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There is something so beautiful about a project drawn 60 years ago that had some theories regarding its effects on society, for it to then be used way beyond anyone would ever anticipate.

The symbolism of the postmodern buildings was supposed to evoke unity among a diverse society, with different ethnicities. In reality, what determines unity in the society is the public spaces and how they are used. Amenities provide a chance for unity. Something so simple as a vertical landmark, so basic as a paved piazza, so lame as a dancing fountain with RGB lights. When people are open to participate in the cocreation of the space it is only then that a place is created. Kids play in the fountain, adults take pictures of the landmark, there is even someone checking each garbage bin for food or unknown treasures – he is uninterrupted. Dogs bite the water of the fountain, crackhead strolls his female Amstaff like it’s his baby, playing his favorite song from a Bluetooth speaker (Money Talks). Orchestra plays on an unbranded stage, some participants cry because of the beauty.

The soprano descends in the crowd barefoot, barefoot in public space, singing in the crowd, directly to each individual is such a beautiful metaphor for the trustworthy safety of a cocreated public space. It is here where the good society is constructed, not in government offices.

For me, Satu Mare is like Dubai. There is a tower, there is a fountain, there are G Wagons, there are Dior Saddle Bags. I even saw a Ferrari the other day. In Satu Mare, I have the same schedule here like in Dubai. I wake up, go for a walk in the sun, get to work, end the day with a run on the waterfront (in Dubai it is the Business Bay, here it is the Someș). I watch the sunset, go home, shower, go to the mall to read books and have dinner. I walk around the dancing fountain. I glance at the tower several times a day. To it I say good night every night. This place is safe like Dubai.

Unlike Dubai, this place has no surveillance. And it is still safe. What causes this safety?

It’s not surveillance. It’s not crowd monitoring. It’s not security agents in every corner. It’s not even a strict regulation.

It’s the people. Actively participating in cocreating the space.

Even the clear distinction between natural and constructed actually adds to the beauty. The relationship between the two is drastically cut off by the Someș but they are linked through the Bridge of Friendship. The Bridge of Friendship is actually meant to symbolize a link between different ethnicities. This opting for a bridge instead of an amalgamation conserves and protects both sides while allowing unobstructed connection when needed. Good fences make good neighbors. Good bridges make good friends.

What makes a good society then? Is it diversity? Is it public safety? Is it free access to infrastructure? I think the concept of a good society is instilled in each of us while growing up in our own family. Rousseau mentions that, if a family were natural, children would leave to fend for themselves as soon as they can run, grab and eat. Any delay is no longer natural. It is a contract. The father takes care of the son and is rewarded with love. The state takes care of its constituents and is rewarded with existence. No society means no state.

In Dubai, everyone is so nice to me. Each and every person I interact with insists on first asking me how I am. It was uncanny at first, then I got used to it. I ask first now. This is the standard. In surveillance capitalism, one is only as good as their service quality rating.

In Satu Mare, after a run, I was watching the sunset over the river. I think I was crying from all the beauty of the specific colors of this specific sky in this specific place during this specific time of year. A blonde girl with blue eyes and glasses and braces came up to me and asked “Are you upset?” It was just me and her on the bridge. Nobody saw this gesture. In Satu Mare, you’re only as good as the level you hold yourself accountable to.

If force creates freedom among individuals as they surrender themselves freely to a social contract, where is the force applied on the people of Satu Mare? Are they less free than we are in Dubai? If there is no justice enforced, are they left with being unjust?

Over thousands of years, from Socrates and Aristotle, to Hobbes and Rousseau, to Marx and Engels and John Rawls, scholars mention justice to be unnatural, and adhering to what is just is the intellectual evolution of the human being, breaking away from the natural limitations.

I think being kind is natural. Like the antelopes picking ticks off of each other, the first one hoping the second one will return the favor, but unconditioned by who acts first.

Justice is indeed synthetic. If there is one rule of law, as stated by Hayek, people, through process evolution will make the best out of its predictive effects. If they are ever changing, as let’s say, a fiscal policy, people would be discouraged to accumulate property. No people, no society. No society, no state.

There is no “good” society. This would imply that there is such a thing as “bad” society. Communities self-regulate because kindness is natural. Anything on top of that is unnatural.