Utopia … No Thanks

I am a futurist, but I love history. They are cousins after all. As we explore the possibilities for After Capitalism, it’s good to have a solid grounding what’s happened before, so we might learn some lessons the easier instead of the harder way.

Economist Brad DeLong provides a history of what he calls  the “long twentieth century ” beginning circa 1870 in Slouching Toward Utopia. He cites three critical developments: globalization, the industrial research lab, and the modern corporation. This triple combo provides the spark to “pull the world out of the dire poverty that had been humanity’s lot for the previous ten thousand years.” The key was not just inspiring invention and innovation, but developing the process and structures for reproducing it. It triggered the growth spurt that is now causing up problems today and into the future. The long twentieth century ended in 2010 in the throes of the Great Recession.

One way to look at this – this was an unprecedented and incredible growth spurt. It is not the norm, but I think we have come to expect this growth as the norm. Ideas suggesting slowing growth, steady state, or even degrowth are not as crazy at they might seem given this context.

He also makes the point that this long twentieth century was the first century in which the most important historical thread was the economic one. Again, those alive today have grown up in a context of homo economicus that is taken for granted. But it is not the “normal” state of affairs. It is not unthinkable that we might rethink that idea.

I enjoyed the book. It’s easy to read, entertaining, and covers a lot of territory in a useful way. I do find myself curious why he chose a title with utopia. He doesn’t seem to be much of a fan of utopia – I guess “slouching” was the clue there. For instance, he says “utopian imaginings during the long twentieth century were responsible for its most shocking grotesqueries.” Or “utopian faith is a helluva drug.”

While he is sympathetic to markets, he is not a slavish advocate either: “One reason why human progress toward utopia has been but a slouch is that so much of it has been and still is mediated by the market economy.” He advocates a mixed approach.  

It is food for thought as we consider images of the future. Earlier I explained why I chose images over utopia and visions. DeLong’s work makes glad I chose that way! – Andy Hines