I was required in my undergraduate studies in college to take a sociology course. Sociology was a new discipline, a new study at that time. I could take a lecture or a lab for my credits. I chose to take the lab because it consisted of a few night classes, one long weekend and a final test. It seemed like a pud course to me. I went to the initial class and sat right in front by the door. I sat there so I could get out fast.
We were given a syllabus for the lab at that first lecture the first day. The leaders of the class set up a mock society that we would live in for a 4 day weekend. The first few weeks they gave us personality tests so they could decide who would be the governor or lawyers or doctors or teachers or moms or cashiers or lawn care or street sweepers or homeless in the mock society. The leaders chose me to be the Governor of the first of two Mock Society 4 day weekends in this foundational study for Sociology, a new science.
I was given points for each of the different occupations the leaders had in the society and most importantly I was told each and every person in the Mock Society had to have a certain number of points at the end of each session, lets say 10 points, to be allowed to move through to the next session. If they did not have 10 points, they essentially died. Their expertise or place in society was gone, no longer available for the ______ of society. Some positions were assigned 30 points or more so effectively they could “save” two other people in the Mock society from extinction and still have their own 10 points to move through smoothly. Some positions had 25 points assigned to the, 20 points, 15 points, 10 points, 8 points, 5 points and the lowest in society had 2 points and had to find or create or beg the other 8 points to remain alive.
I should probably mention the grade we received in this Lab course for Sociology depended upon our performance in the Mock society and how long we lived, or how many sessions we were able to get the 10 points and participate in.
Each position in society came with a “job description” that outlined what they must accomplish in the hours allotted for the session. They had to accomplish their chores or duties or they were eliminated and their points were assigned to another participant who did complete their assignment.
I was Governor. Ruler. President. The highest official in the society. There were several hundred of us participating in each of the two Mock Society weekend experiments. I was Governor of the first weekend experiment.
You would think there would be many long sessions with the leaders and developers of the Mock Society experiment so they could give me instructions and tell me how to do my job. Uh Uh. I was handed my “syllabus” in the lecture in the classroom just like everyone else. They did not even announce who was what. We all opened our folders and there was our assignment. Mine was Governor as I have said and my instructions said, “Your job is to keep as many of those in your society alive for as long as you can. Your success as governor will be judged by the number of those in your society who are still participating at the close of the last session.”
??
Really? I tried to ask them questions. They dismissed the room without a word. I had no idea what to expect or even what was going to be required of me. None. I was given 100 points and my own 10 points had to come out of them.
We could gain more points by accomplishments or building something in the society. The weekend experiment took over a building on campus so the grocery store was in one room and the doctors office in another etc. It was pretty easy to decide what ______ was needed by what jobs or positions our participants had. People just found others with their same job or in the same industry and took over a room. I had a few other “rulers” or “senators” or “police” or “first responders” who were basically assigned to me in the headquarters. We met. shared what our job description said and headed out of our space to see what was going on in the other industries. We came back together and each gave a quick report. It was very obvious we had to get the ____ structures in place and moving immediately. Food and shelter was first. Before we really got much in place, the warning bells sounded letting us know the first session was about over. The points would be counted and our success at completing our assigned tasks would be assessed. We were NOT ready. So I just went around to all the ones with the extra points and gathered up all the points they had over 10 and distributed them to those who did not have at least 10. Everyone survived the first session and made it to the next session.
But….these scientists were very clever. They set up the next session so that little tactic would not work again. If people did not have their chores complete they lost points so now there were not enough points in the society to keep everyone alive and through to the next session. Somebody had to grow and succeed and gain more points if everyone was going to live. Then staying alive was my directive.
We really did pretty good. We got food and shelter and medicine for everyone and people were going to their jobs and doing them. We planned new roads and planted food and had chickens and cows. We were a minimally functioning society and every one lived to go to the next session. We were gaining steam! We had extra points and used them to buy supplies to use in our projects to grow our society.
Late in the second day, at the end of the sessions for that day, the game changed completely. The researchers sent a disaster into our society. Now my job was to move the resources around to make sure everyone survived. And with the help and cooperation of everyone, we succeeded. Just as we got our society back up and running again the scientists sent in a new bigger disaster. The lower parts of the society like the homeless were particularly vulnerable. I had to provide for them and still maintain enough points for the people in the society with the positions and expertise to move us forward and provide the needs for everyone. We did barely succeed and everyone lived and made it to the next session and the society was different but rebuilt after that disaster.
At the end of the third day a massive “global” disaster event like the pandemic was introduced into the society. Now what? It was all on my shoulders as governor. Everyone was looking to me for direction and guidance. What was I going to do? What did I want and need each of them to do? Surprisingly, we made it. We put the society back together and gained enough points to keep each and every one of the original participants alive. We cheered and hugged and danced about thinking we had aced the course.
But no. Uh Uh. The leading scientists were actually very upset at us. Said we had failed miserably. Me most particularly. I failed the most.
Huh? How can that be? I brought each and every one of the participants through to the end. Everyone lived.
The scientists said but look around you. Everyone is hungry. The buildings still standing are not habitable. The society is dysfunctional. The people are living in squalor and you have no resources left to build again. You failed.
Me personally. I failed. I failed all who were participating (and some were planted there by the leading scientists) to see how I would handle disaster after disaster. The lesson I was supposed to learn was futility. At some point some of the society had to be sacrificed so the remaining participants could continue to grow and thrive and move the society forward. I wasted too much resource on what would never be able to become a contributing functioning part of a growing and thriving society. I never looked someone in the face and said we don’t need you anymore. Give me your points and go home.
My understanding of my job and my responsibility to the participants and to the society only served to prove why “communism” does not work. Socialism does not work. All for one and one for all does not work. Individuals pulling their own weight in step with others pulling their own weight is the divine mode of operation.
MorningStar-Truth 