Utopia |
Sadly, there is no such thing as utopia in this current universe in which we live.
(Perhaps it would be possible for there to be a universe having different properties that is a utopia for the conscious creatures residing within, but that universe is not this universe.)
Those proposing and attempting to implement a utopian society often cause worse suffering. Even if you could design and implement even a semi-utopian society, subsequent generations would warp it into something non-utopian.
But there has been forward progress. Over time, humans have improved societies, and science has improved the quality of life. Maybe there is always forward progress in general?
But societies get worse as well. Overall, the amount of suffering has increased (WWI and WWII and etc). And when the oil runs out I think a lot of the improvements will revert during the global collapse of modern civilization.
To have a utopia in this world would require a universal absolute moral code followed by everyone (and even then natural disasters would still occur and animals would still eat each other alive.)
But there is no basis for a non-religious, non-spiritual, purely rational foundation of morality, because no one could agree on one.
Religions couldn't provide a universal moral code either because they too all disagree.
(And is it possible or even desirable to impose the moral values of Christianity on the whole world? This was tried as Christendom, and the experiment failed miserably, causing untold suffering. But the current batch of conservative political leaders seem to be trying to do just that; to re-establish Christendom.)
The best we can do is to adopt a moral system based on something like the golden rule, to not cause needless pain and suffering, and to maximize happiness and fulfillment of others and self.
It sounds great, but it won't work. As soon as everyone is trained (indoctrinated?) to hold these moral values, an autocrat will come along to take advantage of the weakness this causes, and everyone will find themselves slaves.
We live in constant conflict, and moral rules must include and account for human nature which is, just like other animals, savage and brutish.
Looking to Christianity to supply this "true" morality doesn't solve the problem. Religious people and their doctrines have no better morality than anyone else. (Christians dispute this claiming Christian morality is better than all others, but this claim is provably false.)
The evidence that religious-based morality doesn't work: both historical and present examples of moral atrocities committed in the name of some religion.
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So what is utopia? Is it only yet-future, some sort of re-created new-heavens-and-new-earth world having only good and nothing bad?
And where is this yet-future utopia? It can't be this universe because it's obviously not utopia, having pain and suffering, nor can it ever be utopia (as I explain below).
Is the yet-future utopia purely spiritual? Or is there a new kind of "physical" universe? (the new heavens and new earth?)
Perhaps utopia is in some way a present reality:
Our current life can be considered utopia for most people using the following procedure: include only the good parts and ignore the bad parts, if you cut-and-paste all the good parts and string them together (assuming the bad parts aren't too bad).
And since God is the creator of everything good and beautiful, and only inhabits these good parts anyway, this procedure means that utopia consists in those parts of our life God indwells.
Utopia is God's view of our life. We would expect such a cut-and-paste life to be all chopped up, but from God's perspective there is continuity from one good moment to the next.
. . . . .
Here's why the universe is not a utopia:
It's all about molecular biology. Some details:
Cellular respiration converts ADP to ATP using glucose, oxygen, water, and phosphorus.
By having a biological molecule containing phosphorus (or any other element), this means: whatever function of the body this biochemical system performs requires having an adequate supply of phosphorus. The correct amount; in the right place; and in the right form.
So by creating a universe out of physical matter God automatically established that it will have scarce resources. Once you have scarce resource you will have competition for these resources, and the stronger will vanquish the weaker to get them.
Once you have scarce resources and competition you no longer have the possibility of a utopia. Utopia requires unlimited resources with no competition. The competition in this universe results in animals eating each other alive and savage dictators committing genocide.