You should not even look at the map of the world where utopia is indicated, because it ignores the country towards which humanity tirelessly strives.
Oscar Wilde
Each of us once heard the term "utopia." Today, in the fantasy genre of utopia, they often write books and make films. What is utopia and what signs does it have? How did this term appear? Read.
The "birth" of utopia
The term comes from the ancient Greek and means "a place that does not exist" (u topos). According to another version, utopia is translated from Greek as "the best place" (eu topos). Today it is called a genre of literature that is close to science fiction. In such books, the author describes the ideal, in his opinion, society and social system. For centuries, it is known that this is utopia, but the word itself has spread thanks to Thomas More.
In 1516, the writer and philosopher Thomas More wrote a book in Latin. The book was distinguished by an incredibly long title, which is rare in literature. It was called “The Golden Book, as useful as it was funny about the best state system and the new island of Utopia.” In short it was simply called “Utopia.” This word soon became used to describe books of a similar genre.
More divided his work into two volumes. In the first, he condemns the public order of the time. The writer reproaches royal despotism, debauchery of the clergy, and opposes the death penalty. The second is the revelation of the author, hidden by a screen of a fantastic plot. Both books are completely different, but logically inseparable.
However, Thomas More was not the first to use this term. He was known to ancient philosophers. For example, the word is found in Plato in his treatise "State", where he describes the ideal, in his opinion, power. As a prototype, Plato used the political structure of Sparta, but at the same time eliminated the negative features of this state - the lack of citizens, some unnecessarily cruel laws, rampant corruption (here even the kings took bribes).
That is, utopia shows us a picture of an ideal world in which everyone is happy. A world whose appearance is theoretically possible in the future, but extremely unlikely. There is no poverty, unemployment, suffering.
This is what utopia is in literature. Tales and novels of this genre have always played an important role in assessing the future and shaping the reader’s consciousness. Utopia shows various options for the future, draws the further movement of society. This function of it has been preserved today, but it has somewhat transformed into science fiction. Now they write about technologies and opportunities that may be available to mankind in the future - life on other planets, etc. At the same time, utopia is characterized by sharp criticism of the modern social system, the author’s disagreement with him.
Utopia and dystopia
Having considered what is utopia and what is its significance, let us move on to another term - dystopia. By this word is understood the state system based on negative factors. That is, he denies the possibility of the existence of utopia, showing what a catastrophe the desire for it will turn into. With the initial tendency of society towards an ideal, its complete opposite is formed.
A synonym for dystopia is dystopia, which means "a bad place" (from the Greek dis topos). The definition of the word "utopia" has a definite answer - this is a non-existent place.
The protagonists of anti-utopian works oppose the regime. There are hundreds of similar examples in the literature. The most famous stories of this genre are “451 degrees Fahrenheit” (R. Bradbury), “1984” (J. Orwell), “The Hunger Games” (Collins) and many others.
Utopia and Christianity
Writers consider Christianity the most grandiose utopia. Indeed, the commandments of God teach us not to steal, not to kill, not to envy, to respect our loved ones and to treat everyone as equals. If everyone followed the biblical commandments, this would lead to the formation of an ideal society.
However, utopian motifs are found in all religions of our world. In addition, they can also be found in the mythology of different peoples and even in fairy tales, both folk and author.
History of utopia
Utopia in the minds of mankind has been present since ancient times. However, then people attributed it to the past, and not to the future. These were legends about happy countries that once existed. Take, for example, the country of Hyperborea, which the ancient Greeks believed in, Belovodye, the Opony kingdom, which are found in Russian legends. In fact, all myths, traditions and tales were based precisely on utopian motives.
The definition of the term "utopia" was formed thanks to the works of ancient Greek philosophers. Among them, Plato with his "State" stood out especially.
The revival of the genre
The utopian genre later revived thanks to Thomas More. He distinguished himself from ancient philosophers in that he sought a solution to the problem of the social system of those times at the intersection of sociology, politics, and philosophy. He believed that the future of which he wrote could be achieved through a radical reorganization of society. And you need to start with the appearance of fair laws, concepts of equality and fraternity.
