Creating the Protopia

Most people think that the word “utopia” means an ideal future world. That is what Sir Thomas More wrote about when he invented the word “utopia” as the title for his Latin text in 1516. But the word “utopia” really means “no such place.” So although Sir Thomas imagined what a perfect society would be like, he had doubts that it would ever be a reality.

Nowadays there is much in our culture that imagines a dystopia, which means “a bad place.” Wikipedia really captures its essence when it defines a dystopia as “an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives.”

Much of popular culture is based on dystopias; countless hours and millions of dollars are spent by the entertainment industry to make them seem real to us, to give us a taste of what it would be like to live in various versions of a bad future.

Like many people, I enjoy dystopian entertainment. And I realize that there might not seem to be a lot of entertainment possibilities in a society where everything is working out pretty well but the human imagination also needs positive visions of its future.

If you watch a dystopian movie, it always starts in the middle of a terrible world. They never show how the world got this way, or it is only shown superficially through flashbacks. We agree to accept that the dystopian world is possible for the sake of entertainment.

But I think that the struggle to turn our present world into a better world is full of dramatic possibilities. Different groups of people would have different visions and goals and the story of how they learn to find common ground would be full of conflict and drama.

Showing the characters searching for solutions to problems like poverty in their communities could be just as interesting as the current TV shows that focus on the power struggles of rich families.

How about showing the power struggles between rich people and ordinary citizens over the resources of a city? For example, the conflict could be over whether to spend public money on housing and social services or to use it to build a new sports stadium for the local professional team. This is actually a real conflict in some cities.

Showing that progress doesn’t depend on a few “superhero” characters but rather on ordinary people, each with strengths and weaknesses that they bring to the struggle would make it relatable to everyone. The story of the transformation of our present society would be blockbuster entertainment.

A Protopia can be more than entertainment; it is actually an emerging reality in the world right now. The prefix “pro” means “forward; toward the front.” But the positive actions that people take every day rarely make it to the “front page” of their newsfeeds.

Even so, collectively Humanity is moving forward and creating paths towards a Protopia every minute of the day. It’s just that Humanity doesn’t realize what it is creating because the transformation is happening gradually and it does not get a lot of publicity. But if we look, we can see examples of it in our local areas and in the world every day. The transformation is happening right now and we can influence its direction.

What is the direction that we should be putting our energy into? To me the goals are simple and I believe shared by most people. Every person born on the planet is guaranteed sufficient food, shelter, clothing, and health care throughout their lives.

They have free K-12 education and free higher education if desired. This education provides then with living skills and with the means of developing their talents and abilities.

Society provides opportunities for dignified, productive work. It also provides time to spend with family and friends. There are local resources for leisure activities and opportunities for self-expression. There are opportunities to contribute to society apart from work and society provides support for the challenges of every stage of life. What a transformed world this would be!

The direction I would like to go in doesn’t require vast resources. The World Food Program USA states that “we produce more than enough food to feed everyone in the world.” It’s a question of how we distribute those resources. That means prioritizing basic needs over expensive wants for everyone in the world. I believe that there are millions of people in the world who agree with these priorities.

A cargo container ship requires time and planning to change direction. It doesn’t happen quickly but it does happen. Turning Humanity in a more positive direction may seem imperceptible but it is happening.

The Daily Minute is like a lighthouse that shows the way for the ship to follow. The more people doing the Daily Minute, the brighter the guiding light toward a better future shines. Your participation brings us one minute closer to a planet-wide Protopia.

But don’t limit yourself to my vision; imagine the better world that you want to see. What would your amazing Protopia be like?