Dear Friend,

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I know that you waited for so long to hear from me. It has been a week since I arrived at Herland and I have two weeks of journey left. At first I thought that this place would be a great source for learning about the ways in which an “ideal” civilization could be fostered. I was also curious of the ways in which those conditions differ from our society and civilization. However, now that I think Herland is not an inspiration of humanism and universalism fulfilled by the realization of anarchist ideals for our civilization. Instead, it symbolizes the reappearance of a civilization similar to which was established by Nazism.
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The occupants of Herland have a solid interest in unity and cooperation. At first, I thought that this quality differs from the fundamental dynamics of our capitalist society. Their ways of handling daily social and cultural activities and economic relations resemble the ones of an anarchist political structure. However, as the time passed, I recognized that this thought of mine was very shallow. Indeed, the qualities which I counted as a symbol for universalism, and also by which Herland actuates an anarchist dynamic, are nothing but profound declarations of racism and ultimate progressivism with utmost level of rationalism.
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The citizens of Herland mostly emphasize the importance of the notion of motherhood. According to them, “the longed-for motherhood was not only a personal joy, but a nation’s hope.” By this way, motherhood is important to them not just only for personal joy but also to the point that it serves their national interests. Mothers are expected to be patriots in Herland. Moreover, their religion is also oriented on the notion of motherhood. They have a mother goddess and believe in maternal pantheism. This brings the notions of nation, motherhood (subjects of nation) and religion all together in the same package. In addition, one of the residents said to me that, “Every step of our advance is always considered in its effect on them—on the race. You see, we are MOTHERS.”
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The togetherness that I mentioned is also accompanied by race. The importance of race was revealed to me by a citizen as follows: “We all come from same source, no family name. Each one of us has our exact line of descent all the way back to our dear First Mother.” The continuity between the first generation and the very last are crucial for Herlanders. Some of them claim that the society is constantly progressing by education: “It may be that all these higher qualities were latent in the original mother, that careful education is bringing them out, and that our personal differences depend on slight variations in prenatal condition.” Here it is evident that the interest in progression goes hand in hand with the notion of race. As the years passed, they got rid of the “bad qualities” of the individuals in order to establish a “better society with better people”, as evident in one of the resident’s statements: “When we began—even with the start of one particularly noble mother—we inherited the characteristics of a long race record behind her. And they cropped out from time to time—alarmingly. But it is—yes, quite six hundred years since we have had what you call a ‘criminal.’” This kind of interest of the Herlanders reminds me the notion of eugenics.
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To conclude, Herlanders’ intention for progression on the basis of race and with the assistance of eugenics makes me think of a racist and anti-humanist civilization rather than a peaceful one, which could have been an inspiration for our civilization. Hence our civilization should not take Herland as an example, but as a reminder of the worst disasters of humanity caused by ultimate actuation of racism.
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