Is utopia a possibility?

Most utopian concepts are a statement of ideals. They might work briefly in small communities of like-minded people, such as the Shakers or the Oneida community. As a society where membership was not by choice, probably disasterous.

Read all about here. :)

Utopia literally translates to ‘not a place.’ The term was coined to be a location that would never exist. To quote a little Huxley:
“But I like the inconveniences.”
“We don’t,” said the Controller. “We prefer to do things comfortably.”
“But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.”
“In fact,” said Mustapha Mond, “you’re claiming the right to be unhappy.”
“All right then,” said the Savage defiantly, “I’m claiming the right to be unhappy.”

Of course I would take the cure all medicine and then proceed to be bored to death if there were no challenges or problems left to solve.

Yes, but only in Nirvana.

If it’s not really worth striving for then it’s not really a utopia, I suppose :)

But no, I don’t think it’s possible, as everybody’s idea of a perfect world is different.

And I still need to read Huxley.

Wouldn’t work for the entire world, as what people consider problems are not the same for everyone. Some people don’t care about pollution for example, and make money by killing animals. As wrong as most of us may perceive this, if that one millionaire is reduced to drinking river water and tending a garden, he’s not happy anymore and the Utopia fails by definition.

The problem to begin with is that a Utopia is meant to cater to every single person within, yet everyone who thinks up what the ideal Utopia would be ultimately thinks for themselves only.

Protip-See Hitler.

That, and perfection doesn’t exist as anything concrete beyond our desires, and technically that isn’t perfection.

It really comes down to how you define “utopia”. If it means that every human being feels that the world and society they are living in could not be better in any possible way, then i doubt it. Even if we could cure all diseases, poverty, etc we would probably still disagree on some things. If it means that we could solve MOST problems, overcome MOST obstacles, cure ALMOST anything, then yes, a utopia is most certainly achievable.

@Cruiser, didn’t you see Zardoz?~

many great answers…a few thoughts though…

the idea that there is some sort of a singular definition seems folly…ideally, “utopia” would cater to all at the individual level.

also, it seems interesting that most reject the idea of a utopia, despite the fact that we, as a society, seem to move towards it…(or to attempt to move towards it)

to reject the panacea seems to imply that one would be willing to leave the underprivileged in the world to disease…to not wish to cure disease as a whole, in this regard, means that we prefer to value our own health more when there are unhealthy people…likewise, if we want to feel “rich”, it implies that we want there to be poor, or poorer people than ourselves…

isn’t that selfish?

(more thoughts please!)

People will always have complaints about at least one aspect of the government, be it health care, leadership, military, or just how the food tastes. In other words, it will probably never happen.

Ok, so I looked it up, Here it is according to Webster.
Main Entry: uto·pia
Pronunciation: \yu̇-ˈtō-pē-ə\
Function: noun
Etymology: Utopia, imaginary and ideal country in Utopia (1516) by Sir Thomas More, from Greek ou not, no + topos place
Date: 1597

1 : an imaginary and indefinitely remote place
2 often capitalized : a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions
3 : an impractical scheme for social improvement
So, with the dictionary definition out of the way, I think what you’re asking about could truly only exist in a sci-fi novel. (See my reference to Zardoz). You’re talking about attaining perfection, and an elevated level of consciousness so profound as to leave behind the need for individuality. A collective, so to speak, where all are equal, all needs are met, all desires are met. But further than this, having attained this exalted elevation of consciousness, we would no longer BE subject to crass and base desires of the flesh. We, none of us, would desire dominion over another, power over another, or to take that which belonged to another. And in another sense, there would be no belongings as the needs of all were met by all and the resources would be at the disposal of all. We would not be thinking unclean and lustful thoughts about each other. We would be concerned only with the inner peace and oneness.
Which begs the question; Would we as a race simply die out for lack of procreation? Or would we procreate as a duty to maintain the population?
I’ll be in the back, smoking a hookah with a cool cat(erpillar). When I have my next revelation I’ll come back and see what’s up.

You should read The Giver.

A life without challenge is not worth living.

The unexamined life is not worth living. Socrates. @vincentcent , you might be a great mind~

It is built into us to compete for status, so there are always going to be winners and losers.

@Trillian No I didn’t but a huge flying stone head that says…“The gun is good. The penis is evil. The penis shoots seeds, and makes new life to poison the Earth with a plague of men, as once it was, but the gun shoots death, and purifies the Earth of the filth of brutals. Go forth . . . and kill!” would be a real good challenge in deed!

@Cruiser hehehehehe! Nice work. The only quote I can remember from that movie is Friend “No! I won’t go with you to second level!” I have to agree though, the penis is EVIL!~

Not as long as humans are fundamentally wonky.

