The Dispossessed

So, I recently finished the book "The Dispossessed" by Ursula K. LeGuin.

It is now one of my favorite books that I have read so far.

I was also pleased to find the PDF version of the book for free
on theanarchistlibrary.org

Here is a short synopsis from NPR's top 100 Sci-fi books list:

"Unwilling to accept that his anarchist world must be separated from
 the rest of the civilized universe, Shevek, a brilliant physicist, risks his 
life by traveling to the utopian mother planet of Urras."



Here is a quote from the book that I related to personally:

"There is nothing you can do that profit does not enter into, and fear of loss, 

and a wish for power. You cannot say good morning without knowing which of 

you is 'superior' to the other, or trying to prove it. You cannot act like a brother 

to other people, you must manipulate them, or command them, or obey them, 

or trick them. You cannot touch another person, yet they will not leave you alone."

-Ursula Le Guin, 'The Dispossessed'-

And here is something that I was inspired to write myself a few days ago....

"There was a way of controlling the masses of civilization which required 

neither guns nor brain implants. It was a perfect and air-tight procedure. 

It extracted the maximum value from those on the bottom of society and 

sent it directly up to those on the top.

The process was simple. Anytime anyone would question the state 

of 'how things are', their peers, rather than armed troops, would step 

in and quickly humiliate them.

If you suggested that your job did not actually create anything of value 

or that machines might be used to do the work you were quickly called lazy.
If you suggested that there was enough food and shelter for everyone, 

a person just like you stepped in and called you a socialist.
If you questioned wether the wars were inhumane, you were called a 

wimp or unpatriotic.
If you questioned the need for the money system, a polite friend took 

you aside to straighten you out, calling you a utopianist, delusional, 

ignorant of economic science.

If you questioned the motives and honesty of the politicians or the 

media, you were called a conspiracy theorist.
If you questioned the pollution and plastic waste, you were called a 

tree-hugger, with a disgusted laugh.

In this way there was created a kind of social phalanx which could not 

be broken because there was no one to fight. Each slave held the whip 

on his neighbor. Not even the elite rich needed to be aware of the plan. 

They had hidden themselves away behind walled gardens where they 

couldn't see any problem. They could be heard saying "Of corse the 

system works, it works just fine for us." And it did. The structure was perfect. 

The architecture was airtight, top to bottom."
-Neil Collins, from my life.

New Year's Day Dream
Today, January 1st, New Years Day, 2015, I took a nap and then woke up from a vivid and intricate dream. 
The Dream: 
As a gift I got a graphic novel. It was a magic book. The book was blank, like a sketchbook. As I began painting on a page, the book would tell the story by guiding me in what to paint. That would go on for a few pages then it also came with an audiobook. I could listen for awhile then switch back to the painting.Through painting and listening, the story unfolded. At first the story showed an apocalyptic future and explaining how the future had gotten that way. Then the story changed into being about how a Resource Based Economy would come about instead; with many catastrophes, adventures, and idiotic scenarios along the way. I found myself crying as I watched the blundering decisions of the human species. In the end, I saw a series of paintings, in which the donkey and the elephant were doing a variety of absurd activities, surrounded by a scribbled charred mess of a landscape. They played games, they fought, they debated, they held each other at gun point, they competed for paper money - while the earth became a rubble heap; a corpse.