Imagine there’s no country. It isn’t hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for. And no religion, too.
—John Lennon…
If we let go of all conventions of life as we know it—the laws, religions, customs, and other institutions—we could train our imagination to build new ones, perhaps based on different values of work and wealth and play. What is our image of an ideal society? Perhaps it is one in which there is no money. Or one where all work is done by computers and people are free to play. Perhaps our model is military or tribal. How would we define crime or punishment in our Utopia? What would be the criteria for success and failure? Would we redefine the family as we know it? How would we reward our heroes? Whatever our ideal society is, it’s likely to express our most deeply held values. To find out what I hold most precious, I will try to imagine giving it up.