Number Eighty: Utopia

#80
In a perfect world
I am always happy.
Why is my tea cold?


Lesson # 80

In a perfect world,
people would work and live
in communities of less than 200 souls.
They would use technology,
but not be used by it,
or let it dominate their lives.
They would have the means
to defend themselves, but instead
would work things out with their neighbors.
They would work close to home.
They would enjoy fine food, simple clothing,
comfortable housing,
and they would be
content.

From: 81 Lessons from the Tao Te Ching


Number 80 Utopia

In a perfect world
people would
work and live in communities of less than 200
They would
use technology but not be used by it
or let it dominate their lives
They would
have the means to defend themselves
but instead would work things out with their neighbors
They would not need to migrate to survive
and they would enjoy their community and be disinclined to move away
Instead of mocking the old ways
people would mine them to find the wisdom they need
They would enjoy fine food, simple clothing and comfortable housing
and they would be content.


NUMBER EIGHTY

Take a small kingdom and a few people,
Cause ten or a hundred of them to carry weapons,
But not to use them.
Cause the people to fear death,
Do not let them travel far,
Though they may have boats and carriages,
Let them use them only within the kingdom.
Though they may have soldiers in uniform,
Let them parade only within the kingdom.
Cause the people again to have knotted cords,
And to use them (instead of written characters).
Their food would be sweet,
Their clothing would be beautiful in their own eyes,
Their dwellings would be resting-places,
They would love their simple ways.
If another kingdom were so near
That they could hear the sounds of dogs and fowls,
They would not come into mutual contact
Until they all grew old and died.

Isabella Mears, The Tao Teh King, A Tentative Translation from the Chinese, William McLellan, Glascow, 1916.


Number 80 (commentary) Why can’t it all be perfect?

In Number 80, Lao Tsu is lamenting the passing of a Golden Age. He goes on to describe a peaceful Chinese village as his ideal world. It sounds like an ancient Chinese retirement community. Lovely.
That is a luxury we cannot indulge in.
We have an interconnected planet, and it is on the verge of devolving into either an authoritarian dystopia or erupting into anarchic chaos. Or both.
The alternative of a narrow path towards hope is messy. It might look like a loose federation of nation states, co-operating because they know they had to in order to preserve the deteriorating environment. It might consist of an international body enforcing regulations on runaway markets or polluting industries. There would need to be accurate monitoring and enforcement of violations worldwide to pull this off. I imagine that people (and industries, and countries) would only commit to this enforcement because of the tragedies they had already suffered. Like I said, messy.
In short, we will need to follow the natural principles of co-operation, coordination and working for the common good of all. These are the principles which lead to the evolutionary success of any species. They are how the Tao operates.
Either we do it or in 100,000 years some very evolved cockroach will.

Tangent and Tool #80, Rough Road Ahead A question and a reflection: “What will a fix look like?” The picture I just painted of nation states curtailing the destructive greed of capitalism, cooperating and being willing to have truly fair and egalitarian international laws and regulations enforced everywhere sounds about as idyllic and unobtainable as Lao Tsu’s bucolic, peasant village. Our experience of such efforts so far ends up with the rich and powerful getting more and the poor and powerless getting the shaft.
But it is not all poppycock. It is an attainable future. Probably not in our lifetimes, though. And probably not until we suffer some unspeakable, horrific environmental tragedies and/or several wide-scale wars. Barreling towards us is a future of worldwide suffering on a scale our species has never seen. We are not going to be able to duck it. In our lifetimes, we have to keep reminding ourselves that this suffering, starvation, abuse and unnecessary death is inevitable. Dylan Thomas reminds us, “Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” Yes! Take action! Do it for your grandchildren’s grandchildren, so that they may see a brighter day. But also step away sometimes. Give yourself some loving, peaceful time to appreciate this one precious moment, one that will never come again. That is enough and will give you a life filled with moments of meaning and virtue and happiness.