There were many visions of utopia on display at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.The official theme of the fair was Peace Through Understanding but it might as well have been called Peak Capitalism.
The 50 million-odd attendees were shown a better world brought to them by faster computers care of IBM, more luxurious cars riding a web of intercity expressways thanks to General Motors, seamless video communications from Bell Systems, advanced materials like Mylar, Orlon and Lycra by DuPont, and they even witnessed the fully-automated manufacture of countless chocolate bars by the Chunky Corporation.
But there was one vision among the hundreds of consumer utopias that was at odds with the others. It is a vision that is yet to transform society, but could one day bring about a world of unimaginable abundance. It could be the gateway to a real post-scarcity utopia.
