Why the perfect society is literally a place that cannot exist

Art · Published 30 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The term utopia, coined by Sir Thomas More in 1516, is a linguistic trap. Derived from Greek, it means both good place and no place. This inherent contradiction defines the concept: we are driven to imagine ideal worlds, yet the very act of defining them reveals their impossibility.

Utopianism is as old as human history, rooted in ancient myths of a Golden Age where nature provided abundance and humanity lived in harmony. From Homer’s Scheria to the biblical Garden of Eden, these archetypes resurface during times of crisis. While ancient visions often looked toward a lost, blissful past, modern utopianism typically projects these desires into the future or onto fictional landscapes. The term itself, popularized by More, remains a clever pun; the Greek prefix ou- means not, while eu- means good. This suggests that the perfectly good place is, by definition, nowhere.

The practical application of these ideals often manifests as intentional communities. In the United States, religious groups like the Shakers and the Harmony Society—which lasted from 1805 until 1905—sought to build heaven on earth. Anthropologist Richard Sosis found that religious communes were significantly more durable than secular ones, with 39 percent surviving 20 years compared to just 6 percent of secular experiments. Sosis suggests that the costly sacrifices demanded by religious life act as an adaptive solution to the free-rider problem, fostering cooperation where secular models often fail.

Today, the concept remains a vital, if paradoxical, tool for progress. Philosopher Slavoj Žižek argues that true utopia is not mere fantasy, but an inner urgency—a necessary response when existing systems offer no way forward. Whether through the rigid class structures of Plato’s Republic or the communal manufacturing of the Oneida Community, the pursuit of utopia serves as a lighthouse. Even if the destination is unreachable, the act of sailing toward it forces us to confront the limitations of our current reality and imagine what might be possible.

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