LibGuides: Dystopias & Utopias: Utopias

Definition

Utopia is defined as a place, state or condition that is ideal or perfect.

In a society that is perfect or ideal (defined by characteristics like economic security, equality, and safety for all), a figurehead or concept brings the citizens together. But they are not treated as singular. Citizens are free to think independently and citizens live in a harmonious state.

Contemporary Utopias

The Utopia Reader, Second Edition by Gregory Claeys (Editor); Lyman Tower Sargent (Editor)
ISBN: 147986465X
Publication Date: 2017-02-14
"The Utopia Reader compiles primary texts from a variety of authors and movements in the history of theorizing utopia. Prominent writers and scholars across history have long explored how or why to envision different ways of life. The volume includes texts from classical Greek literature, the Old Testament, and Plato's Republic, to Sir Thomas More's Utopia, to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and beyond. By balancing well-known and obscure examples, the text provides a comprehensive and definitive collection of the various ways Utopias have been conceived throughout history and how Utopian ideals have served as criticisms of existing sociocultural conditions.
Last Utopians by Michael Robertson
ISBN: 0691154163
Publication Date: 2018-05-29
Smart Cities by Anthony M. Townsend
ISBN: 0393349780
Publication Date: 2014-10-06
"An unflinching look at the aspiring city-builders of our smart, mobile, connected future. In Smart Cities, urbanist and technology expert Anthony Townsend takes a broad historical look at the forces that have shaped the planning and design of cities and information technologies from the rise of the great industrial cities of the nineteenth century to the present. A century ago, the telegraph and the mechanical tabulator were used to tame cities of millions. Today, cellular networks and cloud computing tie together the complex choreography of mega-regions of tens of millions of people."
Everyday Utopia by Kristen R. Ghodsee
ISBN: 1982190213
Publication Date: 2023-05-16
A “fascinating” (The Wall Street Journal), “spirited and inspiring” (Jacobin) tour through the ages in search of the thinkers and communities that have dared to reimagine how we might better live our daily lives.
Utopian Pasts and Futures in the Contemporary American Novel by Tim Lanzendörfer
ISBN: ‎ ‎9781399519144
Publication Date: 12/6/23

Characteristics of Utopias

Characteristics of a Utopian Society

• Information, independent thought, and freedom are promoted.

• A figurehead or concept brings the citizens of the society together, but not treated as singular.

• Citizens are truly free to think independently.

• Citizens have no fear of the outside world.

• Citizens live in a harmonious state.

• The natural world is embraced and revered.

• Citizens embrace social and moral ideals. Individuality and innovation are welcomed.

• The society evolves with change to make a perfect utopian world.

Types of Utopian Ideas

Most utopian works present a world in which societal ideals and the common good of society are maintained through one or more of the following types of beliefs:

• Economic ideas: Money is abolished. Citizens only do work that they enjoy.

• Governing ideas: Society is controlled by citizenry in a largely individualist, communal, social and sometimes libertarian “government”. The term government is used loosely, as power is seen to corrupt, so constructed government systems are warned against.

• Technological ideas: In some cases, technology may be embraced to enhance the human living experience and make human life easier and more convenient. Other ideas propose that technology drives a wedge between humanity and nature, therefore becoming an evil to society.

Ecological ideas: Back to the nature, humans live harmoniously with nature and reverse the effects of industrialization.

• Philosophical/religious ideas: Society believes in a common religious philosophy, some fashion their surroundings around the biblical Garden of Eden. In inter-religious utopias, all ideas of God are welcomed. In intra-religious utopias, a singular idea of God is accepted and practiced by all citizens. The

Utopian Protagonist

• works to promote the ideals of society.

• questions the existing social and political systems with the aim to bring positive change.

• believes or feels that the society in which he or she lives is always getting better.

• helps the audience recognize the positive aspects of the utopian world through his or her perspective.

Classical Utopias

Utopia by Thomas More; Paul Turner (Translator, Introduction by)
ISBN: 0140441654
Publication Date: 1965-01-30
Sir Thomas More's entertaining description of Utopia, an island supporting a perfectly organized and happy people, was a best-seller when it first appeared in Latin in 1516. This work of a Catholic martyr has later been seen as the source of Ana-baptism, Mormonism, and even communism. Utopia revolutionized Plato's classical blueprint of the perfect republic, mainly by its realism. Locating his island in the (then) New World, More endowed it with a language and poetry, and detailed the length of the working day and even the divorce laws. Such precision gives a disturbing and exciting impact to Utopia, which still remains a book of the future.
The Republic by Plató
ISBN: 9781613820155
Publication Date: 2011-03-01
rom around 380 B.C., this classic work by famed Greek Philosopher Plato, is written in the form of a Socratic dialogue. Read for free on Project Gutenberg.
The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx; Frederick Engels; Martin Malia (Introduction by)
ISBN: 0451527100
Publication Date: 1998-10-01
n 1848, two young men published what would become one of the defining documents of modern history. The Communist Manifesto, as it was called, rapidly realigned political faultlines all over the world, and its aftershock resonates to this day. In the 150 years since its publication, no other social program has inspired such divisive and violent debate. And the recent collapse of the first regime that embraced it calls for a new, retrospective interpretation of the Manifesto'sintent and impact.
The Shape of Things to Come by H. G. Wells
ISBN: 9781473333529
Publication Date: 2016-09-01
First published in 1933, “The Shape of Things to Come” is science fiction novel written by H. G. Wells. Within it, world events between 1933 and 2106 are speculated with a single superstate representing the solution to all humanity's problems.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
ISBN: 9780060850524
Publication Date: 2006-10-17
Aldous Huxley's profoundly important classic of world literature, Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order–all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls.

