NationStates Jolt Archive

Well, after reading the dystopic vision of If skies were Green's "perfect" society, I got to wondering: Would it be possible to dream up a society that is actually worse than the one he describes?

So then I figured: Working together, this forum can do it! :D

So this is the place to make your contribution to the ultimate dystopia. Help make a society that is as oppressive, psychotic, and unworkable as possible. Be creative!

My contribution is to the educational system.

Here's my idea: At the end of each grade, 1 through 12, all students would be given a standardized end-of-grade exam. The test scores would be compiled, and all students in the nation would be ranked according to their test scores, highest through lowest.

And then... The students scoring in the bottom 10% of each grade level across the nation would be eliminated. They would be lined up and executed in front of their classmates.

Teachers would be held personally responsible for the performance of their students. Any teacher who had more than 10% of his or her students fail the exam would be eliminated.

The advantages of this system should be obvious to all:

Both students and teachers would be strongly motivated to perform
Incompetent teachers would be eliminated quickly
Society would not waste resources educating the unintelligent or unmotivated
Overpopulation would be a thing of the past, because by the end of the 12th grade, more than 71% of students would have been eliminated
Finally, we would be left with a population that performs extremely well on standardized tests. After all, everyone knows that this is the ultimate form of intelligence.


All right folks, we still have the military, the criminal justice system, the economy, the environment, and any number of other areas to deal with. Do your worst! :p

And then... The students scoring in the bottom 10% of each grade level across the nation would be eliminated. They would be lined up and executed in front of their classmates.



if I can refine your idea oh-so subtly.... instead of just executing them, why not make them take part in BATTLE ROYALE.
Then you can have it pay-per view and have EARNINGS from it. The survivor is conscripted to the army. Genius.

The economy would consist of a 100% tax rate. Taxes would be taken at intervals of completely random length, then a sizable amount of currency would be physically burned to heat government buildings. The rest left over would be redistributed completely at random, while still making sure that 90% of the nation lives in utter, grinding poverty.

It doesn't have the equality of socialism, the possibility of social mobility of capitalism, or the stability of feudalism/aristocrisy. It's perfect!

The worst possible society I can imagine has already existed: Nazi Germany. I can't think of anything worse than fascism.

if I can refine your idea oh-so subtly.... instead of just executing them, why not make them take part in BATTLE ROYALE.
Then you can have it pay-per view and have EARNINGS from it. The survivor is conscripted to the army. Genius.

Excellent!

The worst possible society I can imagine has already existed: Nazi Germany. I can't think of anything worse than fascism.

How about a mixture of Saudi Arabia and Nazi Germany, with a sprinkling of...hmm...Pol Pot's Cambodia, with all the economic strength of North Korea?

How about a mixture of Saudi Arabia and Nazi Germany, with a sprinkling of...hmm...Pol Pot's Cambodia, with all the economic strength of North Korea?
Well I think it would be safe to subsume that particular example under my "fascism" heading. But yeah, it would suck tremenously in any event.

When weighing Communism against Fascism [my two most hated ideologies], I am forced to admit that Communism at least pretends to be interested in my personal interest. Fascism, however, makes no such attempt.

Brilliant! This is exactly the sort of input I was looking for! :D

How about a mixture of Saudi Arabia and Nazi Germany, with a sprinkling of...hmm...Pol Pot's Cambodia, with all the economic strength of North Korea?

Hm, now that you mention it, Pol Pot's Cambodia is just about as dysfunctional a society as has ever existed.

Well I think it would be safe to subsume that particular example under my "fascism" heading. But yeah, it would suck tremenously in any event.


Hah, i'm not finished screwing this up. Let's take this beyond fascism.

What if that society was so screwed up as to elect that particular leadership democratically, and continue doing so? :D


Hm, now that you mention it, Pol Pot's Cambodia is just about as dysfunctional a society as has ever existed.

Perhaps. There was a distinct lack of state-sanctioned cannibalism, though.

Hah, i'm not finished screwing this up. Let's take this beyond fascism.

What if that society was so screwed up as to elect that particular leadership democratically, and continue doing so? :D
An interesting hypothesis, but I'm not entirely sure that's possible, unless said leader diligently avoided opressing the people within his own borders, focusing instead on foreigners.

