For centuries, many have imagined a better world. Thomas More (16th century English jurist, philosopher and theologian) coined the term utopia (meaning, etymologically, “nowhere”) to speak of an ideal society, back in 1516. Since then, there have been many attempts to imagine perfect societies where peace and harmony reign, and where human beings develop their full potential.
And it is here that The Urantia Book fills us with hope as the revelators affirm that utopia is not only something unattainable but is part of our planetary destiny, and a certain goal in the planetary epochs of mortals. Further, it offers brilliant reflections on the state, democracy, and other human institutions, as well as recommendations for their improvement that are feasible if there is the will to implement them.
To review how we can approach “utopia” in light of Urantia Book teachings, I structure this essay in three parts:
- Politics “down here”: What do the revelators observe about our current conditions?
- Government on a neighboring planet: closer to utopia. Here the revelators describe the government system of an advanced nation on another planet, which surpasses the Urantian government systems in many respects.
- Utopia come true: mortal planetary epochs unfold until the final goal is reached—the ages of light and life.
Politics “down here”
In Paper 70, a Melchizedek of Nebadon states:
Mankind’s struggle to perfect government on Urantia has to do with perfecting channels of administration, with adapting them to ever-changing current needs, with improving power distribution within government, and then with selecting such administrative leaders as are truly wise. While there is a divine and ideal form of government, such cannot be revealed but must be slowly and laboriously discovered by the men and women of each planet throughout the universes of time and space. 70:12.20 (799.1) emphasis added
The form of government we must slowly and painstakingly discover is one with better administrative systems adapted to current needs, improved distribution of power, and truly wise administrative leadership. It also has much to develop from our current level of progress. Today, material prosperity and the accumulation of wealth often eclipse the intrinsic spiritual value of each human being. Attachment to materialistic values hinders individual progress and in turn, that of the community.
True leadership has been an ongoing concern on our planet, certainly compromised by the rebellion of Lucifer and the later default of Adam and Eve. In Paper 114 we read about the “angels of nation life” who are “the directors of the political performances of Urantia national life.” (114:6.8) These seraphim very likely encourage good and true leaders, individuals free of selfishness and corruption, and whose motivations are altruistic––leaders willing to serve and not “be served.”
We are currently witnessing the re-emergence of authoritarian leaders who seem determined to circumvent democratic processes. It is worth bearing in mind that democracy, although a good system, has limitations in certain circumstances. Paper 71 (Development of the State) offers enlightening reflections on democracy, specifying its “dangers”:
- Glorification of mediocrity.
- Choice of base and ignorant rulers.
- Failure to recognize the basic facts of social evolution.
- Danger of universal suffrage in the hands of uneducated and indolent majorities.
- Slavery to public opinion; the majority is not always right. (71:2.2-6)
Democracy requires preparation and training on the part of the people, which is why education is so vital. Only an educated, well-informed populace will have wise criteria to elect the best rulers in a representative democracy, where the best are elected by the people for their abilities, and not for their social position or wealth.
In Paper 71, the revelators discuss in greater depth the institution of the state, on which world civilization is currently based, explaining its origin and the elements which hold it together, and leading us to visualize the ideal state.
The end of section 3 of Paper 71 “The Ideals of Statehood” asserts that in advanced states political service is considered the highest commitment of citizens. Certainly, we can think of examples of individuals in our individual communities and nations who have sought positions in government to serve the greater good. But too often ego, selfish economic interests and “cronyism” have been an ongoing motive for political power.
All political positions should be obtained through a specific vetting of candidates in which their honesty, integrity, intellectual and social qualities are tested. It is curious that for almost all career positions, all kinds of psycho-technical tests are required, profiles are reviewed, and metrics are scrutinized, and yet it seems anyone can become a politician. Is it not absurd that the most responsible and privileged positions do not require any preparation whatsoever? Undoubtedly, this is one more consequence of our confused world.
The desire to serve others must go beyond any personal or political interest; it is the only way for those who rule to be equitable, honest and transparent. Systems are corrupt when the desire to serve others does not exist. We can see it in multiple seats of government: even if an idea is excellent for a whole nation or community, its implementation is blocked because the idea has come from the rival party.
When the leaders of governments become philosophers and scientists as well as businesspeople and lawyers, it is possible that the focus of commerce and economics will be shifted to the individual’s integral development, and then the service they perform will be of the highest value to people. The government would be a government of “wise men,” as Plato proposed in his work, The Laws, in the 6th century B.C.; or as the revelators describe government on a neighboring planet. Unfortunately, this is far from being the case today.
