The Modern Paradox: An Unwanted Paradise

People have dedicated their lives seeking earthly paradises, yet in James Hilton’s Lost Horizon, four characters are kidnapped to a serene lamasery hidden in the Tibetan mountains.  Hugh Conway, Charles Mallinson, Henry Barnard, and Roberta Brinklow are forever linked when an evacuation flight from Baskul turns off course.  However, Hilton presents an intriguing complex as the characters resist their new surroundings.  Hilton illuminates the irony behind an unwanted paradise, but also ridicules the concept of paradise.  Upon entering Shangri-La, there is a general haze of confusion surrounding the society as Conway suspects that their food “might have contained some herb or drug” to relieve unease (Hilton, 70).  As the novel continues, the Shangri-La society dissipates the apprehension as each character ceaselessly “felt a soothing comfort of mind and body” (71).  The citizens of the lamasery were able to attain ‘paradise’ but only after making many sacrifices.

Paradise, as defined by dictionary.com, means “a state of supreme happiness; bliss”.  Therefore, a paradise is a community where each individual achieves a state of supreme happiness.  Economic systems have evolved in hopes to attain this state, yet every system has a unique approach.  The two extremes of distributing wealth, socialism and free market capitalism, succeed in different aspects.  As Cedric Muhammad states, “capitalism is not a political system, but an economic one” whereas “socialism is more sensitive to signals of wealth inequality” .  Capitalism states that people have the independence to work any job they can get.  Therefore, in a capitalist society, each citizen is given the opportunity to pursue happiness.  However, even an ideal capitalist state cannot be considered a paradise because the opportunity to pursue is not the same thing as a guarantee.  On the other hand, socialism represents a community that has potential to be a paradise.  In a perfectly socialist state, citizens work hard for the sake of working, share resources equally, and achieve happiness through moderation.  A certain mindset is necessary for socialism to work successfully.  The lamasery hidden in the Tibetan mountains is able to combine the attractive aspects of both economic systems.

When the travellers arrive to Shangri-La, Chang, a man from the town, acts as their tour guide.  Spurred by curiosity, Conway peppers Chang with questions - only a few of which he is allowed to answer.  Many of Chang’s responses deal with the importance of ‘good manners’ and he reveals that there are rarely any conflicts.  When Conway asks if there were any disputes over women, Chang replies, “ ‘Only very rarely, because it would not be considered good manners to take a woman that another man wanted”.  The citizens of Shangri-La have created a socialist society where they believe that “to govern perfectly it is necessary to avoid governing too much” (115).  Yet Chang also claims that they are able to pursue happiness.  Chang states that he and his fellow citizens, “devote themselves...to contemplation and the pursuit of wisdom” (97).  In this society where conflict is sparse, human ambition and freedom have been sacrificed in order to attain contentment.   Conway notices this sacrifice one night as he walks onto a balcony for some fresh air.  As he fantasizes about exploring the many mysteries of Shangri-La, he knew that “his movements were watched” and that “such freedom was illusory” (103).  Although Shangri-La may be defined as a paradise, perhaps paradise should stop having such a positive connotation.  

The first issue with ‘paradise’ is its inherent contradiction with progress.  Progress is most effectively driven by strong incentives, such as competition, rewards, and success, which are nonexistent in a utopian society.  Without progress, a society cannot expand, improve, or adapt, greatly reducing the society’s time horizon.  But more alarming is how a paradise, like Shangri-La, strips its’ citizens of human characteristics.  Socialism melts its citizens motivation and replaces it with a strict and molded perspective on life.  Shangri-La promotes eternal peace and this reduces human interaction to something less than human.  The most humane traits deal with making decisions that defy logic; it’s what differentiates humans from robots (Kraai).  Robots do not have the capability to love intensely, to imagine freely, or to rejoice completely.  They follow a strict code which ensures they always choose the most logical option.  This prevents ‘mistakes’, thus preventing learning and growth.  Emotion, therefore, is both a blessing and a curse.  It influences decisions with often unexplainable arguments and counters logic.  Basing a choice off of emotion can be a human flaw, but it also represents the capacity for ultimate happiness.  Without the opportunity to explore human nature, the citizens of Shangri-La resolve to live happily-enough.  By stripping away the citizens’ “always imperfect, chaotic, irregular and accidental character of the human condition”, Shangri-La is a robotic community where citizens sacrifice freedom and emotion in order to attain contentment (Zarka).

Shangri-La takes an unique approach on the pursuit of happiness.  The lamasery enables each citizen to pursue their own happiness, yet the society’s principles prevent its citizens from achieving complete happiness.  Hugh Conway’s attraction to the harmonious community derives from his time in war.  He has “used up most of [his] passions and energies” after soldiering in World War I and Father Perrault describes him fondly as “ ‘passionlessness’ ” (Hilton, 157).  Perreault makes it evident that these are the individuals that exist in his created paradise; tired, unambitious, and dispassionate citizens.  However, these characteristics are far from the perception of a stereotypical utopia and contradict the definition of paradise.  In order to attain a life full of contentment, Shangri-La citizens willingly sacrifice many of the aspects that contribute to a life worth living; in comparison to people who live an active life, the inhabitants of Shangri-La, “ ‘do nothing’ ” (97).

Works Cited

Kraai, Abby. "Creativity: What Separates Us From the Robots." Middle School Lunches Other Moments of Truth. N.p., 23 Feb. 2013. Web.

Muhammad, Cedric. "3 Reasons Why Good Socialism Beats Bad Capitalism." Forbes. Forbes, 20 Nov. 2013. Web.

Zarka, Yves Charles. "The Meaning of Utopia." Opinionator The Meaning of Utopia Comments. The New York Times, 28 Aug. 2011. Web.