Or he could rig it, I suppose. I don't really think that anyone on this planet could possibly be re-elected on any sort of genocide platform.

An interesting hypothesis, but I'm not entirely sure that's possible, unless said leader diligently avoided opressing the people within his own borders, focusing instead on foreigners.

Or he could rig it, I suppose. I don't really think that anyone on this planet could possibly be re-elected on any sort of genocide platform.

Hence why it would be one incredibly screwed up society.

Suppose if the people were indoctrinated into believing that genocide wasn't all that bad, and actually a good thing for the nation and people as a whole? It could happen. Oh, wait...

Or maybe targeting specific social-classes as scapegoats, like land-owning peasants...oh, wait.

Hmm. Damn. :p

How about a mixture of Saudi Arabia and Nazi Germany, with a sprinkling of...hmm...Pol Pot's Cambodia, with all the economic strength of North Korea?I think you're pretty close to an INGSOC society when you have that.

An interesting hypothesis, but I'm not entirely sure that's possible, unless said leader diligently avoided opressing the people within his own borders, focusing instead on foreigners.

Or he could rig it, I suppose. I don't really think that anyone on this planet could possibly be re-elected on any sort of genocide platform.

Voting, if allowed, would have to be rigged in such a way that the incumbent received 100% of the vote.

Hm... (puts on mad scientist cap)

I've got it! A combination voting machine/electric chair! Vote for the wrong candidate, and you fry! And then, of course, since the dead can't vote (this isn't Chicago ;)), any "wrong" votes wouldn't be counted.

Or the Chicago plan might actually work, if we only allow the dead to vote. Dead people can be counted on to vote for the incumbent every time. :p

(And just a reminder: Hitler was democratically elected, albeit there was a fair amount of vote fraud involved. Of course, he eliminated elections before it was time to run for re-election, so...)

A nice idea:

People openly displaying any kind of emotion would be tasered on the spot, and if they kept doing it, be forced to go through a program where they are subject to brainwashing and torture, until they appear completely devoid of all emotion. If someone would still display emotions afterwards, he or she would be tortured, to death if neccessary, until completely broken down, and turned into a mindless slave to be sold to the highest bidder would s/he survive.

:headbang:
I think u all are just to passive for me to even take part in this discussion :gundge:

Hence why it would be one incredibly screwed up society.

Suppose if the people were indoctrinated into believing that genocide wasn't all that bad, and actually a good thing for the nation and people as a whole? It could happen. Oh, wait...

Or maybe targeting specific social-classes as scapegoats, like land-owning peasants...oh, wait.

Hmm. Damn. :p

That would be pretty freakishly bad, and the scary part is I wouldn't put it past $COLLECTIVE. In other news, I'm disturbed to be agreeing with someone who's beliefs are diametrically opposed to mine.
:p

Voting, if allowed, would have to be rigged in such a way that the incumbent received 100% of the vote.

Hm... (puts on mad scientist cap)

I've got it! A combination voting machine/electric chair! Vote for the wrong candidate, and you fry! And then, of course, since the dead can't vote (this isn't Chicago ;)), any "wrong" votes wouldn't be counted.

Or the Chicago plan might actually work, if we only allow the dead to vote. Dead people can be counted on to vote for the incumbent every time. :p

Instead, how about people vote for a "challenger"? The person elected "challenger" duels the reigning head-of-state in a bloody battle to the death. Publicly. On pay-per-view.

(And just a reminder: Hitler was democratically elected, albeit there was a fair amount of vote fraud involved. Of course, he eliminated elections before it was time to run for re-election, so...)

Not so, he formed a coalition with another right-wing party only after being appointed Chancellor by Hindenburg. He got less than half of the vote, so he was never truly elected...

That would be pretty freakishly bad, and the scary part is I wouldn't put it past $COLLECTIVE. In other news, I'm disturbed to be agreeing with someone who's beliefs are diametrically opposed to mine.
:p

Heheh. :p

Actually you should line up the TOP 10% as well. Smarties tend to bring about counter revolutionary ideas.