The name “utopia” (meaning “no place”) presumes that a utopia cannot be a place. A utopia can be an imaginary place.
A utopia is not a place but is an idea and, as such, it exists in the human mind. Utopia concerns an idealized human behavioral model. It is a blueprint of society. As a model, a utopia is a yardstick to measure features and capabilities of an existing or planned social system. Economy. Taxes, Government. Religion. All topics are fair game for discussion. Topics are fair game for exclusion too; one must not invest excessive time on non-essential features.
As a model, a utopia provides enough of a blueprint that one contemplating human behavioral systems has a tool set for thinking. Figuring out substantive reasons why some human or group’s utopian idea won’t work creates obvious questions. Why not? What could we do more of to further the outcome? What should there be less of?
Having identified one variable. Are there others? Are they correlated or independent? Are there whole defective systems that must be gutted to make a utopia work.
A utopia is not an outcome, in the sense of saying, “we eliminate poverty” or proclaiming “there is war no more”. Such sayings define outcomes. The very outcomes themselves are subjective and subject to interpretation.
A utopia is a model of a working social system which provide goods and services. A utopia explains “how” such a system will behave and what constraints are necessary to assure the behavior comes into being and persists. That it fills its niche and delivers its product in a time affordable and money cost-effective manner. That is contains no hidden social pathology.
My credentials on this topic are that I wrote a book “Newland 2084” about a future world of stable population. Local sustainable communities at the scale of 12,000 humans provide militia scale order. Human producer and consumer cooperatives provide basic human needs. 0% interest loans are available for basic needs, education, housing. NO PREDATORS Everything is decided by changeable (LivingVote) democratic 60%+ vote on an issue by issue basis. NO POLITICIANS. Profit is shared with cooperative members in the form of patronage. I write at Newland Cooperative | Facebook and Newland Coop.
