Our contemporary climate is only fully understood by surveying who has power today; the dominance of finance and the enthusiastic redundancy of politicians in t

Our contemporary climate is only fully understood by surveying who has power today; the dominance of finance and the enthusiastic redundancy of politicians in thrall to the markets and the deep state have resulted ultimately in a catastrophic erosion of democracy. Without examining these deliberate shifts, attempts to rectify them architecturally will be tokenistic at best. Dubai is the obvious example of somewhere where the paradise of a few is propped up by the misery of many. This model is being replicated to varying degrees throughout the world. All utopias are dystopias, we have been endlessly told. They neglect to tell us the reverse is also true. Utopias become dystopias by how they deal with those who do not fit into the plans.… ("On Utopia" by Darran Anderson, page 39 of http://www.ideasfestival.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/BFOI-Festival-of-the-Future-City-Book-Text-Pages-SOFT.pdf http://www.ideasfestival.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/BF... -- the whole thing is worth reading!)