'Utopia' (from
Greek: οὐ ''no'', and τόπος, ''place'', i.e. "no place" or "place that does not exist") is a fictional
island near the coast of the
Atlantic Ocean written about by
Sir Thomas More as the fictional character Raphael Hythloday (translated from the Greek as "knowing in trifles") recounts his experiences in his travels to the fictional island with a perfect social, legal, and political system. It may be used pejoratively, to refer to a society that is unrealistic and impossible to realize. It has also been used to describe actual communities founded in attempts to create an ideal society.
Related terms
★ '
Dystopia' is a ''negative'' utopia: a totalitarian and repressive world. Examples:
George Orwell's ''
1984'',
Aldous Huxley's ''
Brave New World'',
Anthony Burgess 's ''
A Clockwork Orange'',
Alan Moore's ''
V for Vendetta'',
Margaret Atwood's ''
The Handmaid's Tale'',
Ayn Rand's ''
Anthem'',
Lois Lowry's ''
The Giver'',
Samuel Butler's "
Erewhon" or
Chuck Palahniuk's ''
Rant '',
Half Life 2 with
Wallace Breen and the combines' oppresion over earth.
★ 'Eutopia' is a ''positive'' utopia, but has also been used to ironically describe the
European Union
★ 'Outopia' derived from the Greek 'ou' for "no" and '-topos' for "place" "a perfect place" a fictional, non-realistic place.
★ 'Heterotopia', the "other place", with its real and imagined possibilities (a mix of "utopian"
escapism and turning virtual possibilities into reality) — example:
cyberspace.
Samuel R. Delany's novel ''
Trouble on Triton'' is subtitled ''An Ambiguous Heterotopia'' to highlight that it is not strictly utopian (though not dystopian). The novel offers several conflicting perspectives on the concept of utopia.
★ 'Extropia': In place of the static perfection of a utopia, libertarian transhumanists envision an "extropia", an open, evolving society allowing individuals and voluntary groupings to form the institutions and social forms they prefer.
''Utopia'' is largely based on
Plato's ''
Republic''. It is a perfect version of ''Republic'' wherein the beauties of society reign (eg:
equalism and a general
pacifist attitude), although its citizens are all ready to fight if need be. The evils of society, eg: poverty and misery, are all removed. It has few laws, no
lawyers and rarely sends its citizens to war, but hires
mercenaries from among its war-prone neighbors (these mercenaries were deliberately sent into dangerous situations in the hope that the more warlike populations of all surrounding countries will be weeded out, leaving peaceful peoples). The society encourages tolerance of all religions. Some readers have chosen to accept this imaginary society as the realistic blueprint for a working nation, while others have postulated More intended nothing of the sort. Some maintain the position that More's ''Utopia'' functions only on the level of a satire, a work intended to reveal more about the
England of his time than about an idealistic society. This interpretation is bolstered by the title of the book and nation, and its apparent equivocation between the Greek for "no place" and "good place": "Utopia" is a compound of the syllable ou-, meaning "no", and topos, meaning place. But the
homonymous prefix eu-, meaning "good," also resonates in the word, with the implication that the perfectly "good place" is really "no place."
Types of Utopia
Economic Utopia
These utopias are based on economics. Most of them formed in response to the harsh economic conditions of the 19th century.
Particularly in the early nineteenth century, several utopian ideas arose, often in response to the social disruption created by the development of
commercialism and
capitalism. These are often grouped in a greater "
utopian socialist" movement, due to their shared characteristics: an
egalitarian distribution of goods, frequently with the total abolition of
money, and citizens only doing
work which they enjoy and which is for the
common good, leaving them with ample time for the cultivation of the arts and sciences. One classic example of such a utopia was
Edward Bellamy's ''
Looking Backward''. Another socialist utopia is
William Morris' ''
News from Nowhere'', written partially in response to the top-down (
bureaucratic) nature of Bellamy's utopia, which Morris criticized. However, as the socialist movement developed it moved away from utopianism;
Marx in particular became a harsh critic of earlier socialisms he described as utopian. (For more information see the
History of Socialism article.)
Utopias have also been imagined by the opposite side of the political spectrum. For example,
Robert A. Heinlein's ''
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress'' portrays an
individualistic and
libertarian utopia.
Capitalist utopias of this sort are generally based on
perfect market economies, in which there is no
market failure—or the issue of market failure is never addressed, any more than socialist utopias address the issue of planning failures. Also consider
Eric Frank Russell's book ''
The Great Explosion'' (1963) whose last section details an economic and social utopia. This forms the first mention of the idea of
Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETS).
