My Collective Existence in Response to Ernest Callenbach’s Ecotopia
I am an American citizen by birth, whereby California is my area of residence. California is one of the states of America. Like any other state in America, California is headed by a governor, Gavin Christopher, with Democratic Party. We are among the regions who excluded themselves from the United States. The operations in my area of residence are similar to the other two regions that initially formed Ecotopia after World War II. California is among the developed states in the country following the various aspects of development. For instance, the federal government has been pumping a lot of funds in the department of research. Therefore the state is endowed with technological methods of carrying out operations, especially in the field of production industries, among other fields. Most of our scientists have been collaborating and cooperating with scientists from other parts of the country to exchange ideas among the states that formed Ecotopia. According to William Weston in the novel, the scientists from this particular area are not allowed to share knowledge with any other state apart from the three. “Scientists in Ecotopia are forbidden to accept payments or favor from either state or private enterprise for any consultation or advice they offer” (Callenbach 21). This is due to the fact that the region is protected such that no anybody from other states can access Ecotopia and, therefore, only the regional members who are benefiting.
Infrastructure in the state is developed since the federal government under Gavin Christopher has been working alongside the central government. In the field of communication, modern technology is playing a fundamental role. For instance, the network coverage has been improved through enhancing internet coverage. This has enabled e-conferencing, which is crucial in the education sector. Teaching staff does not need to gather in a common hall since they can hold a meeting at their respective places. Also, methods of teaching have changed due to the technological revolution. Transportation is also developed, and through that, many citizens in the state are engaged in economic activities 24 hours a day in contrast with the early times when workweek involved 20 hours of a job “the other move was to adopt 20 hours as basic workweek” (Callenbach 32). In California, some rules have been set to govern economic practices. For instance, the minimum age for an individual to actively participate in the job market is 18 years. Any age below this is deemed to be child labor, and the entrepreneur can be sued. Every potential entrepreneur is required to be in possession of a license of operation from local authority depicting that it is legally operating. This is among the fundamental legislation that ensures that the goods sold in California are legal and also crucial in tax collection. Additionally, there is free entry and exit of the market, although the Californian governmental involvement is practiced, it is not more deterring.
Some of the social practices considered in the state include education, religion, and sporting. The education system is like of entire America. After the primary, an individual graduates to secondary and then tertiary level. This is the system that was espoused since World War II. Education is federally sponsored. Students, pupils, and other talented non-scholars participate in games, among other entertainment practices. Some of the games for entertainment including but not limited to mini-golf, good for kids, adventurous, and sports complexes. In school, football, volleyball, and hockey, among other sports, are played for students’ leisure (Viswesvaran 356). After the youths graduate from training or tertiary education, they are required to look for a job since they are believed to possess relevant and adequate skills. The level of unemployment is at its critical minimum (Viswesvaran 361). According to Ernest Callenbach, Ecotopia was operating like a landlocked region since they never allowed cross-border movements. This implied that their labor mobility was minimal. However, this is not the case in current California. This is because youths are allowed to travel from one state to another, even working internationally. Also, California receives an alarmingly increasing number of economic immigrants. This situation has stiffened the competition and thus necessitating advertisement of business organizations to ensure that the business’s goods consumption has been increased (Maasik 31). Religiously, in California, we profoundly practice Christianity as the major religion in the region. Also, there are other minor religions like Islamic and Hinduism in California. On the same point, each person in California is free to join any religion of his or her wish. Polygamous marriage is allowed amongst our youths who have attained the age of marriage. The marriage between two men is allowed in America, and so is in California.
The issues of war and conflicts are not many, although they exist. This is mostly due to political issues, religious issues, and family issues. For instance, some people have different political stands in California, especially towards a gubernatorial position, which is the topmost position. These differences are the main sources of war and conflicts in my region (Wilcox n.p). Given that Christianity is the most preferred religion to any other religion, some differences arise on the same issue, and more cases are towards discrimination of Islamic religion. Many attacks have been evident in Islamic places of worship, whereby many people have lost their lives through a mass shooting. Another source of conflict is family differences (Wilcox n.p). This one has been brought about by issues of gender inequalities. The issue of sex differences has a long history in the whole of America, not only in California (Sherkat 168). Women’s and girls’ discrimination is a common phenomenon, although it is reducing but at a lower rate. Following the inequality, women have been deemed to be house workers and never take part in the labor market. Even those manage to secure jobs; they end up working for lower wages. This situation has been associated with an increased dependency of women on men. They, therefore, end up being desperate and experience domestic violence whereby they are beaten and sexually harassed (Sherkat 173). This inequality can also be evident in political issues. Women take minor political positions while men are left to battle for the topmost positions.
Work Cited
Callenbach, Ernest. “Ecotopia: The Notebooks and Reports of William Weston. 1975. Berkeley.”
Maasik, Sonia, and Jack Solomon. Signs of life in the USA: Readings on popular culture for writers. Macmillan, 2011.
Sherkat, Darren E., et al. “Religion, politics, and support for same-sex marriage in the United States, 1988–2008.” Social Science Research 40.1 (2011): 167-180.
Viswesvaran, Chockalingam, and Deniz S. Ones. “Job performance: Assessment issues in personnel selection.” The Blackwell handbook of personnel selection (2017): 354-375.
Wilcox, Clyde. Onward Christian soldiers?: the religious right in American politics. Routledge, 2018.