I, Robot
Well, that was a great book. I just finished it a little while ago. However, there is one thing that doesn't make sense to me. *WARNING: SPOILERS CONTAINED BEYOND THIS POINT.*
Alright, so in the end, we find out that, for better or for worse, the Machines will end up controlling humanity and swaying it toward whichever direction is "best" for it, whether it's communism, anarchy, a strict caste system or isolated, agricultural city-states. Asimov makes the point that humanity has never been in control of it's own destiny, due to the lack of understanding of sociological structures, climate change, natural disasters, and so on. We've always had an empty illusion of control. This is all very interesting.
But there is one thing that remains to be explained: what is "best" for humanity? If the "best" thing is to elliminate famine, disease, and war, so be it. But then we face horrible over-population. How can you solve the problem of over-population without harming humans or at least making them unhappy? Furthermore, even if the Machines did manage to attain a "Utopia", what would ultimately motivate the humans to work? The fall of communism demonstrated that humans won't work for the sake of working (or for the sake of the greater good, for that matter), and ideally, communism would have resulted in a "Utopian" society.
So that leaves us with the idea that humanity cannot function without societal imperfection...
Alright, so in the end, we find out that, for better or for worse, the Machines will end up controlling humanity and swaying it toward whichever direction is "best" for it, whether it's communism, anarchy, a strict caste system or isolated, agricultural city-states. Asimov makes the point that humanity has never been in control of it's own destiny, due to the lack of understanding of sociological structures, climate change, natural disasters, and so on. We've always had an empty illusion of control. This is all very interesting.
But there is one thing that remains to be explained: what is "best" for humanity? If the "best" thing is to elliminate famine, disease, and war, so be it. But then we face horrible over-population. How can you solve the problem of over-population without harming humans or at least making them unhappy? Furthermore, even if the Machines did manage to attain a "Utopia", what would ultimately motivate the humans to work? The fall of communism demonstrated that humans won't work for the sake of working (or for the sake of the greater good, for that matter), and ideally, communism would have resulted in a "Utopian" society.
So that leaves us with the idea that humanity cannot function without societal imperfection...