In a different place, and a different time, there is a country ruled by a totalitarian government. The government is not cruel. They have good—but often misguided—intentions. With good intentions, the government experiments on its people. It is an attempt to create the perfect society. One such experiment takes place along the banks of a great river. On one side of the river is the town of Utopia. On the other side is the town of Anarchia.
Everyone in Utopia lives a perfect life. It is perfectly planned for the enlightenment of each individual. Like clockwork, each resident wakes thirty minutes before sunrise, washes up, does some meditation, exercises, reading, and writing. Then they have a light breakfast and a cup of coffee before going to do their jobs. They work a variety of jobs, carefully chosen by government authorities to suit their individual strengths and interests. For the most part, everyone is happy with their jobs. Most of the jobs allow them to work from home at the computer, or outside their homes at hours of their choosing. After a short workday of about four hours, they have lunch, go to the gym to work out, come home to tinker with their hobbies, enjoy their families, and go to bed. But they are not fully happy. Their lives are perfect, but everything is planned and strictly enforced by the government. They are not truly free. Those who do not conform disappear. The whole schedule is dictated by the government. They must work their job. They must wake thirty minutes before sunrise. They must go to the gym. They must work on their hobbies. Though they are content, they are not free.
Anarchia, on the other hand, has no rules. People do whatever they want, but they cannot leave Anarchia. Most of the residents do the bare minimum of work to survive, such as some subsistence farming in their backyards. A few are more entrepreneurial and forward-thinking, putting in hard work to profit from others so they can have more. Most live in a hedonistic way, seeking instant gratification. Many residents do drugs and partake in bodily pleasures all day when they are young, but as they age, their health deteriorates to the point where they stop partaking in bodily pleasures and just do drugs until they die. There is much more crime in Anarchia than in Utopia. It is probably because of the drugs. Their lives are free and they can do whatever they want, but they are not fully happy. There is no sense of community. It’s everybody for themselves. Every home is barricaded and everyone carries a weapon to protect themselves because they can fully trust no one. There is no order and purpose to their lives. The residents have no sense of duty or sacrifice. But for the most part, the residents are happy with their freedoms, especially the ones who accumulated the most wealth and power among their peers. However, the ones who felt that they got an unfair turn at life, they look across the river at prosperous Utopia and see people working together toward a perfect society and a common goal. They see happy families and fulfilled dreams. They see a big brother reaching out to them and showing them how to live the perfect life.
In which town do you choose to live?