In section 7 of Paper 71 (Education), we are told about the importance of education to achieve the ideal state:
In the ideal state, education continues throughout life, and philosophy sometime becomes the chief pursuit of its citizens. The citizens of such a commonwealth pursue wisdom as an enhancement of insight into the significance of human relations, the meanings of reality, the nobility of values, the goals of living, and the glories of cosmic destiny. 71:7.2 (806.2)
Meanwhile on Urantia, the acquisition of knowledge and material values is ongoing, and competition and the profit motive are encouraged in the hands of businesspeople. Education is short-sighted and oriented to the attainment of material goals. We are very far from wisdom, because we are not educated enough to make an intelligent application of acquired knowledge, we are not oriented towards the improvement of humanity but towards the promotion of material society. Very few people can achieve personal fulfillment by following the values transmitted by today’s education.
Urantians should get a vision of a new and higher cultural society. Education will jump to new levels of value with the passing of the purely profit-motivated system of economics. Education has too long been localistic, militaristic, ego exalting, and success seeking; it must eventually become world-wide, idealistic, self-realizing, and cosmic grasping. 71:7.3 (806.3)
Good education is fundamental to achieve the ideal state, but social and economic differences make it difficult to ensure that a good education will be available to everyone in an equitable manner. Education should be the main concern of those in power, since it is the key to ensuring that citizens have well-formed opinions and can contribute to the harmonious development of society.
In Paper 71, twelve prerequisites for achieving an ideal state are listed, and we are told that “Urantia is far from realizing these high ideals” (71:8.15).
- The creation of a threefold government of executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
- The freedom of social, political, and religious activities.
- The abolition of all forms of slavery and human bondage.
- The ability of the citizenry to control the levying of taxes.
- The establishment of universal education — learning extended from the cradle to the grave.
- The proper adjustment between local and national governments.
- The fostering of science and the conquest of disease.
- The due recognition of sex equality…
- The elimination of toiling slavery by machine invention and the subsequent mastery of the machine age.
- The conquest of dialects — the triumph of a universal language.
- The ending of war…
- The world-wide vogue of the pursuit of wisdom — the exaltation of philosophy. The evolution of a world religion… (71:8).
Which characteristics of this list would we need to work on more? I leave it to your reflection.
Government on a Neighboring Planet: Closer to Utopia
An intriguing inclusion in The Urantia Book is Paper 72, “Government on a Neighboring Planet.” This neighboring planet is not in the age of light and life (and far from being so) but has a system of government that may serve as a reference to bringing us closer to the ideal state.
This nation is a federation of independent states. On Urantia, we have some examples of countries organized in this way. Perhaps the first one that comes to mind is the United States, but in Europe there are other examples, such as Germany and Switzerland, which are composed of smaller states enjoying a great deal of autonomy. The European Union is a step in that direction as well.
What are the advantages of federal republics? Being composed of smaller independent units, local governments are closer to the citizens and their problems than over-centralized governments. And by having a certain degree of autonomy from the central government, they can react more quickly and accurately to problems and situations that arise in their constituency, without having to wait for the more distant central government to make the decision.
Additionally, being part of a larger unit (the confederation) gives these small states a strength that they would not have separately, which saves resources and expenses that would otherwise be multiplied (e.g., defense, energy, etc.).
All states in this continental nation seem to follow the same system of government and election of representatives. Their governors and legislators have a ten-year term of office and cannot be re-elected. This single term limit has the following main advantages:
- This is a sufficiently long period of time to allow long-term actions to be carried out.
- Those in power do not conduct their administration with the sole objective of getting elected again, so their decisions are not purely for electioneering purposes.
- It is a short enough period to prevent rulers from clinging to power and making politics their modus vivendi at all costs.
This advanced nation has separate executive, legislative and judicial branches. The chief executive is elected by universal suffrage for a six-year term and cannot be reelected except in special cases: “upon the petition of at least seventy-five state legislatures concurred in by the respective state governors, and then but for one term” (72:2.3). But an enormously positive feature of this government is the federal head is advised by a cabinet composed of all the previous chief executives. In this way, the chief executive can count on the experience and wisdom of previous office-holders.
For the legislative branch, this nation has three chambers, whose representatives are not elected universally, but are organized according to professional, social, political and philosophical groups, a division not found in our world’s legislative bodies.
Between the one hundred states and the federal state, there seems to be an intermediate organization consisting of ten states, which would form a sub-federation or region. The federal head appoints the ten heads of these regions for a term of office exactly equal to his own (six years). Nor can they be re-elected, but again, the outgoing executive becomes an advisor to the successor.
