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Comparison of Communism and Capitalism
How society transformed after ww2 in america
Comparison of Communism and Capitalism
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Walden's Utopia
In a post-World War Two era, there was much longing for improvement on current society. Burrhus F. Skinner decided to give his take on what he felt were the appropriate steps to take in order to make a true "Utopia." There have been attempts at other utopia's (which is from the Greek for "no place") and Skinner in his book took the best elements of each utopia and put them into one. However, this does not mean that this utopia he creates in his story, called Walden Two, emulating Thoreau's Walden Pond in Maine, is not without flaws. The most obvious flaws that stand out to the modern day reader are simply due to the fact that this book was published nearly 60 years ago. Values in the post-WWII era differed from modern ones, and psychology took a back seat during the war for other "real sciences." This social commentary is extensively relevant to the study of psychology, especially conditioning/behaviorism, because all consequences of all the actions of people in Walden Two directly stem from some psychological event, be it the shaping of the children to want to learn, or the way the officials (planners/managers) are appointed (and not elected).
The interesting thing about this book is the way in which it is written. The main protagonist's name is Burris, awfully close to the author and psychologist's name Burrhus, and they share nearly identical lives and professions. I believe this book basically breaks down B.F. Skinner's feelings about creating utopia's into the characters. Burris would be closest to B.F. Skinner himself, with Skinner's moderate point of view being exemplified in this character, his extremely in favor feeling exemplified in Frazier's character, and his extremely against/skeptical feeling exemplified in Augustine Castle.
In order to understand why in fact "Walden Two" is a commentary on American society, we must juxtapose relevant topics in our lives compared to that of those in Walden Two to see if they are the antithesis of one another or if they coincide perfectly. One of the most outright aspects of America and Americans is our economic system. We operate on a capitalist society, and the ideal of socialism or communism (similar to that of Walden Two) is severely looked down upon. Capitalism breeds competition, and vice versa, and competition breeds extinction. In a capitalist society, everyone is trying to "get theirs" and leave everyone else in the dust.
...nce our perceptions on reality and the concept of a utopian society. The connection between our own society and elements of the novel enable readers to recognize that although a literal utopian society is not possible, the closest we can come to perfection is to find a balance between what is and what we can imagine.
Botkin, Daniel B. "The Depth of Walden Pond: Thoreau as a Guide to Solving Twenty-First Century Problems." The Concord Saunterer, 9 (2001), 5-14.
The chapter entitled “Conclusion” is a fitting and compelling final chapter to Thoreau’s Walden. Throughout Walden, Thoreau delves into his surroundings, the very specifics of nature, and what he was thinking about, without employing any metaphors and including none of his poignant aphorisms. However, placed among these at-times tedious sections, come spectacular and wholly enjoyable interludes of great and profound thought from a writer that has become extremely popular in modern America. His growth of popularity over such contemporary favorites as Emerson in our modern era stems from the fact that Thoreau calls for an “ideological revolution to simplification” in our lives. This concept and sentiment is in extreme opposition to how we actually live our lives today. More and more people have been cut off from spiritual development and the cultivation of the mind and body. Often times the only time people think about their own spirituality and soul is in church or in reference to thinking about their god or religion. The truth is that there is much more to stare at, wonder at, and worship than just an image and idea of God in the mind. Thoreau, a man who believed in God himself and alludes to that being many times throughout Walden, lets us know and see that much more in the world is worthy of deep thought and reverence: all that earthly nature has to offer. Thoreau’s “Conclusion” is an excellent and fitting ending to this great work that teaches us so many things.
Walden Two is a novel about a fictional community in present day America. The community is a Utopia of the highest standards: the people are happy and content, there is a minimum of hurtful emotions and activities, and everyone is healthy and prosperous. It is a stark contrast with the world we are living in today. So why don't we change our society to match that of Walden Two, solving all of our nation's many problems? For one thing, we do not know if a society patterned after Walden Two will work.
...e everything is perfect, yet the literal meaning for utopia is “nowhere”. No where will this idea ever be achieved, hence why I’m here reading it in a book. In order for this idea of a utopian society to work, individuality and free will must be stripped away. Huxley’s main goal through out this novel is to portray his views on todays society while manipulating humans and using technology to recreate humans as puppets rather than letting it all occur naturally. Nearly every aspect in this society is managed through technology and science along with plenty dosages of the drug soma. Huxley makes it a point to emphasize that instead of getting hooked on all the advancements of technology we need to focus on all the problems occurring through out the world. Its time to stop letting technology control us and time for us to start learning how to control our technology.
Lauren Slater begins this chapter by expressing the controversy B.F Skinner caused in his time. Did he take his experiments too far? Was he truly revolutionary? Through all of the controversy, Slater comes to the conclusion that Skinner was revolutionary and influential for all scientist to come. Skinner began his research at Harvard University, looking into psychological experiments that would help our world become a better place, a place where we people could take action. In his experiments, he was able to uncover the science behind behavior and make animals react based on cues in their environments.
