Book Review: Ecotopia (by Ernest Callenbach)

Lois M. Scheel

1989

Published in:

• Section 3 Newsletter, Nov. 1989, No. 75

As is invariably the case with most writers who attempt to solve our serious social problems with either fiction or nonfiction, Callenbach can't exorcise money, politics and voting from his mind, so his mythical social scheme would be destined for failure if taken seriously. But not in fictional Ecotopia.

Three states secede from the nation of United States: Washington, Oregon and California. They adopt one name, Ecotopia, derived, one assumes, from ecology and utopia. In the beginning their separation brought cries of treason, and U.S. helicopters mercilessly attacked them, but due to Ecotopia's ingenious technology and raw courage, this small nation wins the helicopter war. The Mouse That Roared! Only unlike this fictional screenplay of a small, financially destitute country off the coast of France that attacked the United States with bows and arrows, reasoning that it would lose the war against such a powerful nation and then be rehabilitated by the victor, Ecotopia miraculously rehabilitates itself. A generation later this island unto itself remains self- sufficient, having nothing to do with its neighbor, the United States, although it does associate with certain foreign countries--on its terms.

It is interesting to note that the author chose his Ecotopia where water flows in abundance; climatic temperature ranges are not too severe; sufficient resources provide citizens with a good life, although they are strictly monitored; forests thrive, especially in Oregon and Washington; some of the best farmlands can be found in all three states; and Ecotopia enjoys easy access to major waterways. Now suppose the author had chosen Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska for his Ecotopia. It would have been a different story but most interesting to see how these three centrally aligned states survived after seceding from the nation of United States.

Mandated into law are reforestation programs and protection of existing timber; like India's sacred cows, trees are entitled to protection and respect. Just to show you how sacred these trees are, the citizens of Ecotopia prefer most structures to be built of wood. A few unusual "recyclable" plastic houses dot the landscape, but wood dominates the scene. Even some bicycles sport wooden stands, a mark of distinction. Commendably, Ecotopians recycle everything, even their clothes (no synthetic fabrics here). In fact, wearing home-made garments is encouraged; who exactly will inherit this time-consuming chore from days of yore remains a mystery. At least it wasn't mentioned in the story.

"How good it is to see stars, even in the cities," says the protagonist, William Weston, an investigative journalist for the Times-Post in New York City, who was sent to Ecotopia on an assignment, the first outside reporter to be allowed into this unusual sanctuary since it gained its independence. And what is the reason for all this pure air? There are no fossil-fueled cars, just electronic vehicles. Since the great helicopter battle, no planes fly over Ecotopia. Walking and bicycling are encouraged. Water transportation consists of excursion boats from here to there and back again. Some trucks are in operation to haul furniture and various other heavy items. But fossil- fueled vehicles other than these trucks are forbidden.

If the author, who shows genuine concern over a deteriorating environment, had considered this serious problem on a continental scale, as all thinking North Americans should, he would realize that you can't secede three states from the rest of the nation--or continent--and expect to halt environmental degradation. The scale is too small. Pollution spreads across the continent, and eventually the world, with no respect for boundaries; its contagion touches all life support systems. The Columbia River, which flows between Oregon and Washington State, its vast mouth opening into the Pacific Ocean, its source in another nation to the north fed by other bodies of water, does not honor borders just because earlier primitive modes of travel instigated marking off existing county and state lines on a map. Our present era of immediate communication and high-speed transportation makes these boundary lines obsolete. And in Ecotopia, voting areas have been cordoned off into even smaller factions than in the United States, purportedly to bring about more "community spirit."

And what a good life for women! One has been elected president even, as if changing gender for the highest office in the land would make politics more effective or women more respected. There is absolutely no prostitution because of communal living and open sex. (No mention is made of venereal diseases.) And after much research, women get to choose the man whom they deem worthy of fathering their children. Jealousy, or rivalry, is virtually unheard of. (Part of this story seems to center around "Women's Lib" as the author would like to see it.)

Everybody in Ecotopia accepts abortion as one solution to population control--after a long debate. How simple. No family planning programs. No abortion clinic bombings. No wild demonstrations. No voting. No sex education classes. Just conduct a lengthy debate and get rid of the abortion controversy. Also, Ecotopian citizens came to the agreement that additional children, that is to say more than are needed to round out a family, are more of a burden than an advantage in a highly advanced industrial society. On the other hand, they all believe in free and open sex. It is no big deal to walk down the avenue and find a couple copulating beneath a sacred tree. (The Oregon spotted owls would have a bird's eye-view, assuming that Ecotopians managed to save this endangered species from the greedy logging companies that had attempted to cut the old growth timber, which is this adorable, fluffy, eye-blinking TV personality's habitat.) And now that the over-population threat seems to be solved in Ecotopia, its citizens are encouraged to participate in family farms again (???).

