet and ourselves there will be no one to care as we are the only things that can be aware that it happened.  Maybe the world will be a better place without us!!


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## tvdxer

*Aussiegal* said:


> Hi everyone
> 
> It would seem to me, that everyone has their own idea on what a perfect society should be. Through watching the news and reading the paper, you can easily see how different groups are trying to enforce their beliefs on others, in order to create some sort of Utopia, or harmony. Unfortunately these extreme views are the only ones that seem to be covered by the media. My question is not whether these views are right or wrong, it is meerly what do people all over the world view as a perfect society?



One that was 100% devout, practicing Catholic would be about as close as you could get in my opinion.


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## clairanne

tvdxer said:


> One that was 100% devout, practicing Catholic would be about as close as you could get in my opinion.


 
I personally feel that if there was no religion at all that would get rid of the major cause of conflict over the last 1000 years in the northern hemisphere. I am sure more people have been killed over the centuries for God/Allah/Jehovah etc than for the safety of home and family.


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## ERASMO_GALENO

clairanne said:


> I personally feel that if there was no religion at all that would get rid of the major cause of conflict over the last 1000 years in the northern hemisphere. I am sure more people have been killed over the centuries for God/Allah/Jehovah etc than for the safety of home and family.


 
I think *Money* is now the *god* that is the real cause of multiple wars all over the world. And there are lots of his *believers*... 

In a perfect society I think there should not be money, not at all (easy to imagine?).

Regards,


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## tvdxer

clairanne said:


> I personally feel that if there was no religion at all that would get rid of the major cause of conflict over the last 1000 years in the northern hemisphere. I am sure more people have been killed over the centuries for God/Allah/Jehovah etc than for the safety of home and family.



It's _differences_ in religion that caused those conflicts.


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## alexacohen

tvdxer said:


> It's _differences_ in religion that caused those conflicts.


 
No, it's not.
It's when people think that their beliefs, their convictions, their way of living are the right ones, the only possible ones, and try to impose them on others, that confict arises.


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## Trisia

alexacohen said:


> No, it's not.
> It's when people think that their beliefs, their convictions, their way of living are the right ones, the only possible ones, and try to impose them on others, that confict arises.



The fact that people have the nerve to think they're infailible is to my mind the main reason why we don't live in a perfect society.

Alexa, I was somehow certain that what you said was pretty much what Tvdxer had in mind when posting.


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## ireney

Mod's notice: A very interesting thread which has to be closed as it falls outside the scope of the forum since it asks for opinions that must, by default, be personal and not cultural. Thank you for your understanding.


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