Utopianism
Ideal commonwealth philosophy
Utopianism is belief in or pursuit of an ideal society—one without poverty, injustice, or conflict.
The term derives from Thomas More's 1516 book *Utopia*, describing a fictional perfect commonwealth.
Utopianism can be earnest aspiration or an accusation: Critics dismissed the proposal as utopianism, suggesting impractical idealism divorced from human nature.
Utopian thinking has inspired social movements, planned communities, and political ideologies, though attempts to implement utopian visions have sometimes produced dystopian results.
Communal economic control
- anarchismPhilosophy rejecting state authority
- communismCollective ownership system
- libertarianismMinimal-government political philosophy
- collectivismGroup primacy doctrine
syndicalism · communalism · federalism · direct democracy · participatory democracy · decentralization · self-governance · abolition
Shared-living community
- intentional communityPlanned values-based residential collective
- kibbutzIsraeli communal farm
- ecovillageIntentional sustainable residential community
- ashramHindu spiritual retreat
cooperative · Oneida · Shakers · collective living · self-sufficiency · back-to-the-land · homesteading · shared resources
Belief in noble principles
- naivetyInnocent lack of experience
- impracticalityBeing unworkable in reality
- totalitarianismState controls everything absolutely
- social engineeringManipulating people for information
coercion · groupthink · failed experiment · disillusionment · authoritarianism · cultishness · zealotry · fanaticism
- Brave New World1932 dystopian fiction
- 1984Dystopian surveillance state tale
- WaldenMassachusetts pond and memoir
- IslandLand surrounded by water
paradise · ideal society · worldbuilding · allegory · satire · speculative fiction · social commentary
Belief in prophesied utopia
- messianismFaith in ultimate deliverance
- heavenSky or bliss
- nirvanaRelease from cyclical existence
- promised landHoped-for place of fulfillment
Zion · New Jerusalem · eschatology · salvation · rapture · golden age · Eden · afterlife
Tech-augmented evolution philosophy
- singularityPoint where values explode
- post-scarcityEconomy without resource limits
- automationSelf-operating system design
- futurismStudy of tomorrow's possibilities
space colonization · artificial intelligence · immortality · cybernetics · abundance · innovation · progress · Silicon Valley
socialism
Communal economic control
- anarchismPhilosophy rejecting state authority
- communismCollective ownership system
- libertarianismMinimal-government political philosophy
collectivism · syndicalism · communalism · federalism · direct democracy · participatory democracy · decentralization · self-governance · abolition · statelessness
commune
Shared-living community
- intentional communityPlanned values-based residential collective
- kibbutzIsraeli communal farm
- ecovillageIntentional sustainable residential community
ashram · cooperative · Oneida · Shakers · collective living · self-sufficiency · back-to-the-land · homesteading · shared resources · communitarian
idealism
Belief in noble principles
- naivetyInnocent lack of experience
- impracticalityBeing unworkable in reality
- totalitarianismState controls everything absolutely
social engineering · coercion · groupthink · failed experiment · disillusionment · authoritarianism · cultishness · zealotry · fanaticism · dogmatism
Thomas More
- Brave New World1932 dystopian fiction
- 1984Dystopian surveillance state tale
- WaldenMassachusetts pond and memoir
Island · paradise · ideal society · worldbuilding · allegory · satire · speculative fiction · social commentary
millennialism
Belief in prophesied utopia
- messianismFaith in ultimate deliverance
- heavenSky or bliss
- nirvanaRelease from cyclical existence
promised land · Zion · New Jerusalem · eschatology · salvation · rapture · golden age · Eden · afterlife · transcendence
transhumanism
Tech-augmented evolution philosophy
- singularityPoint where values explode
- post-scarcityEconomy without resource limits
- automationSelf-operating system design
futurism · space colonization · artificial intelligence · immortality · cybernetics · abundance · innovation · progress · Silicon Valley · smart city
- Slavic ThoughtRussian soul, Frank, Bakhtin, Pan-Slavism, Russian Orthodoxy
Utopianismrealism
Accepting things as they are
pragmatism · practicality · realpolitik · cynicism · incrementalism
Utopianismdystopianism
Belief in dark futures
apocalypticism · catastrophism · pessimism · dystopian · nihilism
Utopianismconservatism
Preference for existing institutions
traditionalism · status quo · gradualism · reactionism · preservationism