Utopia

(Gr. ou, not, and topos, place. A place that does not exist). From the title of the book Utopia (1516) by English statesman and author Sir Thomas Moore, that described an imaginary ideal republic. Synonymous with the dream of the artificial founding of an earthly paradise, of high social ideals. In our time, Utopianism is characteristic of various philosophical schools of humanist orientation, for it reflects the aspiration to a better world of happiness, equality and well-being. This factor plays a certain positive role in the mobilization of human beings’ creative energies; it contributes to the development of human intentionality as a real stimulus for social progress and as a moral standard. In real life, however, artificial attempts to realize the Utopian ideal “here and now,” without taking into account the concrete circumstances and tendencies in the development of certain societies, led to many abuses of power and numerous human victims. This sad experience is reflected in the critical “anti-Utopian” literature.