My Perception of an Ideal Society (Utopia)

My Perception of an Ideal Society (Utopia)

Introduction

A word meaning “nowhere” (from Greek; ou = no, topos = place), “utopia” was coined by the British statesman and author Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) in his book of the same name. Today the word denotes an imagined ideal community, and More's book has sometimes served as a blueprint for actual experiments in community (Berneri, 2001). Utopia had precedents in classical Greek and Latin literature and has enjoyed a considerable afterlife in literature, political philosophy, and popular culture. Its connotations can be positive or negative, suggesting either admirable ideals or discredited illusions. In the past hundred years, failed utopias have garnered the name “dystopias,” particularly in their totalitarian forms.

My Perception of an Ideal Society (Utopia)

A utopian society is a society which has perfect political and social order. When talking about a utopian society, the word perfect is synonymous. A perfect society seems close, but is really very far away. The ideal society consists of knowledge, reverence, and equality. Knowledge is the information that people acquire and use to have a better awareness and understanding of things. Reverence is having a respectful attitude towards something or someone that is held in high regard. Equality is when all living things are equal, and no one or thing is any better than another. These are the grounds on which the utopian society can prevail (Berneri, 2001).

The foundation of the ideal society rests on the human mind. Knowledge brings better understanding. Education and knowledge are very important to this society. Religion dies because people do not feel confused, inferior, or empty. Citizens of the utopia are content with knowing that they lack the knowledge of the overall scheme of things. Of course they seek out this knowledge, but they do not claim to profess this knowledge.

School is necessary to expand one's knowledge. From the age of five to eighteen, children attend school. In this span of time, children are prepared for their place in utopia. School is where the children gain the tools that will allow them to maintain this utopia. The sort of job one gets depends on desire and availability. If the job desired is not available, a different job is taken until the desired job becomes available. It is recognized that everyone's part is essential to a perfect society, so no one minds taking a different job than they desire. This is one example of how rationality plays a big part in utopia. Everyone can accept realities and the word "whine" is not a part of their vocabulary. Occupations such as doctors and lawyers are not held in high regard. Only jobs that merit praise receive it, such as teachers. This also pertains to everything else in utopia. Anything that is undeserving of praise is not valued (Friesen & Friesen, 2004).

Everyone gets what they are entitled to and greed no longer exists. No one takes more than they should, so everything is equally divided without actually having to divide ...