Pestilence became the ancestor of the so-called social utopia. Its creators believed that changing the future is possible if enough effort is made.
Another famous representative of this genre is Tommaso Campanella, who wrote The City of the Sun. Also in the genre of utopia worked Owen, Morelli, Saint-Simon, Münzer.
Since the 18th century, the so-called state novel appeared in Europe, which spoke about the heroes' travels in utopian countries. Most of these novels contained a detailed description of the state system of these powers.
Improve or destroy?
Over the course of these centuries, attempts were made to radically change the social system, which were accompanied by the popularization of utopian works. But it seems that people did not quite understand what Utopia meant. And all ended in human suffering and death. One of the toughest measures to change the world was taken by socialists and fascists in the 20th century. Those who thought too radically were especially distinguished — the Communists and the Nazis.
After this, utopian books began to be perceived by the reader in a completely different way. Even the famous works that make up the classics of this genre have lost their fans. They began to be considered a description of a terrible mechanism that suppresses the will of society. In a sense, it was. In all books written in the utopia genre, society is a gray mass that blindly follows the established order. By the individuality of the personality, it goes for the sake of a well-fed and calm life. But is that right?
Distinctive features of Utopia
The classification of the distinctive features of utopia is as follows:
- The presence of some other reality, an isolated world with its own control system. Usually in utopian works there is no time extension. The society created by the author, as if frozen in stillness.
- Historical background does not interest the authors. They create their own world, not relying on the limitations of the real world. That is why for the reader utopia is something unrealizable, because it has no constructive basis. Everything here is created on the imagination of the writer. However, some books of this genre still contain a detailed description of how to arrive at the perfect order described in the work.
- Utopia is devoid of any internal conflicts. People obey the system and are happy with it. But at the same time, complete unanimity makes them a solid gray mass, devoid of individuality.
- In the novels of this genre, satire is most often absent, since the description of the world is contrasted with reality.
Despite the fact that the definition of utopia is an unreal world created by the imagination of the writer, philosopher N.A. Berdyaev thought otherwise. He argued that utopia is one of the options for the development of the future. She can be more than real. In addition, Berdyaev wrote, human nature is such that faith in the best is necessary in all spheres of life. Today, even architects are developing projects that can be safely called utopia. In the photo - one of them, the heavenly city of the future.
But despite the popularity of utopian books, criticism has accompanied the genre throughout its history. For example, George Orwell, one of the most famous Utopian writers (Animal Farm), was convinced that such books were lifeless, lacking individuality. He himself wrote in the dystopian genre. All utopias, says Orwell, are perfect, but devoid of true happiness. In his essay, the writer cites the opinion of a Catholic writer. He claims that now that humanity is capable of creating a utopia, another question arises before it: how to avoid it?
Types of Utopia
There are two types of utopia:
- Technocratic. That is, social problems are solved by accelerating the scientific and technological process.
- Social, which offers a solution to the problem through a change in the social system.
Utopia and science fiction
Opinions of literary scholars about utopia and science fiction vary. Some believe that they are closely related, but belong to different genre categories. Others are confident that classical utopia has transformed into science fiction under the yoke of modernity. Indeed, many works of science fiction writers either represent utopian novels, or fulfill their function - an image of the world opposite to ours. For example, the “Andromeda Nebula”, “Bull Hour” by Efremov, as well as the “Noon, 22nd Century” by the Strugatsky brothers.
But in the second half of the 80s there are two dystopias that characterize the future as a complete disaster. This is Nabokov’s “Refuser” and Voynich “Moscow-2049”. Moreover, the works themselves are very different. The first is darkness and horror, the second is filled with the unbridled imagination of the author and satire. This confirms that utopia as a genre continues to live in literature.
Conclusion
Today we discussed what Utopia is. The meaning of this term is described above. In modern literature, the genre remains popular and in demand. Utopian works increasingly replenish the shelves of bookstores. Ideal worlds still live only in literature.