Tuesday, February 19, 2013

One Man's Utopia....

We have read several different opinions on utopia so far from a broad range of times and personal backgrounds and so far there is no universal ideal of utopia. Sure some of them share common ideals like working hard and sharing goals but some preach strict rules, teachings, censorship, and other limitations. Personally I don't see this as utopia and that's where the issues begin.

EVERYONE has a different view on perfect. Someone could want ultimate freedom to do whatever they want whenever they want. Someone else could want strict rules, guidelines, and someone else to tell them how to live their life so they won't have to make decisions. A third person could want a mix of the first two. So how can anyone ultimately define a utopia? Honestly, I'm not sure you can. It will always be open for debate and criticism.

The fact that it is always under such scrutiny is what makes utopias such an interesting topic. If you couldn't sit around with a group of people (or even just yourself) and debate the aspects of what you want in your personal utopia I don't believe it would be so amazing. If everyone agreed on the ultimate utopia and perfection there wouldn't be a "utopia", we'd already be living it. Utopia is meant to be a constantly changing and evolving goal. It is like the light at the end of the tunnel. We are on a journey to better ourselves and in turn reach the light of utopia.

1 comment:

  1. I agree with the foundation of your argument that everyone "has a different view on perfect." This is the constant issue that arises when I'm reading any of our assigned texts or any books that I've encountered in the past. Thus far it has been hard for me to envision the potential for utopia because in my opinion every person that lives in said utopia must agree on the rules and lifestyle of the utopia. Unfortunately this isn't necessarily ever going to be possible because children will be born into these "utopias" and they won't have necessarily agreed to the living conditions. I believe this is why intentional living communities or attempted utopian communities never seem to last past a generation or two. Also, in order to make things "perfect" and control certain aspects of a society oftentimes ugly things must occur in the shadows to make the appearance of the light so bright.

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