This nation has an unusual system of allocating votes. Instead of the Urantian “one person, one vote” system, those “who have rendered great service to society” can have additional votes, with a maximum of ten (72:9.3). Additional votes are also available to heavy taxpayers. The right to vote is removed for certain individuals, including those “sentenced to compulsory labor in the mines and government servants supported by tax funds.”
Interestingly, in Paper 45 the concept of weighted votes is described on our system capitol, Jerusem:
Suffrage is universal on Jerusem among these three groups of citizenship [referring to the Material Sons, seraphim and midwayers, and ascending mortals], but the vote is differentially cast in accordance with the recognized and duly registered personal possession of mota — morontia wisdom. The vote cast at a Jerusem election by any one personality has a value ranging from one up to one thousand. Jerusem citizens are thus classified in accordance with their mota achievement. 45:7.6 (518.2)
Another feature of voting on the neighboring planet is that voters are not bound to territorial constituencies but to professional constituencies: citizens vote according to the industrial, social or professional group to which they belong. There is only one exception to this system, and that is when it comes to electing the chief executive, in which there is a national ballot and each citizen has only one vote (72:9.6).
This distribution has benefits, as it strengthens each profession and area of society without detracting from the rest. Each component is like a well-oiled gear that makes the machine of which it is a part function optimally.
Precisely in dealing with this subject, the revelators transmit to us part of the wisdom of this alien nation in some reflections that should give us food for thought about what is happening in Urantia societies:
These people recognize that, when fifty per cent of a nation is inferior or defective and possesses the ballot, such a nation is doomed. They believe the dominance of mediocrity spells the downfall of any nation… 72:9.8 (818.3)
Utopia Come True
In the last sentence of Paper 72 its author, a Melchizedek of Nebadon, designates the ages of light and life as “utopian.” At the beginning of Paper 55, a Mighty Messenger defines the ages of light and life as “the final evolutionary attainment of a world of time and space” (55:0.1).
A striking dynamic throughout The Urantia Book is that individual progress and perfection is occurring alongside planetary progress and perfection. Just as we have the promise of eternity when we recognize the Father and seek to do His will, so do inhabited planets have their eternal survival assured when they are settled in light and life (55:0.3).
Through long planetary epochs, humanity is advancing from the most primitive stages to the peak of material development. The road may be more or less long, but our destiny is certain. A destiny in which, among many other things:
Antisocial elements have been virtually obliterated; life span approaches 500 years; population growth is controlled; they go from representative government to individual self-control. 52:7.5 (599.1)
The workday is one hour per day (52:7.6).
In Paper 55, a Mighty Messenger tells us that a world in the early stages of light and life is “progressing under the momentum of one language, one religion, and, on normal spheres, one race” (55:3.1). He further describes his recent visit to a sphere in the early stages of light and life, noting these government features:
Government funding: every adult worker pays 10% of his income to the public treasury according to the following apportionment: 3% to promote truth (science, education, and philosophy); 3% for beauty (play, social leisure, and art); 3% for goodness (social service, altruism, and religion); and 1% to cover accidents, diseases, or unpreventable disasters (55:3.2-6).
Natural resources are public property (55:3.7).
Planetary social service is one of the highest honors a citizen can receive (55:3.8).
Male-female parity in social, administrative, educational, and judicial positions (55:3.9).
Later in this paper, the Mighty Messenger describes “the physical perfection, the intellectual attainment, and the spiritual development which characterize these advanced epochs of evolution on a sinless sphere” (55:5.1). There will come a day when “poverty and social inequality have all but vanished,” when there is virtually no crime or mental illness; a day when science, art, and industry flourish; a day when economic life becomes ethical; a day when there are no wars, armies, or police; a day when everything drives us to achieve true happiness.
The planetary realization of this era of light and life far more than equals the fondest expectations of Urantia mortals who have entertained no more farseeing concepts of the future life than those embraced within religious beliefs which depict heaven as the immediate destiny and final dwelling place of surviving mortals. 52:7.16 (600.5)
Regardless of our world’s current state of affairs, no matter how unsolvable our problems seem, we can trust that the “Most Highs rule in the kingdoms of men” (a statement appearing multiple times in the book), and that the “acme of material development” is attainable for us. Light and life awaits us at the end of the road. But it will not come by itself. Each and every one of us must be beacons of change.
OLGA LÓPEZ lives near Barcelona, Spain. Married with two daughters, she is a civil servant and works as a computer analyst. She has been a Urantia Book reader since 1995. Trustee since 2022, she is the liaison between the Urantia Book Internet School and Urantia Foundation.