Sociocapitalism has been proposed to be a candidate of economic utopia. It uses social policies to correct the weakness of capitalism.
Political and historical utopia
Political utopias are ones in which the government establishes a society that is striving toward perfection. Many such governments tend to be harsh in their execution of laws and allow little individualism if it conflicts with their primary goals. Many strive for a controlled society where the state or government replaces religious and family values (and loyalties for that matter).
A global utopia of
world peace is often seen as one of the possible inevitable
endings of history.
Sparta was a
militaristic utopia founded by
Lycurgus (though some, especially
Athenians, may have considered it a
dystopia). It was a Greek
power until its defeat by the
Thebans at the
battle of Leuctra.
Religious utopia
These utopias are based on
religious ideals, and are to date those most commonly found in human society. Their members are usually required to follow and believe in the particular religious tradition that established the utopia. Some permit non-believers or non-adherents to take up residence within them; others (such as the Community at
Qumran) do not.
The
Jewish,
Christian and
Islamic ideas of the
Garden of Eden and
Heaven may be interpreted as forms of
utopianism, especially in their
folk-religious forms. Such religious "utopias" are often described as "gardens of delight", implying an existence free from worry in a state of bliss or enlightenment. They postulate existences free from sin, pain, poverty and death, and often assume communion with beings such as
angels or the
houri. In a similar sense the
Hindu concept of
Moksha and the
Buddhist concept of
Nirvana may be thought of as a kind of utopia.
However, the usual idea of Utopia, which is normally created by human effort, is more clearly evident in the use of these ideas as the bases ''for'' religious utopias, as members attempt to establish/reestablish on Earth a society which reflects the virtues and values they believe have been lost or which await them in the
Afterlife.
In the
United States and
Europe during the
Second Great Awakening of the nineteenth century and thereafter, many radical religious groups formed utopian societies. They sought to form communities where all aspects of people's lives could be governed by their faith. Among the best-known of these utopian societies was the
Shaker movement, which originated in England in the 18th century but moved to America shortly after its founding. Other good examples are Fountain Grove, Riker's Holy City and 15 other Californian utopian colonies between 1855 and 1955 (Hine), as well as in B.C., Canada and 15 other socialist and religious communities round the world, including Finnish "kolkhozes"in the largest utopian society ever, the Soviet Union
(Peltoniemi).
Scientific and technological utopia
These are set in the future, when it is believed that advanced
science and
technology will allow utopian
living standards; for example, the absence of
death and
suffering; changes in
human nature and the
human condition. These utopian societies tend to change what "human" is all about. Technology has affected the way humans have lived to such an extent that normal functions, like sleep, eating or even reproduction, has been replaced by an artificial means. Other kinds of this utopia envisioned, include a society where humans have struck a balance with technology and it is merely used to enhance the human living condition (e.g.
Star Trek). In place of the static perfection of a utopia,
libertarian transhumanists envision an "
extropia", an open, evolving society allowing individuals and voluntary groupings to form the institutions and social forms they prefer.
Garrett Jones published "
Ourtopia" in 2004, arguing that, instead of a 'no place' we need to use all the resources at our command to make 'our place' proof against
climate change and obsolete
tribalisms.
Buckminster Fuller presented a theoretical basis for technological utopianism and set out to develop a variety of technologies ranging from maps to designs for cars and houses which might lead to the development of such a utopia.
One notable example of a technological and
libertarian socialist utopia is Scottish author
Iain M. Bank's Culture.
A variation on this theme was found earlier in the theories of
Eugenics. Believing that many traits were hereditary in nature, the eugenists believed that not only healthier, more intelligent race could be bred, but many other traits could be selected for, including "talent", or against, including drunkness and criminality. This called for "positive eugenics" encouraging those with good genes to have children, and "negative eugenics" discouraging those with bad genes, or preventing them altogether by confinement or forcible sterilization.
Opposing this
optimism is the prediction that advanced science and technology will, through deliberate misuse or accident, cause environmental damage or even humanity's
extinction. Critics advocate
precautions against the premature embrace of new technologies.
Utopianism
Utopianism refers to the various social and political movements, and a significant body of religious and secular literature, based upon the idea of a Utopia on earth. Utopianism is the opposite of a Dystopia. In a Utopian Society, everyone's needs are met, and all rights upheld.
In many cultures, societies, religions, and
cosmogonies, there is some myth or memory of a distant past when humankind lived in a primitive and simple state, but at the same time one of perfect happiness and fulfillment. In those days, the various
myths tell us, there was an instinctive harmony between man and
nature. Men's needs were few and their desires limited. Both were easily satisfied by the abundance provided by nature. Accordingly, there were no motives whatsoever for
war or oppression. Nor was there any need for hard and painful work. Humans were simple and
pious, and felt themselves close to the gods.
