Socially Engaged Buddhism does not aim at creating an external utopia. Socially Engaged Buddhism is not the only force of good in the world today. Socially Engaged Buddhism is not a contradiction in terms. Perhaps the West's most pervasive misconception concerning Buddhism is the charge of nihilism and quietism. This view characterizes Buddhism as an overly negative philosophy, the practice of which leads to total annihilation.
Meditation is reduced to a method of self-negation.
Any concern for ethics or social action is rendered superfluous, as we are headed for oblivion in the best case, rebirth into more suffering in the worst. These are highly subtle philosophical points, easily misunderstood when taken out of the context of ancient India from which they came. In any case, they were not well understood when the judgment of 'negative, passive religion' was passed on Buddhism by those early scholars. Buddhist philosophy is actually very positive, holding a view that is both realistic in its description of the human predicament, and amazingly optimistic in its description of human potential. This awakening is not annihilation, nor is it a blissfully self-absorbed meditation state.