He was aggravated by the government, and wanted to impede in any way on individualism. Hence, leaving the city life for a simple pastoral life in Walden Pond that was portrayed in Walden Elizabeth Witherell characterizes Thoreau’s use of individualism in Walden as “...encouraging others to assert their individuality, each in his or her own way…” (Witherell). People that knew Thoreau from the reform movements, and they were utterly shocked that he changed his lifestyle, and the way he altered his philosophical ideas from transcendentalism which helped society as a whole,
Skinner attended Hamilton College at the reccomadation of a family friend. He took many different types of courses before deciding to major in English and minor in Romance Languages. Skinner felt that he did not fit in at college. He disliked the fraterninty that he had joined and he did not understand why the college required the courses that it did. He felt that he was made to take too much physical education and not enough emphasis was place on actual academics. The summer before his senior year he attended the Middlebury School of English at Breadloaf, Vermont. During this summer he had lunch with Robert Frost. Frost asked to see his work and gave Skinner a lot of enfouragemant.
Thomas More's Utopia is in many ways a very hopeful book; it implies that humans can be good if put in the right environment. Many people would argue that this could never happen; that the inequalities and injustices in our world are a product of human nature. Thomas More however would argue that rather than being a product of human nature, they are a product of the corruption within society. Thomas More believed that although humans may be inherently evil, if put in the right environment this tendency can be corrected. He develops the idea of the right environment; it is Utopia, a place where people are honest and equal because of the way that society is structured.
During the mid 19th century, when Walden was written and published, our large, young nation was filled with forward seeking people. As the nation grew, borders expand and thousand are looking west to build better lives for their families. Our nation was just in between the American Revolution and World War 1. Our nation slowly developed from an agricultural and rural society to industrial. The country had grown with the addition
In the beginning of the book, Rogers, a former student of Burris, along with his friend Steve arrive at his office after serving in the Philippines during World War Two. Rogers and Steve are looking for an alternative to the American society they live in. Burris recalls that an old friend from graduate school spoke of such a place, named T. E. Frazier. Burris agrees to contact Frazier and pass along any information he can find. A few days later, Burris receives word from Frazier that his utopian community, Walden Two, is alive and well. Frazier encourages Burris to visit and bring his friends. On his way to see Rogers, Burris runs into Augustine Castle, a philosopher who has taught a number of courses on utopia. Castle is interested in the Walden Two community and asks to visit with Burris, who agrees to take him. When Burris and Rogers meet that afternoon, Steve, Rogers’ girlfriend Barbara, and Steve’s girlfriend Mary accompany them. They all agree to visit Walden Two and meet Frazier at an agreed upon spot, where he picks them up and drives them to the
Utopia is a word many learn in middle school, but it never seems to pertain
Henry David Thoreau, an American philosopher, transcendentalist, and abolitionist, was in many regards well ahead of his time. Few of his works highlights his genius as well as Walden, or Life in the woods. Thoreau writes Walden for himself hoping readers will come to similar conclusions when given Thoreau's personal experiences to think about. This is unlike a preacher telling others how to live, for Thoreau is not preaching, but simply observing. Thoreau’s Walden argues against the barbaric structure of American society, a society that pursues an illusion of progress through exploiting Indians, Africans, and the poor; while he cannot himself end slavery or subjugation Thoreau instead offers self reliance, and living on less, as solutions
Walden is one of the most familiar names of novels from the transcendentalism period of the 19th century. It is an enduring masterpiece which truly shows that the necessities of life are not material possessions, but rather spiritual enrichment and closeness to nature. In chapter three of Walden, Henry David Thoreau conveys the relevance of reading to his simplistic and naturalistic lifestyle portrayed throughout the novel by making use of themes and symbols such as immortality, mornings and veils. Thoreau additionally uses rhetorical strategies that include a combination of long and poetic questions, polysyndeton, and strong words to create emphasis within a flowing and continuous tone, and which demonstrates his strong belief
Skinner was an atheist who attended college at Hamilton College to get his bachelor’s degree in English. Hamilton College was a school where students would attend daily masses. Not the place you would think an atheist would choose. To make Skinner even more different than his peers he did not enjoy the typical college activities. He avoided going to football games fraternity parties, instead he enjoyed writing for the school newspaper. The stories he wrote were acute of the school, its faculty, and a frat house. This did not make him the most popular guy on campus. Skinner wanted to be a writer. He would send out stories and poetry trying to get published. He took over his parent’s attic to create a study for himself to help him write. But that plan did not work so he tried moving to New York. He worked in a bookstore there and in that store he read...