In my previous post on this topic, I explained the justification for manipulating and changing culture with the purpose of creating the happiness. I also said that this culture would be flexible so that it can adapt to the flow of history. Additionally, I explain that it would be based around empirical evidence and case studies rather than on some baseless theory.
But, as I asked yesterday, what specifically would this culture include? My official answer would have to be “I don’t know.” (This should come as no surprise—I am a pyrrhonist, after all.) I am neither an anthropologist nor a sociologist—I do not know enough to look at what we know about how people interact and devise a culture based on this.
However, I will make some educated guesses, as I do with everything.
First, I believe this culture will possess various types of group marriage and polygamy. Group marriage is not very common in human history, but has a very high success rate nonetheless. This is mostly because it offers a more secure environment for raising children for economic and social reasons and increases diversity. Group marriage can be arranged in the form of a “line” marriage, in which people continuously join the marriage as older members die or others divorce out of it. This creates a stable environment for raising children, which will, in theory, last forever.
Second, I believe nudity and sexual taboos have no place in this type of society. Though most of the benefits of nudism are false, there are still some benefits to it that have been scientifically verified. Additionally, sexual liberation would create a large amount of happiness in this new culture. Contraception can be made cheaper (or even free), decreasing the risks of increased sexuality in a society. By removing the moral and social stigma from sexuality, it can become a widespread source of happiness that is morally meaningless.
Next, I believe this new type of culture will be very diverse. Mixed-race individuals have greater protection from disease and often have longer life spans. Furthermore, diversity eliminates racism, which is an obvious source of unhappiness in our current culture.
Additionally, I think gender roles and sexual jealousy will almost disappear. Even today there is little use for them; they are simply leftovers from our early history and evolution, as Margaret Mead (right) proved. This would also end sexism, which, like racism, is a major problem in today’s society. The removal of sexual jealousy would aid in the introduction of group marriage, and it would also remove a current source of social tension.
You may be asking in horror: What about all the innocent children? Do they get no protection? Well, yes, of course they do! I did not propose anything that would physically or psychologically harm children (or anyone) in any way. However, I did not protect them morally in any way (by our current Judeo-Christian standards). The reason for this harps back to a previous post I wrote, which had to do with comparing moral systems. To sum it up, protecting children from the “horrors” above is a concept that only applies to our current moral system; in the one I described, they are not “horrors” at all, but the very pillars of society.
Will we ever see such a culture? Probably not in a large society, but I would not be surprised if some smug philosopher, anthropologist or scientist tries to create such a system and some small utopianist group tries to implement it.
Will it work? I sure hope so. No promises, though.
No comments:
Post a Comment