Sunday, October 14, 2007

Back to Eden

Capt. Samuel Wallis of HMS Dolphin being received by the Queen of Otaheite, July 1767

Can we make a paradise here, instead of looking for it in a different country?

10 comments:

Marianne's Keyboard said...

Of course we can make a paradise here. Just needs some vision and political will.

Sackerson said...

Aren't the politicians part of the problem?

hatfield girl said...

There is a conflict between efficiency and equity after a certain point which manifests itself in moral hazard when it reduces incentives to produce wealth.
Then there are not, by definition, positional goods enough to go round.
And selfish human nature, ever- Militant, is destructive of any utopia.

Sackerson said...

Thank you, HG; a typically considered and pithy response.

I wonder whether the key is having a socially unifying mythos that channels the impulses you have identified: rewards for the deserving, charitable sharing, limitation of conflict, mutual respect between the social degrees.

I understand that research into communes found that the ones that lasted longest had a religious basis - just the thing that the Left (perhaps with good intentions, perhaps not) has done its best to weaken in this country. Shome mishtake on their part, shurely?

Liz Hinds said...

Some of us already live in God's own paradise ...

You asked (somewhere) where I got my flying Welsh flag from: I have no idea. I've had it a long time. I found it on the net somewhere originally. Probably just searched for Welsh flag.

Sackerson said...

Liz:

Thanks - found the flag, as you see - by clicking on yours!

I know what you mean - significant you have to pay to cross the Severn into Wales, not out.
Wales seems to have resisted the rise of the supermarkets and mini-offshoots, at least in the smaller communities. Maybe that's one of the reasons why it's still got some character.

James Higham said...

Well, they laughed at Noah, didn't they?

Sackerson said...

Sir P: you imply that all earthly paradises are doomed? Or that a new covenant can be made?

RubyShooZ said...

The comment about Wales resistance has got me wondering if that would be a good place to live. I've always had some romantic feelings about it...just hearing the name makes me think of misty, rolling hills and rustic cottages with warm wood stoves.

Peace today.

~ RS ~

Sackerson said...

Welcome, RS. There are still some lovely places, though some say the South Walians are friendlier. You'll know it's the right place for you if it seems lovely to you in all seasons and every kind of weather. Visit often to be sure.