Utopia/Preface

The aim of this book is to collect examples of Utopian ideologies both past and present; to examine attempts — both successful and otherwise — to implement them; and to analyze the factors at play in utopian thinking. Additionally, critiques of utopian thoughts and ideals and the way in which they relate to utopian thinking will be examined in similar depth.

A further aim of this writing is to assist those who wish to create the "perfect" society. Since the beginning of time, humans have attempted, with varying levels of success, to improve their respective societies in order to make them more harmonious systems; the problem for those thinkers developing theories of the perfect society is that it is oftentimes much easier to "improve" an existing society than it is to build a better one from nothing—though more than a few have tried to build "from scratch" in ways ranging from peaceful change to violent revolution.

The reader may wish to consider the following questions while reading or contributing to this book: If you had the opportunity to build the perfect society — considering the available resources in the land in question, the level of scientific knowledge, the developmental level of computer science, and so forth — what would it be? What economic system would you choose? What political system would be implemented? What laws passed, what rights recognized, what constitution written? And are attempts to create a perfect society ultimately doomed to failure?