I don't think it's ever really been possible to shape social forces with that kind of careful, deliberate planning.
This fits right in with work I'm doing through my Workable Utopias platform, so I have to mount a gentle rebuttal. I agree with you that precise planning of human affairs won't work, and when it's been tried, it's been oppressive, as in the USSR. But deliberate social planning that has been more or less successful at changing systems and improving cultures is everywhere. A few examples:
* US Constitution * Global abolition of slavery * Social safety nets (ex. Scandinavia) * Universal public education * Democracy * The Civil Rights Movement
We probably mean different things by social planning, but these are all examples/outcomes of deliberate movements to change how social systems work, and they're all imperfect, but they've all done a lot of good.
As to fandom, you're right, it was a cold and lonely offline place for me too.
no subject
This fits right in with work I'm doing through my Workable Utopias platform, so I have to mount a gentle rebuttal. I agree with you that precise planning of human affairs won't work, and when it's been tried, it's been oppressive, as in the USSR. But deliberate social planning that has been more or less successful at changing systems and improving cultures is everywhere. A few examples:
* US Constitution
* Global abolition of slavery
* Social safety nets (ex. Scandinavia)
* Universal public education
* Democracy
* The Civil Rights Movement
We probably mean different things by social planning, but these are all examples/outcomes of deliberate movements to change how social systems work, and they're all imperfect, but they've all done a lot of good.
As to fandom, you're right, it was a cold and lonely offline place for me too.