Whatever. Who cares. Just do it. These are the archetypal phrases embodying the character of American society in the 21st century. From low voter turnout to just a general apathetic attitude towards society, these thoughts permeate the social consciousness of Americans today. One might ask, so how did this happen? What happed to the legendary democracies of Greece where people voted and were actively engaged in discourse at the public forum? Is not America supposed to be the premier example of what democracy is? Surprisingly, Plato and the other philosophers of ancient Greece would argue that Americans are merely fulfilling their democratic institution. To Plato, it is from this very system that American apathy grows. Furthermore, this apathy continues to fester until it is a self-created tyranny. So is America doomed to tyranny? Fortunately, the answer is a resounding NO! Plato’s progression of democracy into tyranny underestimates man’s desire for stability. In order to investigate this progression, let us look at the future state of the world according to Neuromancer by William Gibson.

In his dystopian novel, Gibson creates a world, which, surprisingly, could be our near future Technology has proliferated so much so that there is nothing bad or good in the world but all is equal. Morality has been erased by technological improvement, taking away the consequences of our actions. Instead, having no overarching structure or consciousness, people are led by their individual desires to look out for number one. This creates a nightmarish scene of coercion, backstabbing and fear with the desires of the strong ruling over the rest. To quote Rousseau, “I would have above all, have fled a republic, in which people… foolishly reserved the administration of civil affairs and the execution of their own laws.”[1] Both Plato and Rousseau believe that man cannot handle true democracy’s investment power in the common people. Furthermore, in this digression to a state of nature, people are relegated to exist as the sum of their actions. As Molly states in Neuromancer “Anybody any good at what they do, that what they are, right? You gotta jack, I gotta tussle.”[2] In this worldview, there is no meaning beyond what you think of yourself. If a charismatic leader has strong enough desires to rule they are able to. Freedom to act is replaced by oppression. Here, “Things aren’t different. Things are things.”[3] Absolute relativism has thus taken over in a Darwinian struggle for power.

So again, what is the solution? How does one prevent our society from turning into that of Neuromancer’s? Here is where Plato and Rousseau part ways presenting two contrasting views of society. Plato believes that there are different classes of people and that each class should be ‘socialized’ to create a well-functioning society. This means raising children outside of the family structure and guarding all the youth encounter. In this system, people give up their personal identity and subject themselves to the meritocracy in enforcing their “gold, silver and bronze roles”.[4] However, the same problems still exist as in the democracy turned tyranny. Now there is forced coercion from the philosopher kings instead of those with strongest desires as in Rousseau’s state of nature. Rousseau takes a more diplomatic view to the question. He states that man enters the social contract “to guard the weak from oppression, to restrain the ambitious, and secure to every man the possession of what belongs to him.”[5] Man sees that he needs a well-ordered society in which to operate. This is the beginnings of the answer to the question of the world’s problems and its descent to tyranny.

To expand upon this, a tangible example can be seen in the September 28th issue of The New York Times. The articles portrays student co-ops and the culture surrounding them. It states that co-ops have “grown up in reaction to the alienating aspects of modern campus life, where the increased presence of technology, while enabling certain kinds of connection, has had a hand in limiting others.” This article speaks directly to the issues manifest in the world of Neuromancer. Although people are more connected through cell phones and facebook there still is a lack of interaction and true friendship. Obviously, the answer to the world’s problems is more than student co-ops but the natural desire for community and order inherent in man puts him on the right track. Going beyond Rousseau, in order for this community to be able to occur man needs to take his desire for community further and take on a heart of service. It is from this desire to serve and have close friendships with others that government based upon freedom can exist which saves the world from tyranny. In friendship, we can determine laws together and not as a separate bodies, imposing laws on one another.

However, in order to make this happen we need to the create whole new society. This new society looks like taking the idea of democracy and that all people are created equal and really applying them in light of holding on to freedom and a moral framework. In this new society, is the leaders job to facilitate conversation amongst people and to always have the people’s will on their mind. It is their job to make consultations of the entire group able to happen. In this, it is not about campaigning to get elected but rather in one’s ability to serve. It is only from this service of one another that one can be free. With this, we can look at the life of Christ as a model. The Son of God came down and became one of us to serve the poor. He, the leader, washed his disciples feet and being sinless died so that all may live. That is how to have a well ordered society. Its not about some big government institution stepping in to solve all of our problems but it is us stepping up and being leaders who serve. This is the ideal of government. We need to have a social consciousness in which we look our for our brothers and sisters and serve them. In this attitude of service is the only way to promote this freedom. Others acknowledge our gifts and talents and create an environment in which we can grow. Here, people can be truly be who they are in a society where everyone looks out for eachother On the contrary, if everyone only looks out for themselves naturally things clash and there is no common framework in which to operate. Furthermore, all this relates back to man’s apathy. If he is only caring about himself that is why he is apathetic. This is why the mentality of “whatever,” “who cares” “just do it” comes in to play. People only concerned for themselves seem to have strange conundrum of not knowing what it is they should do and who they should be. They do not look to society and have roles models of how to act. They do not have a social consciousness of what is going on in the world. They do not see all the problems of the world and how much the world is really a mess. However, with good solid relationships with one another we can see how to serve onanother and how to grow ourselves.

This new society needs a lot of common groundwork that needs to be laid. People need to particularly need to fight their natural inclinations taking self-preservation too far and thinking that they have to just do it themselves. People need to learn how to participate in the conversation. This happens on a couple levels. It happens with people learning how to formulate articulate ideas about the world around them and themselves. In terms of the world around them, this can happen in schools. Studying the causality and the fundamental questions about why we are here is how this occurs. It is not about reading x’s interpretation of Aquinas, or y’s idea of what Aristotle was trying to say but forming their own ideas and having something intelligent to say. This happens in discussing in an ordered fashion what the arguments are on the table and what their own reactions are to them. Grappling with these big ideas is how people learn. Furthermore, it can open their eyes for how to serve other people better and what their needs are which in turn helps them grow personally. It helps them be able to have meaningful conversations with one another and to really be able to share their life. It is only through sharing life and conversation that people can honor one another and participate in the true freedom of democracy. This can be as simple as asking someone “Tell me about your day” to dropping what one is doing and going to help out their neighbor who needs help re-doing their roof. Through this, one can grow in how to change the world. All of these things are just some of the keys for how to avoid the world of Necromancer. However, this new society takes one to be completely sold out. It cannot be done half-hearted. As in everything, all of us must do our part to make it succeed. It takes hard work and humility but it is how to get things done. We must trust our brothers and sisters and serve in love as Christ our Lord.

[1] “Discourse on the Origin of Inequality” Jean-Jacques Rousseau, pg. 6

[2] “Neuromancer” William Gibson pg. 50

[3] Ibid. pg. 259

[4] “Plato’s Republic” Book III

[5] “Discourse on the Origin of Inequality” Jean-Jacques Rousseau, pg. 6