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A utopia (/juːˈtoʊpiə/ yoo-TOH-pee-ə) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members.[1] It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, which describes a fictional island society in the New World.
Hypothetical utopias focus on, among other things, equality in categories such as economics, government and justice, with the method and structure of proposed implementation varying according to ideology.[2] Lyman Tower Sargent argues that the nature of a utopia is inherently contradictory because societies are not homogeneous and have desires which conflict and therefore cannot simultaneously be satisfied. To quote:
There are socialist, capitalist, monarchical, democratic, anarchist, ecological, feminist, patriarchal, egalitarian, hierarchical, racist, left-wing, right-wing, reformist, free love, nuclear family, extended family, gay, lesbian and many more utopias [ Naturism, Nude Christians, ...] Utopianism, some argue, is essential for the improvement of the human condition. But if used wrongly, it becomes dangerous. Utopia has an inherent contradictory nature here.
— Lyman Tower Sargent, Utopianism: A very short introduction (2010)[3]
The opposite of a utopia is a dystopia. Utopian and dystopian fiction has become a popular literary category. Despite being common parlance for something imaginary, utopianism inspired and was inspired by some reality-based fields and concepts such as architecture, file sharing, social networks, universal basic income, communes, open borders and even pirate bases.
- ^ Giroux, Henry A. (2003). "Utopian thinking under the sign of neoliberalism: Towards a critical pedagogy of educated hope" (PDF). Democracy & Nature. 9 (1). Routledge: 91–105. doi:10.1080/1085566032000074968. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-12-05. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
- ^ Giroux, H. (2003). "Utopian thinking under the sign of neoliberalism: Towards a critical pedagogy of educated hope". Democracy & Nature. 9 (1): 91–105. doi:10.1080/1085566032000074968.
- ^ Sargent, Lyman Tower (2010). Utopianism: A very short introduction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 21. doi:10.1093/actrade/9780199573400.003.0002. ISBN 978-0-19-957340-0.