describe your eden

From W. H. Auden's Reading in The Dyer's Hand:

"All the judgements, aesthetic or moral, that we pass, however objective we try to make them, are in part a rationalization and in part a corrective discipline of our subjective wishes. So long as a man writes poetry or fiction, his dream of Eden is his own business, but the moment he starts writing literary criticism, honesty demands that he describe it to his readers so that they may be in the position to judge his judgments. Accordingly, I must now give my answers to a questionnaire I once made up which provides the kind of information I should like to have myself when reading other critics."


Here, then, is my personal Eden:


Landscape
A bustling, cosmopolitan Garden City set in the middle of a bustling, diverse continent, and surrounded by serene villages where people have time to take long afternoon teas and leisurely morning walks. The continent has a whole range of different landscapes and climates, ranging from deserts to alpine mountains, and is in fact a large island surrounded by different oceans. The City itself has a river running through it, and you can see mountains in the distance. A short drive of a few hours will take you into a mountainous district full of lakes and temperate forests. (Ok, this sounds like i need to emigrate to Australia...)

Climate
Spring segueing into summer, or summer into autumn.

Ethinic origin of inhabitants
From all over the world - as in London.

Language
Sounds beautiful and lyrical, like Gaelic or Italian. Consciously open to evolution and change, but with a sense of tradition to anchor it.

Weights & Measures
Metric. Since we have ten fingers and ten toes, it’s the one that’s the most intuitive.

Religion
The Christianity of Jesus Christ (as opposed to the Christianity of any flawed human institution).

Size of Capital
The City is the Capital. The population is big enough to accommodate different tastes and aspirations so that there is no need for anyone to sacrifice their individual dreams for the sake of the greater social good. In fact, since this is Eden, there is no conflict between individual and society.

Form of Government
Democratic.

Sources of Natural Power
Solar energy.

Economic activities
Everyone gets to do what they love and love what they do, and make a good living from it, too. (Hey, that rhymes! I must be a poet after all…)

Means of transport
For speed and mobility: solar-powered cars, buses, trains, boats and airplanes that do not release atmospheric pollutants. For the sheer joy of feeling the wind in your face and feeling that your whole body is on the move: bicycles.

Architecture
All kinds of styles, tastefully arranged. Beauty of form and practicality of function are perfectly balanced.

Domestic Furniture and Equipment
Everything is environmentally-friendly and, like the architecture, is a perfect balance of form and function.

Formal Dress
Anything goes, as long as it's beautiful, decent (i'm a prude) and functional.

Sources of Public Information
A whole variety of media offering a plurality of viewpoints – newspapers, magazines, radio, television, internet.

Public Statues
Sculptures by the best artists.

Public Entertainments
Theatre, concerts, etc etc. The usual suspects. Lots of open-air stuff that's free or at least cheap.
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