Education in Ecotopia seems to be about as ho-hum as usual with field trips resembling Girl and Boy Scout functions. At an early age, children learn the ethics of hard work. Never mind the technological age that gave Ecotopians the 20-hour work week. But then Ecotopians blame technology for ecological imbalance, not its misuse. (Here we have a pro-gun type mentality in reverse: People don't kill the environment; technology kills the environment.) One difference in education here is the schools are managed and controlled by the teachers. To a great extent the children are being taught with methods resembling those in the United States with the only emphasis on math being how to earn a living. Sound familiar? And with teachers in control, what happens to the infamous bureaucracy of superintendent, principal and PTA? With the elimination of the holy three and teachers in control, it is more than likely that parents will be expected to be seen but not heard, at least not too loudly. One thing to be said for teachers here is they see the importance of diversion from boredom. Children are allowed more physical liberties than in the United States. One supposes by this the author means that children won't be strapped to a desk all those hours but will have breaks that rest their minds while exercising their bodies, a break for teachers as well.

Although wildlife must be hunted with bows and arrows, people can own guns. Violent war games take place where Ecotopian citizens are occasionally killed and often wounded by spears, the only weapons allowed in this cozy little activity. War games take the place of competitive sports, you see, tempering all that violence so inherent in human nature, even replacing the need for war. Conversely, sports are based on personal initiative rather than on incentive as is common in the United States. Evidently war games also take the place of violence in sports.

Crime in Ecotopia is at a minimum, making the streets safe for citizens, although embezzlement and fraud crop up occasionally. You know how Price Systems are. One reason for the reduction in crime is there are no restrictions on growing or smoking pot, and the government curbed drug traffic by taking it over as a monopoly. And the reason government here enjoys beneficial reforms is because of voluntary measures. Just what these voluntary measures are and who volunteers for them seems a little obscure. Ecotopians don't worry about income, sales or property taxes. A land tax seems to cover it all. Those who earn more recognition because of valuable contributions to society will be allowed to work less than the 20-hour week to make up for it. (No mention is made of human-hours versus machine-hours.) And a guaranteed minimum wage keeps even the laziest citizen from abject poverty, although 20 hours of work a week will boost wages above the poverty level, so incentive continues to play a big part in Ecotopian life--except in sports of course.

Supervisors in the job force respect their workers and often take advice from them. Why? They are elected to their jobs and want to keep them--not picked for their qualifications. So the only change here is a reversal in status quo, making workers no more compassionate than their overseers were in the past.

Scientists are not paid for their advice as this would only corrupt them. How they make their living remains a mystery. Why they prefer to stay in a small nation that doesn't respect them is an even bigger mystery. And why single out scientists to not get paid for advice? Why not politicians, insurance agents, lawyers or psychiatrists, the modern-day witch doctors?

Some Ecotopian body of thought came to the decision that, by employing standardization, products can be manufactured so they are long lasting and easily repaired; that there is no reason why Ecotopian vehicles couldn't be automated entirely due to standardization and its resultant simplification. (Don't look now, but we're talking about science and its capabilities through engineering expertise.)

Hospital treatment certainly seems more humane, more caring, and so different from what we have come to expect. Each patient has a nurse of the opposite sex assigned especially to her, or to him, for the entire time spent recovering while in the hospital. Our hero, injured by a spear in a war game, never ceased to be amazed at the beautiful nurse provided him who sat at his bedside, massaging him periodically. All kinds of titillating things happened during his recovery. One can't help but wonder if the same procedure applies to everyone--say octogenarians--or suppose our patient had been assigned a 250 pound middle-aged hardliner ready for retirement.

Even Van Gogh and Picasso take second seats to Ecotopian talent, which is encouraged and always comes first. Although most Ecotopians have record collections, they will not go out of their way to hear a famous group if one of their own is performing at the same time. It's amazing how these Ecotopians got to be a nation of sheep in such a short time. But what a boon this would be for new talents who find it extremely difficult to compete with Beethoven, Chopin, Picasso, Elvis Presley or other long-ago artists.

So William Weston left his ex-wife, two children and girlfriend to live with the beautiful Marrisa (not his nurse) who chose him to father her children. Of course his children in the United States will have visitation rights in Ecotopia. Since this is fiction and anything goes, one must say this for the author: He is endowed with a terrific imagination.

What is unimaginable is what Ralph Nader, Consumer Advocate, has to say about this book: "The book's impact...is the breadth of perspective that envelops the reader. None of the happy conditions in Ecotopia are beyond the technical or resource reach of our society." This from an intelligent man who ignores factual evidence on social trends offered to him for investigation by Technocracy's supporters, even though this evidence has been brought to his attention more than once. Instead he supports fiction that is wrought under a silly Price System where citizens never cross the boundaries of Ecotopia in pursuit of a better life, even though they could make more money--fiction at its ultimate.

The author molds his territory with a mixture of obsolete methods of social management and technological advancement. The only other internal combustion engine to be let into Ecotopia besides service trucks were the taxi that transported William Weston 20 miles into Ecotopia--and only if the wind was blowing in the right direction. But Ecotopians enjoy an intelligent magnetic-levitated train system. For the most part, though, Callenbach glosses over the vital problems that confront any society with simple-sounding solutions. Some problems seem to have reached their solution by the stroke of an Aladdin's Lamp to produce the problem-solving jinni, or its equivalent magic wand.

But then in the United States we have our Star Wars program and news media horoscope and astrology hoopla columns, full-page articles featuring Sasquach and UFO sightings, not to mention some of our best scientist’s still pursuing outer space for intelligent life. In the meantime our educational systems corrode into political institutions where the pursuit of profit seems to be the only learning worth while.