Morality In Derrick Bell's Space Traders

There is but a single key characteristic needed to form a perfect utopia. That is the absence of morality, which for this purpose will be those principles that differentiate between right and wrong. A certain domino effect must be properly and precisely set off in order to create this utopia, failure at any point will result in total systemic collapse at the hands of the governed. To begin, freedom must be completely revoked. Citizens will have all choices made for them by their superiors. This will in turn lead to more sameness, every last person a perfect replica of the last. Everyone’s loss of individuality will result in a singular form of shared morality, dictated by the higher-ups. If each person shares the same morals, not only will …show more content…
Derrick Bell’s Space Traders is a wonderful example. Though not stated outright, the act of trading all of the African Americans residing within the U.S. for goods that would fix the economy and the environment was a necessity in transforming into a utopia. The oddities, those African Americans which, unlike the rest of the population, opposed the idea of being traded for life saving technologies, were given up and removed from the equation. As a step forward in true sameness, the act also worked to level morality among the people even more, leading into a more perfect utopia. Then, in George Orwell’s 1984, utopia is preserved by various means, including so called “Thought Police”, which monitor “thoughtcrimes”, which are signs of individualism. Citizens may even be sent to correctional facilities, which return them to the state of sameness shared by those around them, allowing them to safely return to society. This system is pure and utter perfection, exceeding everything on the list of criterion needed to brew up a utopia. It limits the freedom of its people, making them of one mind, that which reflects the needs and wants of “Big Brother” and “the Party”. They all share the same morals, and live in transcendental happiness, making them docile, flawless little carbon copy soldiers. The society constructed by Orwell is the epitome of utopia, and …show more content…
One can not exist without the other, and so, the only way to rid society of this problem is to do just that. Morality is not capable of existing within any form of superior society. Conflicting moral compasses lead to rebellion, to war, to revolution, and none of those are acceptable. The solution is to keep morality uniform, to strip away at it until the opposite disappears, until immorality disappears. Without immorality there will be no morality, there will only be truth. This lack of individualism will make keeping a population happy far easier, and happy people are pliable people. How society gets there does not matter so long as the destination is met, and although unconventional, this Machiavellian way of thinking ensures success. There is nothing callous about taking necessary measures for the sake of a people’s prosperity. All it takes is a little control and annulment of freedoms. This is the true social contract humanity resigned itself to. Discard independence, achieve static morality and then obliterate it, gain a content, obedient herd of sheep. This is how you conceive the ultimate society, the utopia only fantasized about in science fiction and fascist dreams. However true this may be, and do trust that this is all immutable truth, both you and I, reader, know this is inherently wrong. In the words of Erich Fromm, such a course will only result in mankind losing its “most human qualities” and unknowingly