Dystopia and street lights ...

Speaking to an African student I ask him to explain what the real differences were between the UK and his home country. It was winter and the street lights were on outside. His reply was pessimistic, nothing works, he said. "In my country there are no street lights." This is also the topic of a story running on the BBC [ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24641409 ], fighting the fear of night by getting the street lights to work in Lagos. This is a real dystopia. Creating an urban society that needs a basic technology/utility, electricity generation > distribution > street lights, but without the social frameworks to make it happen.

Today our phone lines are down, I have mobile broadband so I can go on working from home. If not I would have to travel to work and use that network. Its not typical of our phone system and the phone company is actively working to repair it. However, I have built my life for the moment around working from home and travelling to meet people when needed. Of course it is only sustainable if the technology is reliable. Otherwise I would have my own personal dystopia to deal with.

Dystopia is living in a society that needs technology to function but cannot organise itself to deliver a reliable/any service. Utopia is living in a society where you never miss a beat in turning on your computer or a light switch. Of course you never know what you have until you don't have it.

Fears of a dystopian control through technology are the fears of affluence, built on the presence of reliable technology from communication satellites, massive computer power and ultra fast networks.