Rat Utopia Is Just Around The Corner – whoops, no it isn't!
YouTube is far from perfect, but it is still full of amazing videos and can be a wealth of knowledge. A few weeks ago, I was browsing for something short to watch and a video title caught my eye – Rat Utopia. I presumed it had something to do with us living in greater numbers and resembling rat society. I was sort of wrong – but in a way that makes you think long and hard.
Ethologist John B. Calhoun conducted a series of over-population experiments on rats between 1958 and 1962. In these experiments, he created a series of 'rat utopias' – enclosed spaces in which rats were given unlimited access to food and water which enabled unfettered population growth. They were mini-paradises where rats could do whatever they wished, with no fear of predators, and everything they wanted was available on tap. He would later perform similar experiments on mice, from 1968 to 1972.
Surely, every rat would be happy in such an environment? Is this not what every socialist is fighting for? Is this not the rat equivalence of a communist nirvana?
Remember the story of King Midas? Getting what you think you want does not necessarily make you happy. In fact, it can be the death of you.
During his first experiments, he placed around 32 to 56 healthy rats in a 10-by-14-foot cage that contained four rooms. Every room was created to support a dozen mature rats. Rats could easily move between the rooms by using ramps.
Initially, the rats were in heaven and knew it. With everything they needed they simply bred like rabbits – more like rats I suppose, but you get my point! During the third generation of rats, things would start to go wrong in every experiment - rat utopia would start to fall apart.
Female rats would fail to carry pregnancies to full term or even die post-delivery – those who did not die would fall short in their maternal role. Among the males, behaviour changed to include sexual deviation and even cannibalism. Some would be extremely overactivity, while others would be pathologically withdrawn - emerging to eat, drink and move about only when other members of the community were asleep. Infant mortality ran as high as 96% among the most dysfunctional rats in the population.
Calhoun coined the term 'Behavioural Sink' to describe this collapse in behaviour which he attributed to overcrowding and a lack of purpose.
In his mice experiments, he built smaller cages that also contained food and water on demand, regardless of how large the population became. In his experiment called Universe 25, the population peaked at 2,200 mice and then started to decline to zero after 600 days. It was recorded that mice refused to engage in courtship, females abandoned their young and individuals lost the social skills required to mate. Societal collapse.
Calhoun saw the experiments as a metaphor for the potential fate of mankind. He referred to the social breakdown as a ‘spiritual death’ and referenced this to the ‘second death’ as mentioned in the Book of Revelations.
Does any of this seem familiar to you? Are we in the first stage of Behavioural Sink in the West? Is society collapsing but we cannot see it yet? Sometimes, it sure feels that way.
Let us discuss what we know is true. Our cities are growing in population which is increasing the human density – more people sharing the same defined space. Community cohesion is declining, multiculturalism has not worked, violent crime is increasing for the first time, and public services are failing.
I know we are not the same as rats or mice, but we are still mammals and retain many of our instincts and social needs. Have you ever made someone else yawn just by yawning yourself? We have no idea why it triggers the yawning in others, but it does. We are social creatures and need others around us to help us function and to be happy. Do not forget that when we want to punish the most hardened criminals in prison, we place them in solitary confinement.
We need to be careful of prematurely announcing our demise for every generation thinks that society is in decline and about to implode. We have Roman letters saying exactly the same thing.
Calhoun's experiments are interesting and may be useful for us to steer communities to success. I am not for one minute trying to be a doom merchant warning we are living in a dystopian rat-inspired Thunderdome.
I simply want to raise a concern that some mammals do not prosper in certain environments. This is pertinent for we may be inadvertently creating these same environments for ourselves.
Fifteen Minute Cities sound like the utopian cages that Calhoun designed for his rodents. Everything you need within a set parameter where you are not allowed to leave your location, or at the minimum, you are penalised if you do.
Universal Basic Income promises to end poverty by supplying every individual with the basic requirements for a decent life – enough food, water and accommodation. Sound familiar? We have a mini version of this currently called the Welfare State which is not raising anyone out of poverty, surprisingly, it is doing the opposite. Handouts destroy self-worth and self-respect over time. No need to follow your dreams or aspire for a better tomorrow.
Every government in my life has attacked the family. They have allowed mothers to kill their babies and break up their families for personal convenience. Fathers have been allowed to walk away from their responsibilities which in some cases has put their children in harm's way. Children without a protector at home are easy pickings for criminals and perverts.
Courting rituals have almost disappeared and been replaced by one-night stands, online porn and hook-up culture. Women act like whores and men have become sexual degenerates, alongside the rise of the LGBTQ+ lunacy.
Mental health issues are through the roof currently. Young men are refusing to engage in society and are rejecting women – Incels. Eating disorders, self-harm and gender confusion affect many young women. We have people who think they are babies, animals, disabled and even dating ghosts. Lets us not forget the explosion in antidepressant use, currently at 15%, but higher in women. And the biggest killer of UK men under 50 years old is suicide.
I have known for a long time that our societal aims are warped for we prioritise material wealth over spiritual health. This does not necessarily mean believing in God or going to a temple to pray. But is more about valuing real happiness, contentment in life, and the societal bonds that keep a community a place where we want to live. We need to stop worrying about the Gross National Product or the average person's purchasing power.
We need a society that pushes and supports every single person to be more than they ever thought was possible. We need individuals to take personal responsibility for their own lives but also for their family and community. And we all need to accept that without some pain there can be no joy.
We were warned a thousand years ago: Not all that glitters is gold.
Chasing utopia is a fool's errand - the reality is a rat race to hell.
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