Literary Utopian Societies Essay examples -- essays research papers f

Literary Utopian Societies The vision of one century is often the reality of the next (Nelson 108). through and throughout time, great minds have constructed their own visions of utopia. Through the study of utopias, one finds that these perfect societies have many flaws. For example, most utopias tend to have an authoritarian nature (Manuel 3). Also, another obvious imperfection found in the majority of utopias is that of a faulty social class system (Thomas 94). But one must realized that the flaws found in utopian societies serve a specific purpose. These faults are used to indicate problems in contemporary society (Eurich 5, Targowski 1). Over the years, utopian societies have been beneficial in setting breakd standards for society. By pointing out the faults of society, improvement is the most likely next step. Citizens should take advantage of utopian literature in order to better future societal conditions (Nelson 104). Because it is impossible to create a perfect society i n which everyones needs can be met, society must analyze utopias in order to improve their existing environment.Platos Republic was the first true work considered to be utopian literature. In fact, the Republic influenced almost all later text pen on the subject of utopia (Manuel 7). Although the Republic was one of the most influential works in utopian literature, the society that it represented also had many obvious flaws. First, Platos utopia had a distinct class system (Morely iii, Bloom xiii). The privileged class that ruled the society also enforced censorship in order to stay control over the Republic (Manuel 5). To perform all of the lowly tasks of the society, a system of slavery was enforced (Manuel 9). In addition, different forms of propaganda were used to keep the citizens in check (Manuel 5, Bloom xiv). The political and economic systems, in which the wealthy class controlled all the funds, were extremely restrictive (Mumford 4, Bloom xiii). With the society being in foeman to change, it would have obviously failed. A static society, in which propaganda is used to promote the State, disrupts the creative thinking process. And, without the creative thinking process, intellectual growth as a whole also slows (Mumford 4, Benz 3).Yet another famous Utopian society that appears to thrive on the surface is that of Sir Thomas Mores Utopia. Mores society was ... ...us. Brave New World. New York Harper & Brothers, 1932.Kateb, George, ed. Utopia. New York Atherton Press, 1971.Manuel, Frank E., ed. Utopias and Utopian Thought. Boston Houghton Mifflin Company, 1966.Morley, Henry, ed. Ideal Commonwealths. New York Kennikat Press, 1968.Mumford, Lewis. The Story of Utopias. New York The Viking Press, 1962.Nelson, William, ed. Twentieth speed of light Interpretations of Utopia. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey Prentice-Hall, 1968. Taragowski, Henry W. Utopia. 6 Jan. 1999 .Thomas, John L., ed. Looking Backward 2000-1887. Cambridge, Massachusetts Harvard Universi ty Press, 1967.Utopia and Utopian Philosophy. Ed. Jon Will. 1999. Utopia thoroughfare Association. 6 Jan. 1999 .Validation of Electronic SourcesPhillip Benz received a Masters Degree in English Literature and currently teaches in France. Philip Coupland is a professor at Warwick University.Jon Will is the Vice President of the Utopia Pathway Association.Henry Taragowski is a professor at Xavier University.Peter Fitting is the Chairman of the Society for Utopian Studies.