These mythical or religious archetypes are inscribed in all the cultures and resurge with special vitality when people are in difficult and critical times. However, the projection of the myth does not take place towards the remote past, but either towards the future or towards distant and fictional places (for example,
The Land of Cockaygne, a straightforward parody of a paradise), imagining that at some time of the future, at some point of the space or beyond the death must exist the possibility of living happily.
These myths of the earliest stage of humankind have been referred to by various names, as the following examples will demonstrate:
'Golden Age'
''The Golden Age'' by Lucas Cranach the Elder.
The
Greek poet Hesiod, around the
8th century BC, in his compilation of the mythological tradition (the poem ''
Works and Days''), explained that, prior to
the present era, there were other four progressively most perfect ones, the oldest oldest of which was called the ''
Golden age''.
Also
Plutarch, the Greek historian and biographer of the
1st century, dealt with the blissful and mythic past of the humanity.
'
Arcadia'
Arcadia, e g in
Sir Philip Sidney's prose romance ''
The Old Arcadia'' (1580). Originally a region in the
Peloponnesus, Arcadia became a
synonym for any rural area that serves as a
pastoral setting, as a ''locus amoenus'' ("delightful place"):
'The Biblical Garden of Eden'
The '
Biblical Garden of Eden' as depicted in '''
Genesis''' 2 (
Authorized Version of 1611):
:And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. [...]
:And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. [...]
:And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; [...] And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
'The Land of Cokaygne'
The Land of
Cokaygne [also spelled ''Cockaygne'' or ''Cockaigne''] (in the German tradition referred to as ''"Schlaraffenland"
[1]'') has been aptly called the "poor man's heaven", being a popular fantasy of pure
hedonism and thus a foil for the innocent and instinctively
virtuous life that is depicted in all the other accounts mentioned above. Cockaygne is a land of extravagance and excess rather than simplicity and
piety. There is freedom from work, and every material thing is free and available. Cooked larks fly straight into one's mouth; the rivers run with wine; sexual
promiscuity is the norm; and there is a
fountain of youth which keeps everyone young and active.
There is a medieval poem (c. 1315) written in rhyming
couplets which is entitled "The Land of Cokaygne":
:Far in the sea, to the west of Spain,
:Is a country called Cokaygne.
:There's no land not anywhere,
:In goods or riches to compare.
:Though Paradise be merry and bright
:Cokaygne is of far fairer sight....
Finding utopia
All these myths also express some hope that the
idyllic state of affairs they describe is not irretrievably and irrevocably lost to mankind, that it can be regained in some way or other.
One way would be to look for the 'earthly paradise' -- for a place like '
Shangri-La', hidden in the
Tibetan mountains and described by
James Hilton in his Utopian novel ''
Lost Horizon'' (1933). Such paradise on earth must be somewhere if only man were able to find it.
Christopher Columbus followed directly in this tradition in his belief that he had found the
Garden of Eden when, towards the end of the 15th century, he first encountered the
New World and its peoples.
Another way of regaining the lost paradise (or ''
Paradise Lost'', as 17th century English poet
John Milton calls it) would be to wait for the future, for the return of the
Golden Age. According to
Christian theology, man's Fall from Paradise, caused by man alone when he disobeyed God ("but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it"), has resulted in the wickedness of character that all human beings have been born with since (
"Original Sin") such as
Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four became the primary method of Utopian expression and rejection. (Kumar 1987)
Still, post-war era also found some Utopianist fiction for some future harmonic state of humanity (e.g.
Demolition Man (film)).
In a scientific approach to finding utopia, The
Global scenario group, an international group of scientists founded by
Paul Raskin, used
scenario analysis and
backcasting to map out a path to an environmentally sustainable and socially equitable future. Its findings suggest that a global citizens movement is necessary to steer political, economic, and corporate entities toward this new sustainability paradigm.
Examples of utopia
★
Observe & Control's Debut Album "Utopia" is a musical project that serves as a homage for the rise and fall of Utopian Projects.
★ ''
New Australia''
★ ''
Plato's Republic'' (400 BC) was, at least on one level, a description of a political utopia ruled by an elite of
philosopher kings, conceived by
Plato. (Compare to his
Laws, discussing laws for a real city.)
a Gutenburg text of the book
★ ''
The City of God'' (written
413–
426) by
Augustine of Hippo, describes an ideal city, the "eternal" Jerusalem, the archetype of all Christian utopias.
