An Anarchist Utopia?

Ever dream about a world where no one tells you what to do? A world without oppression, laws, or even government? How about a world with no wealth inequality, a world that doesn’t even have the notion of property itself?

Ursula K. Le Guinn imagined such a world when she wrote the science-fiction novel The Dispossessed. In this novel, she describes a group of colonists who escaped a world much like Earth and settled on a deserted, habitable moon. On that moon they created an anarchist utopia, a world with no government, no laws, and no property. In that society people naturally work together as equals for the common weal.

But is such a society possible, or even desirable?

Join the Syracuse Philosophy Meetup as we discuss Ursula K. Le Guin’s award-winning novel The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia. We’ll talk about the story, but more importantly we’ll ask critical questions about the society portrayed:

• Is a world without government or laws possible?
• What is property? Could our society function without it?
• To what extent would humans work together if they didn’t have rules to compel them to?
• Is Anarchism a dead political philosophy? Or does it contain important philosophical insights?

Reading the book is NOT necessary - all the ideas will be explained during the meetup and Hersh’s “spark” notes will be provided. You may also read the plot on wikipedia or other sites. Reading up on anarchism may also be useful:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism

If you are interested in reading the book itself, check Libby or your local library for the book, read it online, or you can purchase the book at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. It’s a fascinating read so I do recommend it.

Happy Thinking!