Quote from R.A. Lafferty
This is from PAST MASTER by R.A. Lafferty. Like many a work of his, the satire is so sharp it burns like acid.
In this scene, Thomas More, philosopher, author, statesman, and the author of UTOPIA, has been brought forward by time travelers, perhaps by mistake, to be elevated by fake election to be world-leader of the perfect planet, Golden Astrobe which, inexplicably, is dying of its imperfections.
I suspect R.A. Lafferty selected Thomas More as his protagonist, because he is that rare combination of saint and lawyer. The two professions rarely mix.
In this scene, Thomas More is building a coalition for the fake election. Voting is done by perfect telepathic robots reading the minds and intentions of every citizen, weighed for sagacity, and then informing the voters of what decision is best for them.
Thomas More meets with the leader, and the sole member, of the Crank party, led and manned by a man whose name is Crank.
Hear him speak:
“I believed it a mistake when pornography was given equal time in the schools with ethics, and both compulsory.
“I believed it a mistake when the law was enacted that perversion and normalcy should be given equal space and time in literature and on stage, though at that time normalcy gained by the ruling.
“I think it a mistake that marriages may be terminated by an Evaluator against the wishes of the parties concerned.
“I think it wrong that nothing may be taught in the schools that is not in accord with the Golden Dream.
“I think it wrong that a law should be able to deny offspring to private persons.
“I believe it was a serious error when the Psychologs were made a privileged class with powers of entry and seizure.
“I believe that the human person should be inviolate, and that mechanical tampering with the brain of an individual should not be allowed. An adjustability chart should not be everything particularly when it cannot be adjusted.
“I believe that a man should be allowed to choose his own occupation and his own unhappiness.”
My comment: I note that this was written in AD 1968, before satire was taken as sober advocacy, and the things here offered as outrageous excesses of a far planet in the far future were not matters currently in the newspapers, or soon to be.
However, Lafferty, as well as More, were Catholic, and animated by the same spirit, so the cream of the jest is to overhear the humor-impaired attempt to unpuzzle what is perfectly clear to any with eyes to see:
As an unintentional satire, I here quote from a famous online encyclopedia, which apparently thinks itself non-partisan, and cannot tell when they are beings fooled or sounding foolish. If only a man named Hylathoday would speak to them:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utopia_(book)#Interpretation
Utopia has many of the characteristics of satire, and there are many jokes and satirical asides …. Yet, the puzzle is that some of the practices and institutions of the Utopians, such as the ease of divorce, euthanasia and both married priests and female priests [sic], seem to be polar opposites of More’s beliefs and the teachings of the Catholic Church of which he was a devout member.
Yes, I am not making this up. That is from the actual entry. I added no words. The phrase “seem to be polar opposites” is actually in there.
And, yes, the trained dodo penning this drool actually wrote the words “female priest” rather than “priestess.” I am wonder if he will write an article about the Elizabeth I, who was a famous Female King.
Another puzzle, according to the entry, is that Thomas More, a lawyer, mocked lawyers.
A third puzzle is the religious tolerance of Utopia, where even atheism was welcome, whereas More, in his office as Lord Chancellor, punished heretics.
(The idea that Satanist and Christian tolerate each other only when each holds his own religion to be not paramount is not a thought freethinkers are free to think.)
A final puzzle is the various asides and in-jokes, where the features, offices, and neighbors of Utopia, like the island itself, are given mocking names in dead languages: Amaurot, the capital of Utopia, is found on the banks of the river, Anyder. Or, in other words, the Blindness which rules Nowhere is on a Waterless River. Likewise their neighbors are Achorians (No Place) and Alaopolitans (No People) their enemies are Anemolians, (Windy Boasters), and their allies are Nephelogetes (Born of Clouds). More translates his own name into Greek as Momus, the god of mockery.
How can anyone figure out what Thomas More actually meant?
Ah, but intellectuals will rush to our aid!
The interpretations listed by the article as “highly influential” come from scholars rejoicing in the names Skinner and Greenblatt, one of whom argues that More was advocating an abolition of private property as necessary for the happiness of a commonwealth; the other that More was advocating Epicureanism, where pleasure-seeking is the foundation of life.
This article does not say whether Skinner or Greenblatt interpret Jonathon Swift’s GULLIVER’S TRAVELS, to mean Swift was advocating extracting sunlight from cucumbers, or letting highly rational horses exterminate mankind.
The idea that More was mocking the crackpottery of intellectuals as godless hence poisonous to human life is not mentioned, even in passing.
What is unimaginable need not be refuted, it seems.
About John C Wright
John C. Wright is a practicing philosopher, a retired attorney, newspaperman, and newspaper editor, and a published author of science fiction. Once a Houyhnhnm, he was expelled from the august ranks of purely rational beings when he fell in love; but retains an honorary title.