★ ''
Utopia'' (
1516) by
Thomas More a Gutenberg text of the book
★ ''
Reipublicae Christianopolitanae descriptio (Beschreibung des Staates Christenstadt)'' (
1619) by
Johann Valentin Andreæ, describes a Christian utopia inhabited by a community of scholar-artisans and run as a democracy.
★ ''
The Anatomy of Melancholy'' (
1621) by
Robert Burton, a utopian society is described in the preface.
★ ''
The City of the Sun'' (
1623) by
Tommaso Campanella depicts a theocratic and communist society.
★ ''
The New Atlantis'' (
1627) by
Francis Bacon
★
Zwaanendael Colony (1631) by
Pieter Corneliszoon Plockhoy in
Delaware
★
Aldous Huxley's ''
Brave New World'' (
1932), a pseudo-utopian
satire (see also
dystopia). His last book, ''
Island'' (
1962), presents a foil to this by taking many of the same elements (e.g. drugs) and using them to free, rather than enslave, people.
★
Shangri-La described in the novel ''
Lost Horizon'' by
James Hilton (
1933)
★ ''
Islandia'' (
1942), by
Austin Tappan Wright, an imaginary island in the Southern Hemisphere, a utopian containing many
Arcadian elements, including a rejection of technology.
★
B. F. Skinner's ''
Walden Two'' (
1948)
★ ''
The Cloud of Magellan'' (
1955) by
Stanisław Lem
★ ''
Andromeda Nebula'' (
1957) is a classic communist utopia by
Ivan Efremov
★
The Great Explosion,
Eric Frank Russell 1963 In the last section setting out a workable utopian economic system leading to a different social and political reality.
★ ''
The Corridors of Time'' by
Poul Anderson (1965) features a protagonist recruited by a woman from a future society to go back in time to help her fight her
dystopian, time-traveling foes, who dominate half the world in her time. The utopian claims of her society are undermined, especially by time-travelers from a more distant, actually utopian future who plunge him into aspects of it hidden from him, and hint that their future must be brought about by his actions.
★ ''
Imagine (song)'' (
1971) by
John Lennon, prays for "brotherhood of man", which would exist in a utopia without hell or heaven.
★ ''
The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas'' (
1969), by
Ursula K. Le Guin, edited by
Kim Stanley Robinson
★ ''
Always Coming Home'' (
1985), by
Ursula K. Le Guin, a combination of fiction and fictional
anthropology about a society in California in the distant future
★ ''The
Kingdom of Zeal in
Chrono Trigger'' (
1995)
★ ''
The Hedonistic Imperative'' (
1996), an
online manifesto by
David Pearce, outlines how
genetic engineering and
nanotechnology will abolish
suffering in all
sentient life.
★ ''
The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You'' (
1997) by
Dorothy Bryant
★ ''
The Matrix'' (
1999), a film by the
Wachowski brothers, describes a
virtual reality controlled by
artificial intelligence such as
Agent Smith. Smith says that the first Matrix was a utopia, but humans rejected it because they "define their reality through misery and suffering." Therefore, the Matrix was redesigned to simulate human civilization with all its suffering.
★ ''
K-PAX''(
2001), a film based on the book of the same name, is about a man who calls himself prot, an alien from a "utopian planet" K-PAX.
★ '', (
2004) presents a utopia with a bias toward
matriarchy, in the distant future of Earth, "translated" by D.J. Solomon
★ ''
Ourtopia'',(
2004) is Garrett Jones's projection of an ideal planet towards which to work.
★ ''
Ensaio sobre a Lucidez'' ("Treatise on Lucidity") by
José Saramago (
2004), describes a city where there is 83% of blank votes at an election.
★ ''
Globus Cassus'', (
2004), is a project for the transformation of the Earth into a large, hollow structure inhabited on the inside, which would be organised by new types of societies and political systems.
★ ''
Celebration, Florida'', a city developed by The Walt Disney Company.
★ The first story arc in the seventh season (
2004-
2005) of the supernatural
dramedy series
Charmed involves the transformation of the world into an utopia through the fear of a common enemy.
★
Hermann Hesse's ''
The Glass Bead Game'' (
1943) shows Castalia, a utopian society for the intellectual elite.
★ ''
News from Nowhere'' by
William Morris (
1892), ... Pardon me Who strive to build a shadowy isle of bliss Midmost the beatind of the steely sea. Shows "Nowhere", a place without politics, a future society based on common ownership and democratic control of the means of production.
★
Lois Lowry's ''
The Giver''
★
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