Katie Raney

Critical Thinking in Ecotopia: An Examination of Utopian Education

One of my primary interests throughout the course this semester has been examining the education in utopias and dystopias, relating to objective 5b which asks, “What does utopian / dystopian literature instruct us about education?”  Specifically, I have been interested in looking at the way the different societies value or repress literacy and critical thinking skills. From our readings and my research postings, I have found that literacy and critical thinking skills play a primary role in emerging from a dystopia or a vital role in having a successful utopian society.  However, Ecotopia is a utopian novel that seems to break the rules, as literacy does not appear to be leading factor in this utopian society! Reducing their schools to farms, some Ecotopians even “miss the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic, though they tend to learn them in concrete contexts,” exhibiting how literacy is not as fundamental to their education system has it has been in other works that I have read (Callenbach 130). Even so, to branch off of my past ideas, I wanted to take an in-depth look at the critical thinking skills, rather than literacy, that do happen inside of Ecotopia, and I am hopeful about finding that their education may not be so different after all! Though they do not focus on literacy, they do pour their resources into acquiring knowledge and applying it to their lives.

          When Will first arrives in Ecotopia, he cannot help but make underhanded remarks about how backwards he perceives the Ecotopians.  In describing their transportation system, he remarks that their “vehicles obviously cannot satisfy the urge for speed and freedom which has been so well met by the American auto industry and our aggressive highway program” (Callenback 29). Here, Will uses the word “obviously” as if it is common knowledge that the Ecotopians are far inferior, and he describes the American highway program as “aggressive” as if Americans are continually making strides for improvement, unlike the Ecotopians.  The highway system is not the only part in which Will casts judgments about the Ecotopians’ seeming inferiority.  This also happens when he discusses the medical system saying that the Ecotopians “have probably turned medical science back fifty years.”  He even adds that he has “visions of being bled,” an archaic outdated means of medical treatment (24). Interestingly, this exact treatment is used as the description of medical treatment in Anthem, which is noted in my midterm, which does indicate a society where learning has not progressed. In describing the schools, Will goes on to write that they are “perhaps the most antiquated aspect of Ecotopian society” (126).

However, as one examines the society further, they see that Ecotopia is a civilization that may not be as backward as Will first speculates, proving that they have advanced knowledge and critical thinking skills. Upon first entering Ecotopia, Will is unable to identify the plants and greenery on the train.  However, his Ecotopian companions are able to “[reel] off their botanical names with assurance” and ease (8), showing they do have knowledge that Will himself did not possess. Additionally, it is the “educational campaigns” in Ecotopia that point out “that synthetic fiber production used far more electricity and water, and produced far more noxious by-products than natural fiber production” (94). Also in the society, “intellectual discussion is enjoyed almost for its own sake, as an art” (144). They may not adhere to our American standards, but through these examples knowledge and critical thinking are seen in the society. 

Though their education is not focused on literacy, advancements in technology and innovation prove that their education system is more functional than at first glance. In one of his articles, Will discusses how a radio is “powered by a waterwheel,” and he goes on to write that “some clever inventor” engineered it (114).  Here, we see that the Ecotopians do have the ability to create technological advancements.  They even have a National Science Foundation in which one invention won them the Nobel Prize (140). Furthermore, “special types of oceanographic research are highly advanced,” and Will records that they even have a team that is working to “decode the ‘speech’ of dolphins” (140). Will even directs his attention back to the medical field later in the novel and writes that “mental illness has shown a decline since Independence,” and “the Ecotopian streets are not enlivened by the numerous and obvious crazies [Americans] are familiar with in [their] cities,” showing a breakthrough in this society that Americans have not been able to conquer (156). Also, in describing the university level of education, Will insists that universities have “facilitated the adoption of so many startling innovations so quickly,” and they engage in “intellectual rigor” (143-144).  Even in the helicopter crisis, the Ecotopians are able to shoot down the helicopters “as fast as they [come] in” proving their military prowess (125).  Not only are they able to shoot down thousands of American planes, the allegedly educated American public is completely unaware of this; yet, it is common knowledge in Ecotopia.  These facts do not seem to point to a stagnant, ignorant society.  Rather, they point to a society that promotes learning and thinking.

In some respects, the Ecotopian school system also proves utopian as it seems to parallel the education in Herland. In Herland, Van remarks that “[the women] had worked out a chemistry, a botany, a physics, with all the blends where a science touches an art, or merges into an industry, to such fullness of knowledge as made us feel like schoolchildren” (Perkins Gilman 64).  This statement seems familiar to the education described in Ecotopia when Will comments that “they seem to have an astonishing scientific sophistication” (Callenbach 127).  He then goes on to describe how a six-year-old is able to look at a “creepy-looking bug” and remark, “Oh yes, that’s the larval stage” (Callenbach 127).  Scientific knowledge such as this seems to be something that both societies embrace.  In Herland and Ecotopia, the societies also seem to have the idea that education is not something that should be stringently forced with rules.  In Ecotopia, while doing an interview, Will details a teacher’s response that says American schools have a “prison atmosphere,” but the schools in Ecotopia enable children and nature to “grow” (Callenbach 126). Similarly, in Herland, “the babies and little children never felt the pressure of that ‘forcible feeding of the mind that we call ‘education’” (Perkins Gilman 95). Both of these examples show the freedom that the children have in these environments to learn. Also, both societies seem to emphasize the idea that learning does not have to take place in a classroom.  In Herland, “the children are taught throughout life” which is seen as we read that “before them stretched the years of learning and discovery, the fascinating, endless process of education” (Perkins Gilman 104).  In fact, Van reinforces this idea when he writes that the women of Herland gave “all education but no schooling” (Perking Gilman 106). This is analogous with the education system in Ecotopia that is also a “part of everyday life” that takes place at school or in any environment (Callenbach 126). In both societies, the children are away from the strict rules of the classroom, and these ideas seem to work for the societies, as they produce citizens that seem productive and engage in critical thinking skills.

This is quite a contrast to some of the dystopian societies that I have studied throughout the semester that showed not only a lack of literacy but also a lack of critical thinking skills, which I think is the biggest thing that I have reconsidered through the last portion of the semester. While conducting research for my first research posting, I came across a motto of the Nazi party that said, “We think with our blood,” illustrating how they had placed the emphasis on becoming killing machines rather than intellectual, critical thinkers (Grunberger 298).  Also, as I discussed in my midterm, there was an astounding repression of critical thinking skills in dystopian literature. For example, we see this when Equality goes before the Council, introduces his technology, and is refuted by them when they remark that “all men must” “[abandon] their ideas” (Rand 73). These dystopias show a clear repression of critical thinking, not just literacy. Though there is a lack of literacy in Ecotopia, the citizens seem to be encouraged to think and invent for society, unlike the dystopias previously mentioned.

One thing that Ecotopia helped me to discover is that utopian education does not always place an emphasis on literacy.  However, utopias are always coupled with critical thinking.  The ability to think for one’s self, contribute to society, and be a productive, active learner is something that is required for a utopian vision which is evidenced in Ecotopia and Herland.  Though I have previously been able to connect it to literacy directly, I realize that it may not need the direct relation with literacy.  The most essential component to utopian education is critical thinking.