This year has been….different. So I figured in honor of this year that was anything but normal, I’d play a little dystopia…

Cue the twilight zone music….

Imagine if you will…

What if…

Two adult household. Man/woman- woman/woman-man/man-

Only one of the adults is allowed to work. One adult can’t have a job that pays. The “non-working” person would be expected to volunteer in the community.

One adult in the household would be required  to work- at any time the adults in the household would be allowed to switch positions- whereas the person working outside the home would be the new stay at home.

In cases of single family households, that person would be allowed to work, and childcare would be provided by  “non working” neighbors (it takes a village). The expectation would be that single would not remain single for long. Residences with one adult are taxed at twice the rate of doubles.

Young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 would be expected to work part time as an apprentice (half salary) and would be required to live in dormitory type residences. The expectation would be that they partner up by the time they are 25.

25 is the new age of majority.

Retirement would be at age 75.

No one is allowed to have more than one child.

In this dystopian universe, how do you think life plays out?

62 thoughts on “Dystopia- Day One”

  1. Not well. New world orders will always be marred by those who escaped the end of the previous order, those who can still think for themselves, or learn to think for themselves through the meager supply of books and treatise and yes, I will give you this LA– even a possible inherent will to rebel (survive)!

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    1. I’m playing with the idea of the greater good. Would society as a whole be better under certain circumstance… group over individual. I’m playing with education for tomorrow…

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      1. While the idea of society over individual may seem like a utopia I think it would be a hard sell for too many. Intellectually most of us “get” the idea of that greater good; realistically individuality and personal freedom seem to win out…

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      2. It all comes into the whole “fairness” issue too. What is fair? I thought about this today because I wondered if society would be better is only one adult per household was allowed to work because that would mean “more” jobs because “less” in workforce, and possibly higher wage. I evolved from that initial idea into this….I’m just playing with ideas right now…thought it would be a fun avenue to explore asan alternative reality. What needs to be broken…what can be repaired….what should be replaced….

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  3. It sounds a lot like the 1950’s. Unfortunately, women were only allowed certain roles then – housewife – teacher – nurse – maid, and none had the opportunity of breaking the glass ceiling as there was no expectation of advancement without ridicule. It wouldn’t matter if the 2 partners were equally brilliant in their particular fields, one would have to give up his/her position. And who makes that choice? So I guess I’m one of those ‘rebels’ who would sneak out and spread the word. And if no children occurred? Then what? And to make a singleton pay double? Rebellion right there. There are always drawbacks to any form of government. I don’t believe there’s a single country ‘out there’ that doesn’t have it’s share of dissidents for one reason or another.

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    1. It could be chosen randomly which partner works and which doesn’t. And no children would actually be preferable because you would keep population under control. This would also assume that things are jobs not careers…employment would be necessary only to further society, not further the individual. I’m going to do a dystopian education and job thing tomorrow and Wednesday. I’m just playing with ideas

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  5. LA,
    I’ve never liked dystopian fiction or IRL. I think what those who’ve commented prior makes more sense. The moment we start trying to force what one person or an elite group believes is “good for all,” I think we lose sight that we are human beings and aren’t automatons. I like checks and balances in government and I like as much freedom to screw my life up without blaming the government as possible. BTW, there is no such thing as fair. Never has been and never will be and when you try to even out the playing field, it doesn’t seem to work. Humans are too cunning and self-motivated. Mona

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    1. I’m totally agreeing with you in theory. I just thought I’d throw out some ideas to provoke a little thought and open discussion. How far does everyone gets a trophy really go? As with everything…what’s the balance?

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  6. My first thoughts were you can’t control people for long. Then I though about your list a little more

    Only one of the adults is allowed to work. One adult can’t have a job that pays. The “non-working” person would be expected to volunteer in the community.

    This would be OK just as long as the person working really made enough for the family to live on

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    In cases of single family households, that person would be allowed to work, and childcare would be provided by “non working” neighbors (it takes a village). The expectation would be that single would not remain single for long. Residences with one adult are taxed at twice the rate of doubles.

    What can I say, how about NO, In a fair society no way could a single person be asked to pay double the taxes of a couple, and you can’t force people into relationships, what if they are living with a violent partner .

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    Young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 would be expected to work part time as an apprentice (half salary) and would be required to live in dormitory type residences. The expectation would be that they partner up by the time they are 25.

    Mmmmmm forcing young people into relationships not really a good idea, and why would the world want people in relationships if family wasn’t important. I get the feeling that this world you are talking about has no love of family, the fact that children are sent to others to look after and then sent away at 18, this world only wants people to work, for what I presume is the greater good, which never actually is the greater good.

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    25 is the new age of majority.

    I am still thinking about this one

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    Retirement would be at age 75.

    and then what, do these people then live happily and comfortably for the rest of their natural life, or is there something darker in store?

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    No one is allowed to have more than one child

    Now this one I sort of agree with short term, lets say 20-30 years. Bur then we are back to the what happens to the elderly, who looks after them? It would take a few years for the population to even out.

    This world is far to restrictive for the human spirit.

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  7. Retirement at age 75 sounds scary to some unless we write for a living and become best seller novelists or we could win the lottery. Are we paying for the internships of the younger crowd or their healthcare?

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      2. Everyone pays. Everything is done with the intention of society being greater than the individual. Everyone has a me,bet of the household who works. Everyone has a member who volunteers. People who live as singles pay more because they are a greater burden on society because they are unable to volunteer time. There is no other option

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      4. Can I go live in another country and by default give up my passport? What a good book idea or maybe a good post idea. Can I make fun of people living in the dystopia society or will I get in trouble?

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  8. 🙂 First of all I had to Google the meaning of dystopia so I’ve genuinely learnt something today! Appears to me you’re giving singleton’s no option except tax them into getting married….. and now my brain hurts lol.

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    1. I knew I’d make people’s brains hurt…well…in this society…singles put a bigger drain on resources because they require a unit that could be housing multiples instead of singles. Plus, they’re not adequately volunteering their time towards the community

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  9. Don’t get me wrong, I think the population explosion globally has led to some dire consequences over time. That said, it’s actually changing and it’s not as if we DON’T have ways in which we can facilitate life on earth for a bigger family (so to speak), but we haven’t done so.

    So if we were to adopt such a lifestyle, there would be push back. And the consequences would probably end up being worse in the long run, I think.

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