Utopianism

Meaning of Utopianism

We can see the meaning of Utopianism in the name; the term utopia originates from a combination of the Greek terms 'eutopia' and 'outopia'. Outopia means nowhere and eutopia means a place that's good. Utopia, therefore, refers to a society that can be characterised as perfect or at least qualitatively better. Usually, this includes ideas like perpetual harmony, peace, liberty, and self-fulfilment.

Utopianism is used to describe ideologies that aim to create utopian societies. Anarchism is an example of this as within anarchism there is the belief that once individuals have rejected all forms of coercive authority they will be able to experience true freedom and harmony.

However, utopianism is not specific to anarchism, any ideology that seeks to create a perfect and harmonious society can be described as utopian. Socialism and more specifically Marxism are also utopian as within these ideologies we see an attempt to construct a model of what a perfect society is.

At their core, utopian ideologies have a vision of how the world should look like, this utopian vision serves to influence the foundations of the ideology, and also to critique the current state of the world, as compared to this utopian vision.

Fig. 1, Painting of the Garden of Eden

Utopian Theory

Utopianism influences a number of political ideologies but we can see the greater influence of utopian theory in Anarchism.

Anarchism and utopia

All branches of anarchism are utopian, regardless of whether they are individualist or collectivist forms of anarchism. This is because anarchism has an optimistic view of human nature, all anarchist utopias are centred on a stateless society. Without the overarching and exploitative presence of the state, anarchists believe that there is a possibility of utopia. However, the need for a stateless society is where the agreement on how to achieve a utopia begins and ends between anarchists.

On the one hand, collectivist anarchists theorise a utopia whereby, under a stateless society, humans would band together on the basis that it is in human nature to be cooperative and sociable. An example of this utopian view can be seen in Anarcho-communism and Mutualism (Politics).

On the other hand, individualist anarchists envision a utopia in which individuals have the freedom to decide how to govern themselves under a stateless society and rely heavily on the belief in human rationalism. The main types of individualist utopianism are Anarcho-capitalism, Egoism, and Libertarianism.

Fig. 3, Painting of a utopia

Anti-Utopianism

Utopianism is often critiqued, as the establishment of a perfect society is viewed as being too idealistic. Liberals and Conservatives, who usually believe in anti-utopianism, argue that human beings are naturally self-interested and imperfect. It is not possible for humans to live together in constant harmony, and history demonstrates this to us. We have never witnessed the establishment of a utopian society, as it is not possible due to the very nature of humans.

Anti-utopianism argues that the optimistic view of human nature is misguided, as ideologies such as anarchism are largely based on the perception of humans as morally good, altruistic and cooperative; the ideology is completely flawed due to this false perception of human nature. As a result of this, utopianism is often used in a negative sense as it is something that is unachievable and unrealistic.

The tensions between ideologies in regards to what a utopia should look like further encourage criticism of utopianism as there is no consistent opinion of what a utopia looks like and how to achieve it. These tensions cast doubts on the legitimacy of utopianism.

Finally, utopianism often relies on unscientific assumptions of human nature. There isn't any proof that human nature is good. So anti-utopianists say that basing whole ideologies on the belief that a utopian society is achievable with absolutely no evidence is flawed.

Utopianism history

Fig. 2, Portrait of Sir Thomas More

First used in 1516, the word utopia appears in Sir Thomas More's book of the same name. Thomas More was the Lord High Chancellor under the reign of Henry VIII. In his work titled Utopia, More wished to describe in detail a place that did not exist, but should. This place would serve as an ideal to which all other existing places could aspire to be. Imagination is the only place where utopia can be found.

Whilst Thomas More is credited as being the creator of the word utopia, he did not start the history of Utopianism. Initially, those who envisioned a perfect society were referred to as prophets. This was because prophets were heavily critical of contemporary systems and rules, and often envisioned what the world could be like one day. These visions usually took the form of a peaceful and unified world, devoid of oppression.

Utopian Books

Utopian books have played a large part in the development of Utonpmaisn. Some of the most significant are Utopia by Thomas More, New Atlantis by Sir Francis Bacon, and men like Gods by H.G. Wells.

Thomas More, Utopia, 1516

In Thomas More's Utopia, More describes a fictional meeting between himself and a character referred to as Raphael Hythloday. Hythloday critiques English society and the rule of kings who impose capital punishment, encourage private property ownership and have little room for religious tolerance.

Hythloday speaks of a Utopia in which there's no poverty, property is communally owned, there is no desire to wage wars, and society is based on rationalism. Hythloday explains that he wished some of these aspects that exist within the utopian society could be transferred to English society.

Sir Francis Bacon, New Atlantis, 1626

New Atlantis was an unfinished book based on scientific utopianism that was published after the death of Sir Francis Bacon. In the text, Bacon explores the idea of a utopian island known as Bensalem. Those who live on Bensalem are generous, well-mannered and 'civilised' and have a keen interest in scientific developments. The island is kept a secret from the rest of the world, and its harmonious nature is attributed to being a result of its technological and scientific prowess.

H.G. Wells, Men Like Gods 1923

Men Like Gods is a book written by H.G. Wells that is set in 1921. In this book, inhabitants of Earth are teleported to a utopia 3,000 years in the future. The world as humans formerly knew it is referred to as the days of confusion. In this utopia, there is a rejection of government and the society exists in a state of anarchy. There is no religion or politics and governance of the utopia is founded upon the principles of free speech, privacy, freedom of movement, knowledge, and privacy.