Utopian Visions

    A utopia is an imagined place with ideal qualities with no conflict or negativity. It sounds impossible, and many would argue that it is. The word "utopia" originates from the Greek words, "ou," meaning "not," and "topos" meaning place, so quite literally, Utopia is "not a place." As seen in many works of literature, the creation of a Utopia ends up more like a dystopia, failing miserably at its intended purpose. Take for instance the books Divergent, by Veronica Roth, Matched, by Allie Condie, and even The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. One common aspect in each book is a society created for the benefit of everyone, with strict rules in place to ensure there is no reason for conflict or disparity between people. In the end, however, the rules and idea behind the society ends up causing much of the conflict throughout the story. The only exception of the three would be The Hunger Games, as the rules heavily favor the higher classes and the districts closest to the capital, but the idea is still born from the concept of a dystopian future. So it seems clear that a Utopia is not possible.
    The main reason why many believe a utopia is not possible is that no two people can agree on absolutely everything the exact same way with no conflict at all. Even if they have similar ideals and values, there is always something to disagree upon. If that idea is taken and multiplied by a billion, there is no possible way for conflict to be nonexistent. Along with that, everyone has their own ideas of what a perfect world would look like. This is just modeling a single country as a Utopia, rather than the whole world. But is everything really this hopeless?
    Before researching this concept of a Utopia, I too thought it was impossible. However, after watching "Is Utopia Always Dystopia? Is Utopia Possible?" by Freedom of Thought, on YouTube, I think it may not be quite as impossible as I originally thought. Yes, a world with no conflict is by no human means possible, but an improved world with more acceptance and care for people and their differences is. In the video, the narrator explains how the world around us has descending levels of analysis in how we interact with everything around us. At the bottom is the individual, and in ascending order is the family, the community, the country, the planet, and the universe at the top. Using this idea, the video explains two approaches to a utopia: the top-down approach, and the bottom-up approach. Put simply, the top down approach creates and implements a set of ideals at the highest level, which forces all the lower levels to conform to the new standards. The bottom-up approach, however, focuses on starting with the individual making their own conscious decisions to better themselves, which will in turn affect the higher levels creating a more positive outcome that can evolve with a changing world. The video explains even more about the concept of a utopia and what it would take to make it work, so I will include a link to it below. Based on the evidence in the video, there is hope that people can work together to create a better world that isn't necessarily a true utopia, but rather utopia-like.
    While the concept of a true utopia will never truly exist, especially given that it literally means "not a place," many will still visualize what a perfect world would look like. After doing a bit of research, I think a better vision of a utopia is where each individual focuses on bettering themselves emotionally, physically, and morally so they can in turn make a better world for those around them.

"Is Utopia Always Dystopia? Is Utopia Possible?" by Freedom of Thought

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