Anthony, C. (2017). The Idea of a Realistic Utopia (Publication No. 2168) [Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania]. Scholarly Commons.
According to this dissertation, an ideal society is the one whose occupants identify themselves with because it has specific conditions that they view as the most appropriate for them. Such a society is responsive to its people’s deepest convictions, which are agreed upon by free and liberal citizens. The selection of this society’s attributes is based on the universal intimate understanding of its doctrines, which can be used to judge and rank non-ideal alternatives coming second or third after the ideal one. The dissertation further implies that an ideal society must accommodate the conflicting, inescapable, and obligatory competing element. According to Anthony (2017), every member of society needs to enjoy all the privileges available, and the utopian philosophy argues against any form of discrimination, not even against minority groups. It should also allow for the reality of reasonable pluralism and staunch values and opinions. There are instances when different members of a society can have contradicting interests. The only way out of this should be to consider the benchmarks of the doctrines and principles defining an ideal society and how they tend to each other. A great emphasis has been laid on the difference between the theories of a perfect society. The varying detailed, political, and moral views indicate the need for an approach which will consider the problems of describing an ideal society. This dissertation is accurate and relevant as it examines the topic from several perspectives before arriving at a final definition of an ideal society.
Böker, M. (2015). The concept of realistic utopia: Ideal theory as critique. Constellations, 24(1), 89-100. Web.
This article argues that an ideal society will contribute to building up reflective and critical capacities within a population. Böker (2015) tends to respond to those skeptical of such a society, giving the answer which exceeds just dismissing and accuses the critics, who he says, misunderstood the central concept. In an ideal society, utopia plays a significant role in breeding a new disposition of a democratic revolution rebutting a passivity, which would otherwise lend itself to falling to new authoritarian methodologies. Böker (2015) suggests that people should view a perfect society from an ideological perspective and internalize it to ensure they understand it before criticizing. The article also claims that communities only engage in severe discourses through ideal theories. These models help challenge some social facts which have been overlooked regarding society. Böker (2015) suggests that these are the conditions which humanity needs to make life worth living. Therefore, utopian thought should be merged with democratic elements to develop the best safeguard against totalitarianism and define an ideal society in the best way. Consequently, it gives an optimistic hope that the utopian spirit can still be retained and nurtured in such a society. This article is relevant and provides meaningful elaborations of an ideal society using utopia and ideal theories.
Haarmann, H. (2016). Plato on women: Revolutionary ideas for gender equality in an ideal society. Cambria Press.
This book describes an ideal society by using Plato’s political philosophy ideas. Gender issues are among the leading causes of conflict in society. In most ancient civilizations, females were not involved in much of society’s decision making. With women and other social movements, gender roles started to be addressed, and later women were given a chance to take over some community functions. Haarmann (2016) argues that an ideal society is free of chauvinism and stereotyping. The discussions in this book are somewhat in contrast to the real issues affecting women in the modern world but can best be addressed by an ideal society. Haarmann (2016) bases his scholarly work on the revolutionary nature of gender roles in society. In this book, the priority lies in describing the roles of women as a reconstruction against a society of classical antiquity. Therefore, the keyword guiding the author’s analysis of an ideal society is equality. All property is communal, both men and women are educated, and thousands of people in an ideal society live and relate with each other with peace, love, and harmony. This book is relevant as it shapes modern utopian thinking, and it helps address such elements as wealth distribution, social quarrels, and political disagreements found in a common society.
More, T. (2016). Utopia. Verso.
This book is written by Thomas More, an award-winning fiction writer. It offers an extensive exploration of modern utopias and their limits. More (2016) emphasizes the need to develop utopian thinking to define an ideal society best. Some sections of the book were adapted from Ursula K. Le Guin’s essays as a part of Moore’s project to create a distinguished utopian approach. The book’s definition of an ideal society is that having almost perfect qualities for all its occupants. The conditions, laws, politics, and customs are desirable, and all members of this community are all equal and share many values, norms, and traditions. There are no social classes because they will lead to conflicts and division, as is the case with common societies. Thus, although More (2016) argues that people in an ideal society must not be spotless, they enjoy civil liberties and perfect harmony. Freedom, independent thought, and information are promoted in such a setting, and its citizens do not fear expressing themselves. Moreover, individual occupants are allowed to follow their preferred passions, without interference, which makes them happy to belong in that society. The government is benevolent, and it treats its citizens with dignity and equality. This book is relevant to this topic as it is more confined to the qualities of a utopia and accurate because the author has explored the topic extensively.
Williams, S. J. (2016). Personal prefigurative politics: Cooking up an ideal society in the woman’s Temperance and woman’s suffrage movements, 1870–1920. The Sociological Quarterly, 58(1), 72-90. Web.
This article assorts the subdivisions of culture, gender, and social movements to assess how women’s movements used household chores, for example, cooking, as a stepping stone to social change. In past cultures, females were confined to household activities, while men dominated much in societal affairs. Williams (2016) uses the concepts of these movements and pre-figurative politics to illustrate what an ideal society should be. The article also demonstrates that the household was pivotal to the experiences of women. Therefore, the movements are expected to politicize the family and society. The easiest way to understand how the females fight for social change is to consider how activists challenge the status quo in their quest for an ideal society (Williams, 2016). The central idea derived from these movements is that society is not ideal if it denies women the chance to be equal to men. Women have participated in many campaigns with varying levels of success in their pursuit of a perfect society, with both equality and equity. Their pursuit of social change was a good route to use towards their ideal society, and these days, women’s rights have been given much attention. The article is relevant because it demonstrates how a perfect society can be achieved by first realizing social change, as it was done prior to the women’s movements.