What 2,000 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life
March 15, 2023
A lively series of thought experiments on how to create a more just and equitable society. Ghodsee, a professor of Russian and East European studies and author of Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism, observes that there are many built-in aspects of modern society whose ancient roots yield "decidedly inegalitarian and sexist" results. Against these, she proposes "utopian" solutions, which many readers may dismiss as impractical. The author argues vigorously that they are not. Housing is created with the presumption that someone--usually a woman--will do the cooking, cleaning, and routine maintenance behind closed doors. But what if communities were developed with private residences for sleeping and relaxing but with communal cooking spaces? The idea of private, enclosed homes is considered "normal," Ghodsee writes, but "we might be more flexible than we imagine." One knock-on effect is the communal raising of children, freeing mothers from the "disproportionate burden" they bear while also reimagining the nuclear family to incorporate a loving community. Borrowing from the language of economics, Ghodsee considers children as a "public good"--i.e., a source of future support for previous generations, whether childless or not, and therefore worthy of attention and public investment, since "current citizens will (if they live long enough) depend on their contributions to society." Further proposals include the decommodification of education and the establishment of controls so that anyone, regardless of their career path, would enjoy a living wage: "What if we were all less worried about the future because we lived in societies where one's ability to have a decent life had little relationship to one's profession?" Though Ghodsee's proposals are decidedly utopian, readers who think deeper about them may agree that reshaping society is not such an unworkable thing after all. Though endlessly arguable, a well-written book whose premises and prescriptions bear consideration.
COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Starred review from March 13, 2023
Ghodsee (Red Valkyries), a professor of Russian and Eastern European studies at the University of Pennsylvania, offers a spirited and thought-provoking survey of “social dreaming” and the thinkers and movements that have tried to reenvision home life to promote greater harmony and happiness. Focusing particularly on utopian experiments that treated women as equals and shared property among community members, Ghodsee examines the long history of non-family groups living together, from ancient Buddhist and medieval Christian monastics to contemporary communes in Maine and Denmark; income and property sharing models proposed and practiced by John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, and the Hutterite, Shaker, and Bruderhof Christian enclaves of North America; and the centralized childcare arrangements of Israeli kibbutzim. In the book’s most moving sections, Ghodsee buttresses her argument that the nuclear family has historically divided women from their own familial care networks and made them and their children more vulnerable to intimate violence with the story of how her high school English teacher took her in for a crucial period after her parents’ abusive marriage split up. Clear-eyed yet exuberant, wide-ranging yet intimate, this is an inspiring call for imagining a better future. Agent: Melissa Flashman, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.
April 15, 2023
Most would say a utopian society is something that sounds like a wonderful but unattainable dream. Yet many individuals, cultures, countries, and religious groups have set out to achieve just that--a perfect world for humanity. Ghodsee (Red Valkyries, 2022) outlines experimental communities and ways of life atypical in the Western world, spanning from antiquity to today. The good and bad, successes and failures of everything from Pythagoras' seaside community to modern cohousing communities to matrilineal and matrilocal societies both modern and historical are discussed in depth. Ghodsee extrapolates the lessons that can be learned from these experiments and how they could be applied to modern society in order to achieve a better, easier way of life. The text is rounded out with endnotes, a bibliography, and chapter- by-chapter reading recommendations, an invaluable addition for readers seeking more utopian philosophy and history. Everyday Utopia is perfect for readers interested in utopian societies, history, and sociology and for those looking for an uplifting look at what the future may hold.
COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.