TRUTH or Un-TRUTH?

A quote from Margaret Atwood states,

"within every dystopia, there's a little utopia."

Ten Most FUTURISTIC Cities in the World

Environmental Utopias

Orleans by Sherri L. Smith
ISBN: 9780399252945
Publication Date: 2013-03-07
First came the storms. Then came the Fever. And the Wall. After a string of devastating hurricanes and a severe outbreak of Delta Fever, the Gulf Coast has been quarantined. Years later, residents of the Outer States are under the assumption that life in the Delta is all but extinct...but in reality, a new primitive society has been born. Fen de la Guerre is living with the O-Positive blood tribe in the Delta when they are ambushed. Left with her tribe leader's newborn, Fen is determined to get the baby to a better life over the wall before her blood becomes tainted. Fen meets Daniel, a scientist from the Outer States who has snuck into the Delta illegally.
Our Planet, Our Choice by Scientific American Editors (Editor)
Call Number: 363.738OUR
ISBN: 1684169186
Publication Date: 2022-11-16
This title allows readers to explore how climate change and global warming are shaping human communities and the natural world.
Concordat: a Brief Utopia by Martin L. Buchanan
ISBN: 9798389006157
Publication Date: 2023-04-09
In a time of war and difficulties, this story is a positive vision of what humanity could be if we work together..
The Future We Choose by Christiana Figueres; Tom Rivett-Carnac
ISBN: 0593080939
Publication Date: 2021-04-06
Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac outline two possible scenarios for our planet. In one, they describe what life on Earth will be like by 2050 if we fail to meet the Paris Agreement’s climate targets. In the other, they lay out what it will be like to live in a regenerative world that has net-zero emissions. They argue for confronting the climate crisis head-on, with determination and optimism. The Future We Choose presents our options and tells us what governments, corporations, and each of us can, and must, do to fend off disaster.
Ecotopia 2121 by Alan Marshall
ISBN: 9781628726008
Publication Date: 2016-10-04
Ecotopia 2121 harnesses the power of the utopian imagination to confront our current problems, among them climate change, and offer a radical, alternative vision for the future of our troubled planet.

Historical Utopias

Utopias in American History by Jyotsna Sreenivasan
ISBN: 9781598840520
Publication Date: 2008-10-24
An insightful look at the long tradition of communal societies in the United States from colonial times to the present, examining their ideological foundations, daily life, and relationships to mainstream American society. * 40 entries on specific utopian communal movements in American history, from the Puritans to the Amish to single-tax movement communities * 45 entries on special topics related to utopian life, including socialism, Bible-based communism, family roles, and leadership * 25 entries on important figures, including Robert Owen and Eberhard Arnold, and events such as the Branch Davidian disaster * A comparative chronology detailing the dates of existence of the utopias covered *
Utopian Impulse in Latin America by Kim Beauchesne (Editor); Alessandra Santos (Editor)
ISBN: 9780230103528
Publication Date: 2011-10-12
An exploration of the concept of utopia in Latin America from the earliest accounts of the New World to current cultural production, the carefully selected essays in this volume represent the latest research on the topic by some of the most important Latin Americanists working in North American academia today.
Spaces of Hope by David Harvey
ISBN: 0520225783
Publication Date: 2000-03-29
As the twentieth century drew to a close, the rich were getting richer; power was concentrating within huge corporations; vast tracts of the earth were being laid waste; three quarters of the earth's population had no control over its destiny and no claim to basic rights. There was nothing new in this. What was new was the virtual absence of any political will to do anything about it. Spaces of Hope takes issue with this. David Harvey brings an exciting perspective to two of the principal themes of contemporary social discourse: globalization and the body. Exploring the uneven geographical development of late-twentieth-century capitalism, and placing the working body in relation to this new geography, he finds in Marx's writings a wealth of relevant analysis and theoretical insight.
Marx by Peter Singer
ISBN: 9780192854056
Publication Date: 2001-01-18
Peter Singer identifies the central vision that unifies Marx's thought, enabling us to grasp Marx's views as a whole. He sees him as a philosopher primarily concerned with human freedom, rather than as an economist or a social scientist. He explains alienation, historical materialism, theeconomic theory of Capital, and Marx's ideas of communism, in plain English, and concludes with an assessment of Marx's legacy.
Everyday Utopias by Davina Cooper
ISBN: 0822355698
Publication Date: 2013-12-27
"Everyday utopias enact conventional activities in unusual ways. Instead of dreaming about a better world, participants seek to create it. As such, their activities provide vibrant and stimulating contexts for considering the terms of social life, of how we live together and are governed. Weaving conceptual theorizing together with social analysis, Davina Cooper examines utopian projects as seemingly diverse as a feminist bathhouse, state equality initiatives, community trading networks, and a democratic school where students and staff collaborate in governing. She draws from firsthand observations and interviews with participants to argue that utopian projects have the potential to revitalize progressive politics through the ways their innovative practices incite us to rethink mainstream concepts including property, markets, care, touch, and equality.

Dystopias & Utopias: Utopias