We demonstrate the richness of Poul Anderson's texts by posting about so many diverse points arising from a single chapter.
Joshua Coffin says:
"'I can tell you for certain that freedom requires elbow room. How can a man even be an individual, if there's no place he can go to be alone with his God?'" (pp.125-126)
This is one of the many times when it is idle to reply, "But I don't believe in God!" Coffin is right. How can a person be an individual if there is nowhere that s/he can go to be alone period? As it happens, I want to be able to be alone to meditate, read and blog although I also want to socialize and meditate in a group. I also want people like Coffin to be able to be alone with their God.
In my idea of an optimal society, everyone would at any time have access to:
"family," those we grew up with, however that is organized;
solitude;
places to go purely for the purpose of meeting new people;
places to meet people with common interests;
fulfilling work;
sabbaticals from work, giving the opportunity to travel and to see what everyone else is doing;
change of career direction;
personal guidance/mentoring;
public places - parks, restaurants etc;
participation in social decision-making - far more than just the illiterate exercise of writing "X" beside a name every few years.
Some sociable souls would never want to be alone but they should always have access to solitude. A few hermits would disappear and never be seen again but they should always be able to return to society.
8 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I'm inclined to agree with most of what you wrote here, with a few caveats and quibbles. The chief caveat being that it is my view there will NEVER be a wholly optimal or ideal society, BECAUSE of how imperfect all human beings are.
My next quibble follows logically from what I wrote above. I do not think it will always be likely or possible for everyone to have "fulfilling work," jobs, trades, professions, etc. Sometimes we will have to settle for what is less than ideal. In that case, the right attitude is be responsible and conscientious even about unsatisfactory jobs.
And REAL human beings what they are, I do NOT expect every one to even care about "participation in social decision-making." I personally know people who don't vote and have no interest in voting. So, the "illiterate exercise of writing "X" beside a name every few years" is probably the most we can expect in the real world. Every Solon or founder of a new state has to be realistic about both himself and all other human beings when it comes to designing a government if it is to have a chance of governing not too terribly badly and lasting a reasonably long time.
I have suggested before that, in his Technic series, Poul Anderson gives us some idea of what he might consider the most REALISTICALLY optimal state or society. The examples I have in mind being Hermes in MIRKHEIM and Dennitza in A KNIGHT OF GHOSTS AND SHADOWS. Both seem derived from the classical Anglo/American political tradition of a limited state combining elements of monarchy, aristocracy and "democracy."
Anderson also wrote enough about the Terran Empire and the problem of how to penalize crime that I could write detailed letters to him summarizing, commenting, and suggesting ideas about them. I adapted or quoted enough from two of these letters to make my article "Crime and Punishment in the Terran Empire." In general, Anderson's response was to say my commentary was reasonable and that he agreed with some of it.
Sean
Sean,
Thanks. It was really Coffin's remark about elbow room that I was responding to but, of course, I had to try to summarize every other social relationship as well.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
And I agree with what Joshua Coffin said about genuine liberty or freedom needing some elbow room if it's to be REAL. And perhaps this "elbow room" does not need to always be physical in nature, for a few persons. But if freedom is to be real, at least for most, actual physical space is needed.
Convicted criminals, of course, generally suffer the loss of their physical freedom, for longer or shorter periods, as a punishment for crime. Albeit, I have some sympathy for the idea that corporal punishment would be better for some offenses. An idea Anderson was inclined to agree with.
Sean
Kaor, Paul!
Last night I finished rereading the four part ORBIT UNLIMITED ("Robin Hood's Barn," "The Burning Bridge," "And Yet So Far," "The Mills of the Gods"). These stories, as we know, form the first part of the "History Rustum" timeline). In ORBIT we see things like an increasingly oppressive and decadent World Federation ruling Earth and STL methods of traveling to other stars.
And now I've started rereading NEW AMERICA (Tor, 1983), collecting "My Own, My Native Land," "Passing The Love Of Women," "A Fair Exchange," "To Promote The General Welfare," "The Queen Of Air And Darkness," "Home," and last "Our Many Roads To The Stars," a non fiction essay by Poul Anderson.
The stories in ORBIT UNLIMTED and the first five in NEW AMERICA are united by having a common background, due to references to the planet Rustum in these nine stories. Other common indicators being mention of the World Federation ruling Earth, STL interstellar travel, and the philosophy called Constitutionalism.
However, "Home" does not belong in the "History of Rustum" series and really should not have been included in NEW AMERICA. No mention is made of Rustum and Earth is ruled by a Directorate, not the World Federation. Three other stories either mentioning the Directorate, not mentioning Rustum, and also using STL means of reaching the stars could be grouped with "Home." These are: "The Alien Enemy," "The Faun," and "Time Lag."
Many of the collections of Poul Anderson's shorter works which appeared in the 1980's were compiled by Sandra Miesel, another SF writer and enthusiastic commentator on the works of Poul Anderson. Because of the considerations discussed above, I would have suggested to Sandra Miesel either that "Home" be omitted from NEW AMERICA or that it and the other three Directorate stories be collected into a part of the book clearly distinguished from the Rustum series. Unless it was thought desirable to collect the Directorate stories into a separate volume.
Sean
Sean,
See blog post, "Poul Anderson's Ninth Future History," Sunday, 29th July 2012.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I will. And, oops, I merely repeated what you wrote in that blog piece?
Sean
Sean,
It has been a long time.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
It has been. And we discussed what kind of series we should call Anderson/Dickson's Hoka stories in the combox there.
Sean
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