In Erewhon, Samuel Butler paints a picture of a society that views illness as a crime and worthy of punishment and visa versa. It got me thinking about the notions of health is today’s society and what the Erehwonians would think about the lifestyles that so many Americans live in regards to their diet.
The Erewhonian people view their mental and physical health as something that is the responsibility of the individual to maintain and keep in order. When straying away from good health, the person is bringing upon a danger to their community and creating the opportunity to harm others. If this was the case in the United States today, we wouldn’t have a large enough jail system. Living in a society that is self-indulgent in a gluttonous nature and looks towards medical fixes, the Erewhon people would deem our society as unacceptable. Considering the easy access to unhealthy, processed, and fatty foods that feed many Americans, there is an increased amount of unhealthy individuals in the society. This creates weaker immune systems and allows for diseases to be contracted more easily and spread more quickly. Many diseases and physical ailments have emerged because of the poor dieting habits that have been adopted by the American people in the last several decades.
If the United States were to adopt the principles of the Erewhonian people, there would be a drastic decrease in the physical illnesses that are so commonly reported. There would be more incentive for there to be healthier food production and it would create being healthy more affordable for the common citizen. It would essentially eliminate factory farming because of the health and sanitation requirements that these principles demand.
The Erewhonian’s might have taken the principle of personal health to an extreme, but there is a progressive aspect to such a concept.
In Erewhon, Samuel Butler paints a picture of a society that views illness as a crime and worthy of punishment and visa versa. It got me thinking about the notions of health is today’s society and what the Erehwonians would think about the lifestyles that so many Americans live in regards to their diet.
The Erewhonian people view their mental and physical health as something that is the responsibility of the individual to maintain and keep in order. When straying away from good health, the person is bringing upon a danger to their community and creating the opportunity to harm others. If this was the case in the United States today, we wouldn’t have a large enough jail system. Living in a society that is self-indulgent in a gluttonous nature and looks towards medical fixes, the Erewhon people would deem our society as unacceptable. Considering the easy access to unhealthy, processed, and fatty foods that feed many Americans, there is an increased amount of unhealthy individuals in the society. This creates weaker immune systems and allows for diseases to be contracted more easily and spread more quickly. Many diseases and physical ailments have emerged because of the poor dieting habits that have been adopted by the American people in the last several decades.
If the United States were to adopt the principles of the Erewhonian people, there would be a drastic decrease in the physical illnesses that are so commonly reported. There would be more incentive for there to be healthier food production and it would create being healthy more affordable for the common citizen. It would essentially eliminate factory farming because of the health and sanitation requirements that these principles demand.
The Erewhonian’s might have taken the principle of personal health to an extreme, but there is a progressive aspect to such a concept.