In a transcendentalist world, every element and perspective must combine and work together in a way that benefits the society. If not, it will lack balance, and therefore lose its transcendentalist aspects. Concepts of accepting everyone, living simply, and minimal government are all major in this type of world; either viewed as beneficial or harmful. They reinforce the main point of the individual, working in a way to (hopefully) bring one to the best state of mind possible. Harmony also ties in with the balance; without it, the society fails to work properly. Everything working together is the main goal, but is not necessarily possible. Although some might believe a transcendentalist society would work easily in today’s world, increasing reliance on technology and mass production, lack of governmental help, and the failure to accept everyone are why this type of living could never be possible today.
Physically, a transcendental society could work. Isolation on an island could easily be achieved with the money and resources, and setting everything up would be the same as building a town or resort. With its physical image, the society had already fulfilled part of the living-away-from-the-outside-world aspect. Attracting people from around the world could be easy with advertising and transportation, allowing anyone and everyone to come as they are. The society, in essence, would run just like any other, only with more individualistic values. Along with its physical image, the high importance on education could keep everything stable. Its benefits would lead to greater rates of employment and literacy, stopping economic and poverty issues from emerging. Without these issues, the society would be constant and set in a positive mindset. Although the society could stay stable to some degree, underlying tensions and flaws could spark issues, causing its downfall.
In this type of world, one of the most prominent beliefs is accepting anyone and everyone to join. Almost any transcendentalist society would include values of allowing anyone to come as they are and embracing what makes them an individual. With this acceptance, unfortunately, comes a hidden fault. If the world accepted all different personalities to come live, it would mean including those who are critical and judgmental. Not including those types of people would defeat the purpose of the society—welcoming all no matter what. Wherever one travels or goes to, there will always be the types of people who believe non-conformists are unsatisfactory or unworthy. Therefore, the never-ending cycle of putting people down and being bullied for one’s beliefs is inevitable; even in a transcendentalist society.
Along with acceptance, a main belief in transcendental associations is minimal government intervention. With this, specific rules and punishments are set to avoid conflict and contact with the government. While too much government interference brings negativity to a society, not enough can also cause disagreements and problems. When rules are violated, the low amount of law enforcement would most of the time not even find out about the crime, defeating the purpose of the specific, sometimes strict rules. If the crime was caught, the punishment would not necessarily be enforced, given that citizens are supposed to know the consequences and obey them. Additionally, some of the laws require community service and participating in the green movement. While this is very beneficial to the society, it is not always one’s interest. Transcendentalist societies are all about pursuing what one wants, and making laws pertaining to only certain views or interests creates barriers. A society of this type should most likely have no rules so that it is open to the views of any person, but no law could cause conflict and craziness.
One of the most prized and cherished beliefs of transcendentalism is living simply without distractions. This includes modifying one’s life in a way that excludes many of the technological advances of today and includes many nature-based beliefs. Things like computers, phones, other communication devices, and mass-produced goods would be frowned upon. Unfortunately, today’s technological world interests a large population, so the views of living simply could discourage many from living in a transcendentalist society. The technology has found a way to blend itself into society; in many cases, people would refuse to give up their devices and rituals rather than go live in this type of world. In other words, the acceptance of everyone and all their beliefs goes against living simply, since it is not always one’s belief. Enforcing living simply without distractions leads to more rules, bringing up another barrier to the cycle of transcendentalism. In a world where technology attracts many to places and events, the views of excluding technology and the fast-paced world could stop many from being content with their lives.
Transcendentalism is complex way of life; it has many requirements despite the broad belief of accepting the individual and one’s own views. With so many different personalities and beliefs and ways of life present in today’s world, it would be difficult to integrate all of them into one society. Conflict would be inevitable in this society, just like it would be in any other. The society would only work if every person was accepting of everyone else, dedicated to living simply, followed all rules, and was precise with every other concept of transcendentalism; something very hard to achieve. Even if every person achieved this state of mind, it would not even be a transcendentalist society anymore; it would be more of a utopian society where everyone is alike. This takes away from the entire concept of transcendentalism: the individual. Although a transcendentalist world would seem entirely perfect to some, the inevitable conflicts and personalities would lead to its downfall at some point in its existence.
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