@Cruiser
That looked like a really bizarre movie.

@Nullo ”really bizarre” is what gets me to spend my money on a rental!! :D

Even if Utopia were possible, it would be really boring. Nothing is perfect except an occasional swish shot from mid-court.

Besides Utopia means different things to different people. Religious people would expect it to be a place where everyone followed their religious principles. Dopers would think it’s a place you could get a perfectly rolled joint for a buck.

For me it would be having my choice of scantily clad women to escort me to an open buffet.

No use worrying about it.

A Utopia would be bland and boring. If you get everything you want without trouble, it doesn’t really matter. This is why you find so many rich people who are incredibly depressed. I would go mad in a Utopia.

It is the rain, not just the sun that makes a flower bloom.

Only if you lobotomize everyone.

Personally, I fear people who seek Utopia for exactly this reason.

@the_state_of_wisconsin Yes it is hypothetically possible, once you define “Utopia” then there is an infinitesimal chance that will occur.

The same is true for intelligent life in a nearby solar system.

On the other hand if you ask is utopia probable – then definitely not.

I know it this way. Why are we lazy? – Imagine a cave man who thought it would be good idea to train for a decathlon in the dead of winter.

Cold, sick, half dead from starvation – he sets out. – His progeny never see the light of day. Instead the tribal couch potatoes survive to see another summer.

Our bodies are rigged to resist expenditure of energy. It’s a good thing pre-historically. When we train physically, we elevate to a higher tolerable level of activity – to where routine activity doesn’t get us. When we don’t train we atrophy, and fatigue occurs at a lower level of “needed” activity.

Without pain, the foot of a diabetic will follow the same course as that of a leper.

Pain, fatigue, sadness, all serve their purpose – life without pain, is a life without limbs.

Oh – regarding Wisconsin, where you probably live – having the opportunity to travel there, I am aware that the soil carries an ancient curse. Utopia will never occur there. ; )

@DrMC lol, not from wisconsin actually, but in my experience, you are totally correct.

i propose that utopia then, is a world in which we are essentially in complete control over our own perception. the body becomes baggage.

why leave the house if you could do that?

(check out second life…its crazy!)

I think it would be like the Doctor Who version.

@the_state_of_wisconsin Not expecting utopia to be possible doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive to achieve it – even if we don’t make it, being closer to it is better than being further away.

If it was an ideal world…we would have nothing to look forward to in our lives…everything would just be there. Unless of course there is room for further improvement…but then it won’t be a utopia then….

ouch my head.

Suppose 1.6 million years ago a member of the homo ergaster species asked herself the question whether a website like www.fluther.com was possible and whether she could eventually access it using Firefox. Her mate told her to stop ruminating about utopia. He felt cold and wanted a real fire. She asked herself whether people could outfox all the obstructive elements along the way.

Look what happened.

Welcome to utopia. Welcome to Fluther.

I would say Utopia isn’t possible, unfortunately. In “The Matrix” Mr. Smith mentions that human beings need suffering to prove that they’re alive… a utopia would seem so perfect we would refuse it as reality and assume it was a dream the whole time. It would drive us insane. It’s the same reason we’re drawn to destruction and terrible events on the news, it lets us know that we’re not in a perfect world and that things are normal.

@Mitchell_Lewis . I think you may have oversimplified a bit. It seems more likely that we are drawn to the news ugliness and wrecks alongside of the road out of a perversity of nature. I think it’s more of a reflection of our society as a whole. I don’t want to get all into it, but here’s a link that can really discuss in depth what becomes of a society that loses sight of the value of human life.
http://www.iridescent-publishing.com/rtm/ch1p1.htm
Of course, I could be wrong. I’m not always a reliable source.

@Mitchell_Lewis welcome to fluther! I agree about a little suffering, not so much the news. There’s that saying from somewhere,“how would we know we’re happy if we haven’t been sad?”. But the medical fix, oh yes, yes, yes.

@Ron_C If it’s boring, it’s not a utopia anyway. Unless that’s what everyone wants, which i doubt.

@pat some people call a place with a perfect government, perfect climate, perfect food utopia. It is like a Hawaiian vacation. It’s o.k. and fun for a couple weeks, but I wouldn’t want it to last permanently. I need some action, danger, a little conflict. I had all of that today because I drove on the parkway through Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, by the way, isn’t utopial either.

I would call a place where everything was perfect and you sat around all day talking about your feelings or god, hell. Of course, if I had to drive through Pittsburgh everyday, that would be hell too.

The same moment utopia is achieved it ceases to be utopia.