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The Utopian Paradox - Is a Utopia Always a Dystopia

Close your eyes for a moment, and imagine what a perfect world would look like to you. A society that would be regarded as the epitome of human civilization collectively functioning under unified ideals, residing in a hyper-modern AI operated realm and completely driven by order.

The word perfect could pretty much mean anything to a person, however the common vision of a near perfect world has been around for centuries, and is generally referred to as a Utopia.

Though the way a lot of us perceive a Utopia can vary vastly, numerous fictional authors throughout the years have detailed their interpretation of an ideal society, which gives us an insight into how one could function.

A prime example of this is the 16th Century book titled “Utopia” authored by Sir Thomas Moore who was a pioneer of the term, and gave it newfound meaning in this book.

Though his visualisation depicts a totalitarian state with practices such as slavery, which a lot of us may not agree with, the book had profound influence and begs the question: Is a Utopia always a Dystopia?

The basis for a Utopia as described by several fictional works, also fits into the description of a crippling Dystopia. Totalitarian states are established to bring about order, but at what cost? In the absence of free speech and expression, people begin to lose their individuality and succumb to noble lies made by governments.

Communal living, slavery and life-long leaders are common patterns repeated in numerous future Dystopian works, yet is also the core of the Utopian ideal.

Almost all ancient cultures have a story about humankind which begins in a near perfect state, but is believed to have gradually deteriorated as the net-total of all human actions began to lean towards the negative side. But does this necessarily mean that as each day passes we’re steadily inching towards an inevitable Dystopia?

I personally disagree, and still do believe that a Utopia is possible, and the following backs this up.

In recent times, newly freed people have begun to experiment with the very nature of society, and have brought about revolutionary socio political-reforms which have had an entirely positive impact on society without any significant consequences. Similarly, average life expectancy has increased from 30 years of age in the 18th Century to 70 years worldwide. Rates of poverty have also been in constant decline since the 1800s. These are what I like to call “positive-sum-games”, which are win-win situations for humanity as a whole.

The important questions to ask are how many positive-sum-games we can play, how much better could the world actually get, and how do we continue down this path?