If one were to ask those people who are notbeneficiaries of today's unhealthy conditions, who think about themeaning of life in general, and who are independent enough to be ableto express their opinion:
"How do you imagine an ideal world to be?", onewould be surprised not at the diversity, but at the very similarityof their answers. Be the person concerned a staunch communist or amanufacturer or a businessman in the western world, be he a dialecticmaterialist or spiritualist, anthroposophist, staunch Catholic,Protestant or Muslim, a supporter of western democracy or arepresentative of antiparliamentary views, a scholar, craftsman,laborer or farmer, Chinese, Hindu, Pakistani, educated Negro fromAfrica or America, Eskimo, Indian, White man or whatever, basicallyhis answer would be this:
"Naturally it would be best if the schools were totry to meet the children's natural desire to be busy and to learn, ifone were not to force them to sit still and pay attention to thingsin which they are not at all interested at the moment, at least notin the form in which they are presented, but instead where everythingis made appealing through the use of appropriate visual aids; wherethey must learn everything that every modern person shouldknow (but no more than that) and where they, beyond that, also areallowed to do and learn all those things which most interestthem.
"Ideally, students should be able to observefirst-hand the actual work done in the various professions whichawait them and then later be given the opportunity, regardless ofsocial standing or origin, to train for that profession which theyfind most appealing.
"It would be ideal if jobs were granted only onthe basis of the applicant's qualifications; if no one is hindered inthe use of his own language; if moreover everyone masters a commoninternational language in which anyone can communicate with anyoneelse; if everyone can travel freely, see the world, and settle downin the place that he likes best; if all people have what they need todevelop their own talents, but no one has more than hisshare.
"I would prefer a world in which wealth, class,and social standing are of no consequence when two people aremarried, a world in which any young man may be married to any youngwoman and vice versa, as long as they just like each other. On theother hand, however, it should also be easy to get a divorce and, insuch an event, the future of the children should be secure enough sothat no one has to stay married against his will, yet where everyoneshould be so well prepared for marriage and the choosing of a spousethat incompatible marriages are rare.
"I wish to live in a world in which justiceprevails rather than the letter of the law, a world where legaldifficulties exist for no one who is not harming anyone else, butwhere the law also provides the means of punishing everyoffender.
"I would prefer a world where no one must tremblebefore the arbitrary will of a sovereign, where all are free to statewhat they believe to be right and true, but where precautions will betaken against the falsification of history; a world in which anyonewho is reasonably well-informed may play a part in politics, and yetwhere politicians are not obligated to cater to a herd of ignorantpeople without whose support they would not remain in power; a worldin which all can vote who know for whom and for what they arevoting.
"A world in which there are no wars, crime,economic crises, and unemployment, where no one need worry aboutgetting old or sick or becoming an invalid as well; rather, where allretirees are provided for in a just and adequate way; a world inwhich work and money are so well distributed that no one must slaveaway at a job he does not like, and where everyone has ample freetime to spend as he sees fit.
"I would like to see all unearned revenue vanish,be it from usury, a killing on the stock market, bribery of a publicofficial, or any kind of income whatsoever for which the public doesnot receive a service of equal value in return," and soon.
An excerpt from the book Primer For Those WhoWould Govern by Prof. Hermann Oberth.
Translated from the German by LynneNibbelink-Kvinnesland and Dr. Benjiman D. Webb.