Choosing Humanity: A Vision of Achievable Utopia

Terra Ignota shows that it only requires empathy

Choosing Humanity

We are never going to improve our world through individualism: worshiping celebrities and chasing the lie that anyone can succeed if they're just ambitious and cutthroat enough. Individualism and capitalism are intrinsically linked with the 'us vs. them' mentality, simply by espousing the idea that some people are 'more deserving' of resources than others. (Why does this always lead to hoarding?)

The world of 2454CE, as depicted by Ada Palmer in her Terra Ignota novels, has not entirely done away with money and the market – in fact the economy plays an important role in predicting the shape of world events. Hoarded wealth, however, is a thing of the past. The same goes for 40-60 hour work weeks (unless individuals choose otherwise, labeled 'vocateurs' for their dedication to a job), the prison-industrial complex and many day-to-day expenses.

How are these differences (perhaps miracles to us) possible? Because the global mindset has shifted toward choosing and prioritizing humanity. Globalization saw the system of 'geographic nations' replaced with the Hive system, seven 'leviathans' dedicate to different causes; Humanists seek philosophical advancement, Utopians seek to terraform Mars, Cousins focus on spirituality, etc.

Life in Hives and beyond is not about working to survive (except for Servicers, more on them in a moment). Instead it is about working to the betterment of humanity, whatever form that takes. It is accepted that there are enough resources for everyone, so there is no need for hoarding. People are defined by their passions and talents, regardless of where they work for 10-20 hours a week.

My previous post also referenced Terra Ignota, questioned societal ethics and concluded with parallel ideas of collective action and choosing humanity; consider giving it a read!

Narrator Mycroft Canner, by Atiglain

Adulthood, Family and Servicers

Even after four long philosophy-focused novels, Palmer's vision lacks details in many places. There are a few areas, however, that I think we could learn a lot from in our world. (Certainly it would be nice to instantly eliminate international conflicts, but that might be a little further beyond our reach).

Terra Ignota treats the transition into adulthood in a fascinating way. Instead of simply being under or over eighteen, minors can choose when to take an 'Adult Competency Exam' which ensures their education and awareness of the laws (world-spanning and Hive-specific). Only upon completing the exam do minors choose a Hive to join.

Minors also have unique representation in the Senate, both because they don't have a Hive to politic on their behalf and because they represent the next generation and will often bear the consequences of decisions enacted in the present (more on that in a moment).

In Palmer's world, the nuclear family has been supplanted by bash'es: groups of close friends and partners choosing to live and potentially raise children together. Both in and out of world the term originates from the Japanese i-basho, meaning 'place where one belongs / where one fits in / where one can be oneself'. It's a great example of societally encouraged and accepted found family and mirrors similar ideas in other utopian novels like A Half-Built Garden – while also prioritizing idealism over lineage.

Non-dangerous criminals in this world can choose to become Servicers instead of serving time; dedicating themselves to community service for the duration of their sentence. The series grapples with the ethics of this program for a variety of reasons, but it would be hard to argue that just having the option would be a blessing to, oh I don't know, the nearly two million people behind bars in the United States. (The Servicer program also seems to guarantee therapy with a Cousin, community with other Servicers and guarantees that there will be work available).

Cover for Too Like the Lightning, the first Terra Ignota novel by Ada Palmer

From the Ashes

Back to the minors for a moment. While it feels at times as though the series only contains philosophical conversations, there is also some real conflict. I found the minors' statement to the Senate on the aftermath of one of these conflicts particularly touching:

“We discussed what we want from you now,” [Kenzie] began, “you who had power and used it to burn the world. You burned a lot. You didn’t just burn trees and cities and each other. You burned our admiration for the governments we grew up respecting. You burned our sense of safety in your care. You burned our patience, our ability to believe that the great things in this world you promised to protect will still be there for us and future generations. You burned our trust as you misused the data and surveillance we let you collect ... You burned our self-trust, too, since we know we are infused with your values, values we thought made both you and us people who would never do what you just did. We have to be afraid of ourselves now, vigilant against what you’ve taught us to be, since now we know we are something to be afraid of and ashamed of. And even if you didn’t personally kill in the war, if you carried arms, if you participated, you helped burn what nothing can bring back. - Ada Palmer, Perhaps the Stars

I think this message echoes the feeling of every generation of disgruntled youth, and emphasizes the importance of including future generations in the decision of today. Choosing humanity.

The outcome of this is three fifths of people on Earth choosing to take on minor Servicer roles to rebuild what was lost through conflict. It is combined with Utopia's 'Infinite To-Do List', an endless set of tasks furthering the aims of humanity which can be filtered by ability, location, etc. (This bears striking similarity to L.X. Beckett's Gamechanger, where world-improving tasks from emptying trash to putting out fires have been gamified). In all cases, the focus is on improving the world and humanity's place in it rather than simply surpassing everyone else.

Does Terra Ignota really represent a perfect world? Not by a longshot. I'm still on the fence about how the series tackles gender and how it focuses so heavily on the elite.

The only thing I know for sure is that the universe was created as a letter to another universe's god. (You'll have to wait for that post, haha.) Oh, and that we just have to have collective empathy for our fellow humans, present and future, to begin making the world a significantly better place.

Until next time, thanks for reading <3