Hans Achterhuis is a philosopher, in 2012 he became ‘thinker of the country’ in the Netherlands. In his book ‘The utopia of the free market’ he tries to show that not only fascism or communism are based on an imaginary and overly positive vision of the future. In his earlier ‘the legacy of utopia’ (1998) he forgot to consider the current dominant ideology – neoliberalism. An ideology can be so embedded in society that the paradigm is no longer questioned.
Table of contents
- The Utopia: Ayn Rand – Atlas Shrugged
- Utopia or dystopia?
- Paradigm Shift
The Utopia: Ayn Rand – Atlas Shrugged
As the most important expression of the utopian ideal behind neoliberalism, he unmasks Ayn Rand’s bestseller ‘Atlas Shrugged’ (1957). He places this story among other utopias, such as Thomas More’s ‘Utopia’, the age-old founder of the genre. Like any other utopia, this book has a logical structure. First there is the analysis of the current social situation, which is very bad. Alternatives are then presented for the current (economic and social) system. This is followed by an outline of a very positive end point: the realization of the utopia.
Utopia or dystopia?
However, history shows that in the actual pursuit of utopia, it usually ends up in a dystopia. The dystopia is a failure, the end situation is as bad (or worse) than the initial situation from which the ideology arises. This is how communism fared, with the dystopian reality of genocide in several countries. In the same way, the fascist ideal also ended, with mass murders and a society that was anything but ideal. The failure could be due to the resistance of individuals and organizations to fully buy into the ideology. But if that is the case, the utopia sought may not be as ideal an endpoint as is commonly believed.
The book pays a lot of attention to the historical position of the current dominant ideology, neoliberalism. In addition, Achterhuis points out with clear examples how it can happen that an ideology becomes so intertwined with the ‘mainstream’, such as in the media. In his very precise, but also narrative style, Achterhuis takes you on a journey through a short history of ideologies, based on a utopia.
Paradigm Shift
Because of the dominant character of ideology in collective thought, assumptions from ideology are accepted as facts. Discussing this is seen as strange behavior, as a lack of a sense of reality. However, throughout history it is always those who dare to break radically with the prevailing paradigm who can bring about a ‘paradigm shift’. In order to make new discoveries in science, but also in philosophy, it is sometimes necessary to completely distance yourself from that dominant line of thought.
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- Recycling as mining
- Nihilism: the truth does not exist