Some time ago I borrowed the book “This Perfect Day” (or “De Dag Der Dagen” as it is called in Dutch) by Ira Levin from a colleague. She and I had a discussion about what possibly the future of the world could/would be. She suggested to read this book and as I could not find it for sale on any Dutch webshop, she borrowed the book to me.
Ira Levin is known for his books “Rosemary’s Baby” (1967) and “The Boys from Brazil” (1976). “This Perfect Day”, the book I was reading, was written in 1970.
Yesterday I finished reading this book. And I have to say that I am impressed. A very well written book that keeps your attention and triggers you think and ponder about things.
In short, the books is about a soceity completely controled by the government (a supercomputer and a group of programmers, in this book). The citizen of this soceity get every month a treatment, which is a combination of drugs that makes them obedient. There is no crime or hate anymore, but there is also no love or friendship. All emoties are controlled by the drugs they get every month.
The main characters manage to skip this treatments and start to think and feel again. This leads to a rising against the government, which succeeds (of course) in the end.
This is the story in a nutshell. The book is very detailed and links all perfect together. Go read the book I would say!
The main question here is: Is such future possible to happen?
With a very persimistic look, I say yes, it could. Specially when I look at the country where I live. We Dutch call ourselves indendent, but we are not. A majority of the Dutch people would not mind to have camera’s on every corner if that would help against crime. I hear very regulary the famous, and easily to refute, “I don’t have anything to hide” (every human has something to hide). The care for privacy seems to be absent, until you make clear what privacy really involves. People are really not aware what privacy is and that it is about things very close to them.
The ““Those who would give up Freedom, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Freedom nor Safety” seems to be in place, because remember freedom and privacy are very related to each other. By the way, this qoute is said to be from Benjamin Franklin.
But I tend to go for the more optimistic view. I think what is going to happen the next two generations will be of big influence if such a future might happen. I see organizations as “Bits of Freedom” (The Netherlands) and the Chaos Computer Club (Germany) that make their stand on matters involving privacy and related matters. And with rather some success as well.
There are Internet providers that make a stand against the (illegal) data retension. Specially now it shows over and over again that it almost doesn’t help with fighting crime and terrorism.
Secret Services that were way too powerful are getting limited in their power and are getting strictly controlled.
The more I see people starting to realise that too much power and control with an goverment is not a good thing, the more I have hope for a brighter future.
Sadly specially my country seems to be lacking on this. We have a big mouth and are complaining about everything the government does…. and there it stays, we have become a country of complainers without the dare or care to really stand up…. and this was so different in the past. We had our share of demonstrations for labor rights, rights for women, against nuclair power, against discrimination. I hope that seeing that what starting to happen in the countries around us, will make the Dutch people wake up as well.
Anyway, it is all up to us….
You may very well be right that all times there will be people fighting for their privacy, driven by some organizations. What I am very concerned about, and to which also they do not have an answer, are the tiny and un-noticed steps the government makes to control our private lives more directly (aside visible privacy). Caused by the trend in our society: we are on average aging, people are becoming more self-minded, we are building a society with many new cultures, people have to take a step back because of the economy, too many excesses when it comes to child care or elder care (ANY care for that matter), the gap between poverty and rich is increasing, everything is becoming more expensive, people are getting unsatisfied more every day, the government is increasingly starting to discuss all kind of paternal rules. There are today already so many discussions about how schools should evolve, how better streamline opportunities for getting a job, what kids/adults should do/have/eat/drink or not, we need to do more exercise, companies should be allowed to fire people who do not have a healthy lifestyle, adults with misbehavior should not be allowed to have kids, what may supermarkets sell or not, how to take care of the -in what way ever- “misfit” in the society (I’d like to name them “individuals” but the society seems them as “different or even outcasts (now already!)”). ETCETC! Some things have already taken effect!
The point is, that we have already years ago acccepted that the government is going to limit our rights. Yes, we as a nation accepted it. And as we are no people to stick our heads above the corn, more rules will come into place. Some good, but many very paternalistic. And from there, it will go further and further. Step by step, by each generation. It might even be some wars make the situation worse which will speed up the process. I do not know. And perhaps even our generation will see it taken to another level (I think we might grasp a tail of it!).
But that I believe that SOME day (do not know when) the described in the book will come to exist: Yes. Otherwise there is no way to control the society anymore in future (the path all is going now) and we are today already stepping into that mouse trap but we do not see it. All we agree upon today is considered the best for everyone or majority. And isn’t it what the human wants? “Control and hapiness”.
Well, wasn’t everyone in the book happy with a good life (“unless they “knew”)?
Aside that, chip implementation for identification of every human (and more activities): give it a year or 10, perhaps 20?
How to act on the growing age of the nation NOW: in future less people needed because of all computers so no need for kid birth incentives otherwise the situation will remain to exist.
How as a government do you control a nation with multiple complexities, learning from the past and knowing science has evolved still? Not stopped since 2nd WW-> even the nowadays scientists have learned a lot from the experiments Hitler demanded…. bad hah? 🙁
Anyway: I think the “the days of our lives” society will exist one day, and that still then there will be organizations living outside it, fighting it.
It makes us the human we are.
I just had a funny thought. Like the Christians now believe in the Bible, perhaps I am someone whom believes in “Levin’s bible”… ;-)))) See how easily it can be done?
Perhaps in the year 2300-2400 it’s all about Levin or someone completely else….. It just depends on what gets inherited and survives the (for us now) internet story telling.
New ages, different ways but same pattern.
Oops Kristin, I just noticed your replies today. Some how the notification-mails ended up in my spam-box. I will have a look at that, because they shouldn’t.
I will reply this weekend, because as you already may have expected, I do not agree fully with you 🙂