Similarities And Characteristics Of Utopian Society

Ideal. Flawless. Unrivaled. Quintessential. Too good to be true. Perfect. In addition to being synonyms of one another, all of the aforementioned words share one similar and unique characteristic – they all describe utopian societies. A utopia is generally defined as a ‘perfect world’. In this type of society, every individual is equal and the woes of humanity – greed, war, starvation – are nonexistent. However, this type of world can be found in an often-criticized government – socialism. Generally speaking, a socialist society is one in which the community owns and controls its assets as a whole. Thus, the two types of societies share many similarities. Furthermore, utopian societies are, in principle, most similar to socialist societies.

The origins of utopian societies date back to ancient empires. For example, the Greek philosopher Plato theorized the ideal Greek state in his publication, the Republic. His explanation of ideal societies stood until Sir Thomas Moore fantasized an imaginary island in which no problems – disease, war, poverty – existed in his novel, Utopia, written in 1516 (“Utopias”). In addition, Moore is credited with coining the term ‘utopia’. Through his descriptions of the perfect state, the term has come to mean any place in which a system of political or social perfection exists (“utopia.”). The Protestant Reformation further transformed the implications of utopia breaking the common beliefs regarding labor. Martin Luther, for instance, stressed that no one job was of more spiritual importance than another. In addition, John Calvin, a supporter of predestination, stressed that working hard for the community was a sign that that individual was part of the Elect – a much sought after inclusion (“Utopias”)...

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...can be incorporated into modern society (Wright 2). Above all, the most similar characteristic is the main purpose of each society: to construct an ideal place where poverty doesn’t run rapid, all are fed, disease is treated, and wealth is distributed evenly.

Contrary to public opinion, utopian and socialist societies are one in the same. Beginning with Plato and ending with failed experiments in America, both styles of governing have demonstrated the purpose of creating equality for all through elimination of poverty. Even though they are fundamentally the same, connotations present in film and literature, and the educational system has skewed their appearances. From this hypocrisy has developed. People strive to create utopias but fear socialism. How can socialism be bad and utopias be good if they are, in principle, the same type of society? They simply cannot.