Utopia

A utopia at the highest level is a civilization that possesses a highly desirable and extremely high standard of living for its citizens. They arise when socialism based on collective ownership, communal work, authoritarian rule, and a command-and-control economy collides with natural-born desires for autonomy, individual freedom, and choice. What constitutes such a state of existence is personal and debatable, but by human standards, these are some utopian categories:


 * Economics - an egalitarian distribution of goods, with the total abolition of money. Citizens only do work which they enjoy and which is for the common good, leaving them with ample time for the cultivation of the arts and sciences. This is a post-scarcity economy that typically arises with the invention of something like a replicator. Capitalism, a system that relied on authoritative, controlling, and exploitative relationships between that of capitalists and workers, is a relic of the past. There is a universal basic income, and a global currency. Poverty is completely eliminated.


 * Technological utopianism is a premise that advances in science and technology could and should bring about utopian ideals such as post-scarcity, transformations in human nature, the avoidance or prevention of suffering, and even negating the possibility of extinction. Technology should not be all-pervasive however; green ecologies should be preserved or created, and nature should be respected
 * Racism, religious intolerance, feminism, and basic violations of human and animal rights will all be in the past, giving equality for all races, creeds, and genders. Social issues such as the family unit and the treatment of women and minorities are high priority.
 * Justice is fair and the legal system is admired. Policing is effective against violence and crime, giving citizens security, hope and happiness.
 * Citizens are free to follow their own moral and ethical codes, be it religious or secular.
 * Politicians and government officials represent citizens and are not selfish and corrupt.
 * Education moves on from antiquated rigid structures to emphasizing creativity and aptitudes of individuals. People are still free to study what their hearts desire.
 * Everyone of able body must work in accordance with natural aptitudes, in order to contribute to division of labour and the overall wellbeing of the society.

The idea of peace and prosperity in a utopia does not prevent the eventuality of war and discord. Utopian movements can be revolutionary and overthrow the status quo and provide an alternate way of life. An alternative is therefore a protopia which proposes incremental progress in steps toward improvement, not perfection.

A Type II utopian outcome could be a hybrid galactic culture, with millions of trading and cooperating worlds in a galactic community of civilized solar system societies, heading towards sophonce and beyond in Type III.

Examples:


 * Humans on Earth in Star Trek live in a utopia. Hunger, war, disease, famine, and poverty had largely been eliminated. The acquisition of wealth was no longer the primary driving force, bur rather continued social and personal development. Thanks to the non-currency-based New World Economy and the development of replicators, material needs were largely satisfied. Risa was another popular holiday destination, seen as a paradise by those who visited.
 * The Culture was a post-scarcity economy, and was materially self-sufficient. It had productive capability whose capacity exceeded material needs which were readily available from interstellar sources. The Culture enjoyed a universally high standard of living and even a hedonistically-oriented lifestyle enabled by technology.
 * Shangri-La is a place in Lost Horizon by James Hilton, described as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains. It is an earthly paradise, an enduringly happy land, isolated from the world. Its citizens are almost immortal, living hundreds of years beyond the normal lifespan and only very slowly aging in appearance.

Compare:

Dystopia