Utopia

[[File:Thomas More Utopia November 1518 Page 25, Dialogue of Counsel (The Folger Shakespeare Library).jpg|thumb|right|165px|Illustration from Thomas More's ''Utopia'']]
{{philosophy}}

{{cquote|I heard it was you<br>Talking 'bout a world where all is free<br>It just couldn't be<br>And only a fool would say that|||<i>Only a Fool Would Say That</i>, Steely Dan''}}

A '''utopia''' refers to the result or aim of any effort to make the world or [[human|humankind]] perfect.  It derives from the book ''Utopia'' by Sir Thomas More (1516), about an ideal society where everybody is happy and has everything they need, although the concept is much older, particularly in religious writing.<ref name=hertzler>[https://archive.org/details/historyofutopian00hertuoft/page/n11 The history of utopian thought], Joyce Oramel Hertzler, Cooper Square Publishers, New York, 1965</ref> In the original version of More's book, there was an addendum by More which in part said, "Wherfore not Utopie, but rather rightely my name is Eutopie, a place of felicitie".<ref>[http://theopenutopia.org/full-text/anemolius/ A Short Meter Utopia Written by Amemolius, Poet Laurete and Nephew to Hythloday by his Sister.]</ref>  "Eutopia" in Greek means "Good Place", while the near homophone Outopia means "No Place".

In many cases, the word "utopian" can be used as a [[snarl word]]. [[Communism|Marxists]] were accustomed to contrasting their "scientific" socialism with the pre-Marxist "utopian" socialist philosophies. It can also be applied by [[conservative]]s to [[liberal]] or [[leftism|leftist]] reformers with an equal amount of irony. 

One drawback a utopian "planner" must deal with is that one person's utopia is often another person's [[Hell]]; another is that [[human nature|humans are flawed]], and since society is populated and run by humans, it’s inevitable that society will be flawed as well; lastly, there are few utopian ideas that are not by now completely worn out.

==Examples==
* ''The City of God'' (426 CE) by [[Augustine of Hippo]] sets out a contented, spiritual city in opposition to an evil earthly city of the flesh.<ref>{{wpa|The City of God}}</ref>
* ''Utopia'' (1516) by Thomas More
* Robert Owen (1771-1858) was a British textile manufacturer who tried to construct model communities for his workers, such as New Lanark in central Scotland, where workers' children were educated, and workers could buy things at fair prices rather than be forced to shop at rip-off company stores.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/entries/b39285e4-19eb-347e-9af3-06b2391b525f Robert Owen, socialist and visionary], BBC Wales blogs</ref>
* [[Charles Fourier]] (1772-1837) was an early utopian [[socialist]] thinker whose writings described a society where everybody would co-operate and live in harmony.<ref>[https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/fourier/index.htm Charles Fourier Archive], marxists.org</ref>
* Étienne Cabet (1788-1856) was a utopian socialist who described his ideal society in ''Voyage to Icaria'' (1840)<ref>{{wpa|Étienne Cabet}}</ref>
* Edward Bellamy's ''Looking Backward: 2000–1887'' (1888) set out a vision of a socialist society based on nationalization (which he confusingly called nationalism) and was a massive bestseller in the USA.<ref>{{wpa|Looking Backward}}</ref>
* ''A Modern Utopia'' (1905) by H. G. Wells described an ideal future society by a writer better known for nightmarish visions of the future. It proposed a society where energy was the currency, mechanization meant most people didn't need to work, and men and women were equal, with marriages lasting a few years unless children were produced. However, it was also based on an asceticism derived from Wells's idea of the samurai, including a ban on alcohol and drugs.<ref>{{wpa|A Modern Utopia}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Dystopia]]
*[[Golden age]]
*[[Libertarian paradise]]

==External links==
*[http://theopenutopia.org/home/ Open Utopia]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Futurism]]
[[category:Government]]
[[Category:Political theory]]
[[Category:Political terms]]

Categories: Futurism, Government, Political theory, Political terms