Ecotopia

In “Ecotopian Education’s Surprises,” Weston investigates the school system of Ecotopia. Following the trend of many other facets of Ecotopian society, the schools also deemphasize hierarchy and large-scale systems in favor of small private institutions largely devoid of structure. Classes are freeform, students can pursue their own interests (which often correspond to Ecotopia’s values as a society) much of the time, and instructors teach practical skills related to those interests when the time seems right. The buildings themselves are rather impermanent, and much of the day’s learning takes place outside. As private schools, the market dictates which ones thrive and which fail. As part of the practical aspect of Ecotopian society, students also spend part of the day working, and cooperation is valued over competition. To promote accessibility, lower-income families are given “outright sliding grants” (120).

Weston’s journal entries of June 6th and 7th revolve around the Helicopter War. Red takes Weston to a scrap yard where much of the wreckage of the invading helicopters lies, after which Weston goes to the War Ministry to get more details. Through a combination of widespread militia training and technology, most Ecotopians became one-person armies capable of taking down helicopters almost as fast as they could invade, until the toll became too high. Weston also makes the decision not to publish a story on the war, seeing only a lose-lose scenario should he go ahead with it.

Weston’s next journalistic endeavor explores Ecotopian housing in “Living in Plastic Tubing,” describing the large prefabricated tube-shaped plastic modules many houses are made of. These individual units can be joined together in nearly infinite combinations, creating a space that fits a given family’s needs. Weston is taken by the elegance of these structures, describing the “pale, graceful extruded shapes” (125).

For Weston’s next article, “Ecotopian Music, Dance, and Other Arts,” he explores the art world of Ecotopia, drawing the conclusion that “music seems the most important to Ecotopians” (134). One of the things that distinguishes the Ecotopian attitude toward art from that of Americans is that the vast majority of the population dabbles in some artistic outlet or another, thereby reducing the air of mystery and esteem that can sometimes accompany artistic creation. People are not enraptured by a name, but rather by art that moves them.

The June 13th journal entry contains one of the pivotal moments in Weston’s time in Ecotopia, encompassing his adopted commune’s participation in the War Games. Whether because he is a little tipsy on champagne or he simply gets caught up in the excitement, Weston ends up joining in as an actual participant alongside Bert and the others, and is eventually injured (though not mortally), signaling his side’s loss. He wakes up in a hospital, to the ministrations of a nurse named Linda, including massage, both professional and sexual. Marissa also visits and feels Weston is “a better person” for having participated in the war games, “more solid and real” (140).

Weston then files his next story, fittingly enough about Ecotopia’s hospitals, though he does not reveal the true reason for his tenure there to his readers, referring only to an “unfortunate accident” (142). In the article he describes the more personalized, hands-on approach of the hospital staff, as well as Ecotopians’ “fatalistic attitude toward death” (143) and their “strong emphasis on preventative care” (144).

In the subsequent journal entries, Weston describes his convalescence and eventual discharge from the hospital. While Marissa is glad to have him back in one piece, Weston makes the mistake of mentioning his “fantasy of taking her back to New York” (146), which initiates a fight between them. Then Weston is informed President Allwen will at last see him. During their meeting, Weston floats the idea of reunification with extremely negative results from Allwen, in which, with special emphasis, she tells him “You cannot be serious” (148), and he leaves the meeting “feeling that she was disappointed, had expected more” (149). The final entry of this section sees Weston profoundly depressed in the face of this failure of his mission. 

Weston’s short, penultimate article, “Ecotopia: Challenge or Illusion?”, engages, as he terms it in the subsequent journal entry, “Real ‘objective’ pseudo-think” (152), and even he cannot bear to reread it. Essentially, it summarizes his conflicted feelings on the country while avoiding coming to any real conclusions. Meanwhile, Weston’s mood and mental state continue to deteriorate following his failure with President Allwen.

In his June 21st journal entry, Weston reveals that he has been strangely kidnapped, not roughly, but also not taken of his free will. When he yells out for help, his fellow journalist commune friends, including Bert, find him. However, after engaging in discussion with his captors, Bert reveals that he will not intercede on Weston’s behalf, because he feels what they are doing is in his best interest.

Though he is at first encouraged that Bert thinks it is the right thing to do, soon Weston’s doubts get the better of him. He is taken to a resort, and he resolves to escape back to the U.S. He even manages to get free when each of his captors fall asleep, though an encounter with a mountain lion thwarts the attempt. At this point Weston seems resigned to his fate.

It isn’t until he decides to put on his old clothes and catches site of himself in the mirror that things finally click into place and he realizes he does not actually want to return to the U.S. He wants to remain in Ecotopia with Marissa. When he reveals this intention to his captors, they rejoice, and it is revealed that Ben, Marissa’s brother, helped set the whole thing up as an opportunity for Weston to come to this conclusion on his own, before it was too late. He and Marissa joyously reunite. The novel ends with a note from Weston’s editors that reveals that he requested they publish the preceding book as-is.