Let’s Talk About: Are Utopias Possible?

Utopias have been idolized throughout history. The first recorded book on a utopia is by Sir Thomas More, as he was the first person to use the word. His book, “Utopia”, resulted in people wanting to achieve or go to an actual utopia. Unfortunately for those wanting a utopia, this resulted poorly. Utopias are not possible because they require the right amount of leadership, willing citizens, and no flaws that could lead to their downfall.

Utopia’s require the correct amount of leadership. Too little will result in chaos or the community being disbanded and too much will tip into the dystopian category. Examples of controlling leadership can be found in “The Giver” by Lois Lowry. Two of those are the speakers and Elsewhere. Elsewhere is a place made up by the council as a way to conceal the truth behind releasing.1 The speakers are how the council listen in on the community and inform them of events. An example of their monitoring can be found on page 25 when Jonas took an apple from school and “The only thing that happened was the announcement later that evening over the speaker, the announcement that had singled him out without using his name”. The proves that the council is monitoring the citizens of the community as no other governments monitor their citizens that closely. A single apple taken by a curious, young student shouldn’t be recognized in such a manner. Surveillance is a sign of a dystopia, according to the video “Utopia is Dystopia” by KnowledgeHub. In the book “1984” by George Orwell, there is a supreme government that monitors everyone. It a dystopian society, although no one knows it except for the main character. This is very similar to “The Giver” as it, too, is a dystopian novel with extreme surveillance.

Willing citizens are a key part of any society. However in Robert Owen’s utopia, New Harmony, it did not have citizens willing to stay. Founded in 1824, the only people willing to join the town were “lazy or crazy”2 as well as a handful of intellectuals. However, by 1829, the intellectuals left and the community collapsed. This happened due to the fact that they were the only ones willing to keep the utopia afloat. New Harmony was not the only failed utopia will citizens unwilling to stay.  In “The Giver” there were several moments when the citizens were unwilling to stay. This can be observed whenever someone applied for Release. A prime example is Rosemary. Unable to handle painful memories, she wanted out. This resulted in her death which is mentioned on page 151 when the Giver says, “And I listened as Rosemary told them that she would prefer to inject herself.” When the Giver says “inject”, he is referring to what Jonas witnessed earlier of what being released really is which is, in simpler terms, euthanization.

An example of a flaw that lead to the demise of a utopia from the past is the Shakers’ abstinence rule. The Shakers were a religious group in 18th century England who were established in hopes of a utopia. However, one of their rules was “no sex”. This caused no children, so they weren’t able to sustain their way of living. Another flaw from past attempts at utopias can be found at the Fruitlands utopia. Established in 1843, it only lasted for about a year. This was due to the fact the people of Fruitlands did not want to harm the natural life. Not harming the Earth seemed all well and good, however, the reality of that plan was not as expected.  Due to the fact that they planted foods that would not harm the worms and no livestock was used to tend the land, they did not last through the winter of 1843. There was practically no food for the community to eat, so they disbanded.

In conclusion, a utopia is unachievable due to the precision in leadership, the willingness of the citizens, and the lack of flaws required. In today’s society, the leadership will either be too strong or not strong enough. People are stubborn as well, so they are unlikely to submit to the authority established. Even if people submit and the strength of the leader is the correct amount, there will be flaws. Everything and everyone has flaws. Examples include racism, sexism, and other such twisted morals. Trying to build a utopia in today’s society will be like trying to build a house of cards during a megathrust earthquake*.

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Sources

“10 Failed Utopias From History” Youtube, Eskify, September 24 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=aD3pUDIAoBY . Accessed on March 4, 2019

“Questions and Answers on Megathrust Earthquakes” Natural Resources Canada, Government of Canada, November 3 2017, http://www.earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca/zones/cascadia/qa-en.php . Accessed on March 4, 2019

“Thomas More’s Utopia” The British Library, The British Library, https://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item126618.html . Accessed on March 4, 2019

“Utopia Is Dystopia” Youtube, KnowledgeHub, April 15 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=335&v=cDeMzg31T2I . Accessed on March 4, 2019

Footnotes

* megathrust earthquakes are the most powerful earthquakes

1 a direct quote is not available for this as it is figured out over the course of the book

2 this quote is from “10 Failed Utopias From History”

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