Can a society be utopian? Aboard the Ares, the first hundred live in comfort, not having to worry about food or danger or other physical needs (most of the time). However, we see that the social aspect evolves from cooperative and somewhat utopian to everyone clustering into exclusive groups, losing unity.
We see the nature of a huge undertaking like going to Mars. During the first few months on the Ares and the first few months on Mars, the crew are most happy and most unified; as they settle into their routines on the Ares and on Mars, they become less happy, even though they have less to do or worry about. As a wise man once said, once you get used to doing something that you’ve been anticipating and planning for, it gets boring. Constant change is the spice of life.
On a side note, Arkady is the Socrates of the voyage: always questioning the status quo and sticking it to the man, whether that be NASA or his fellow crew members. He does a valuable service to the first hundred by challenging them to be more creative and think about the implications of colonizing a new planet for society, whereas Ann does the same in terms of the environment.
I’m interested in the implications about the environment in Red Mars. Ann points out to Nadia that the colonizers will ruin the natural beauty of Mars and replace it to suit their needs. This is the idea of the unspoiled paradise - land before humans get there. Ironically, we go to new lands often because it is beautiful and untouched, like the American West, but our presence there ruins that. In a way humans are to nature as the Borg to alien civilizations: we consume it, often without a second thought. The colonizers on Mars take it to a whole new level with terraforming. I think this is more morale than humans causing the extinction of tons of Earth’s species, but Ann does still have an argument.
Interesting to see so many provisional Reds in our class! I like it.
ReplyDeleteAnd YES--Arkady IS like Socrates. I hadn't made that connection before, but that's exactly what he's doing. I find him a little less grating than Socrates because he's upfront about his own positions, rather than constantly needling and questioning just so he can seem superior.
But a more primary point: utopias. A utopia is an ideal society, right? Or is it a paradise? Is it possible to have a well-designed, happy society and still fall into some of the traps of unhappiness? Squabbling and boredom, as with so many. Distrust--Frank. Depression--Ann. Homesickness--Michel. This rings true to me. We're not happy all the time, even under happy circumstances. One of the reasons I like this book is because their utopias aren't universally happy--they're just pretty good places where people live their normal lives.