UTOPIA
Peter More in 1516 coined the word utopia. The literal meaning is the good place that is also no place (Levitas/Kumar). People often refer to utopia as an unrealistic dream or dreamer; something that demands perfection. In the Hedgehog Review, Krishan Kumar, author of Utopia on the Map of the World, says that in order to understand what a real utopia is, we have to depart from these radically ideas of what a utopia is. My thoughts on the definition of utopia has always been restricted to this place or time where everything seems perfect, almost like magical. Through past sociology class and my findings in the Hedgehog Review, my narrow-minded meaning has become more truthful and sensible. If great men of our times, utopian theorist, saw some wonderful society that could someday change this unjust world, then there must be some truth behind it. Utopia, though hard to imagine, could be a possibility for our future.
Utopia is the name for an ideal community. It is sometimes thought of as a society that constantly strives for perfection. According to Paul Edwards’, The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the tradition of utopian thought, in it’s restricted sense, is thus made up of ideas and images of social harmony.” This does not mean to go back to the state of nature, where all were self-reliant and free of dominance. But rather, we have a more realistic approach to a utopia. One needs to acknowledge the present problems in the world, while looking to our fellow man for a brighter future. The framework for a utopian life must be social. The idea of utopia does not wash away the ideas of society, but rather builds on them through organization and institutional articulation. In The Hedgehog Review, Ruth Levitas, author of Being in Utopia, tells us that we should not look at this definition of utopia as the good life, but recognize that there are utopian elements to many cultural forms. Utopia, is therefore, “ the expression of the desire for a better...