The War Against Disorder

September 8, 2017 9:23 AM

"Salvation via the imposition of a sweeping, unified vision—whether grounded in religion, the promise of digital technology, or plain old unfettered capitalism—is easy to imagine from the distance of Silicon Valley, or France. But here in the Midwest small utopias are being envisioned and built—and deconstructed and rebuilt again—every day." - Utopia Parkway, on the various planned societies of the Rust Belt, both past and future - Martha Bayne , The Baffler.
posted by The Whelk (8 comments total)

New Harmony! Yey! This Hoosier did a school report on that and other Utopian communities in high school.

There's actually a still functioning Utopian community here in Indiana, started in the 1960's, it's call Padanaram and it's bonkers. I visited there as a part of writing that school report and got a hold of some of its internal literature. They're basically a messianic cult based around their (now deceased) leader Daniel Wright. It was so neat to visit.
posted by leotrotsky at 10:12 AM on September 8, 2017 [4 favorites]

There's actually a still functioning Utopian community here in Indiana, started in the 1960's, it's call Padanaram and it's bonkers.

It's possible someone did, and I've missed it, but: someone really ought to write a history of Indiana's seemingly mostly forgotten of utopian / millenarian / just-plain-wingnut community-building.
posted by ryanshepard at 10:46 AM on September 8, 2017 [1 favorite]

I just learned about Marktown, which is fascinating not as much for its history (a pretty standard company-town story) as its weird English-cottage architecture and the fact that it's surrounded on all four sides by sprawling industrial hellscape.

And fwiw: the Le Guin essay quoted at the end of this was written in 1982, not 2016: here it is. It's one of the most interesting and provocative pieces of political writing I know, and every time I read it I come away with something new.
posted by theodolite at 10:51 AM on September 8, 2017 [6 favorites]

I just learned about Marktown, which is fascinating not as much for its history (a pretty standard company-town story) as its weird English-cottage architecture and the fact that it's surrounded on all four sides by sprawling industrial hellscape.

Damn, that's freaky. Except for the "industrial" part, it's very much like the set-up for Algul Siento, aka Blue Heaven, in the last Dark Tower book (and nothing like the version in the recent and disappointing movie).
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:16 AM on September 8, 2017

Hey, I liked that a lot! And I'm glad the author recognized the little utopian action groups active and thriving here in the midwest.

I contribute Illinois's charming utopia, Bishop Hill, founded by Swedish Christian communists who fled Sweden after their leader said one too many nasty things about the Lutheran Church and founded a Biblical commune in Illinois. It actually survived for 15 or 20 years, even past its founder was murdered by another commune member, and the letters they wrote home to Sweden about how glorious Illinois cropland was encouraged Swedish emigration and helped create the modern Scandasotan communities of the Midwest. When Illinois's tourism funding shortchanges Bishop Hill, Sweden will sometimes charter a 747 to fly in a bunch of Swedish tourists for a weekend to all go flood it with cash to remind the state it's important and Sweden is watching them.

Anyway now it's a town, living history museum to the commune, and artist's colony, and it's a really charming little place to visit.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 12:40 PM on September 8, 2017 [1 favorite]

is this not about the highway in queens
posted by poffin boffin at 12:43 PM on September 8, 2017 [2 favorites]

I was saving for a custom van and playin in a cover band and neither of those things will help me here
posted by Senor Cardgage at 2:00 PM on September 8, 2017

Yeah all those drive through liquor stores in Indiana (?)
posted by Cyclopsis Raptor at 10:58 AM on September 9, 2017