Utopian Society Research Paper

Philosophy in Utopian Societies

Utopian societies were heavily based in the various philosophical ideals that gradually began to appear in the late 1800s. Most of these ideas focused on key concepts such as equality for all members and provision of basic needs in return for cooperation with the rules of the society. Often times, these utopian experiments would depend on philosophy to hold themselves together and sustain their community through isolation from the rest of the population. However, as utopian societies failed again and again, philosophy proved to be an inadequate basis for success. In the instances of utopias such as the Shakers and Brook Farm, the ideals were unable to be attained while simultaneously preserving the community.

In 1516, More authored a book titled Utopia that not only spread the knowledge of the word “utopia” itself but shed light on what he determined to be an ideal society. Decades later, his book experienced a revival in the 1800s and went on to inspire the works of influential socialist philosophers and writers such as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, who wrote of their own versions of ideal societies in which all the inhabitants lived equal lives. (The Utopian Socialism Movement pg. 1) The nineteenth century witnessed a huge revival in utopian literature and philosophy that influenced many people to publish their own books or even attempt to create their own perfect societies. Four of the most prominent utopian socialists were Charles Fourier and Claude-Henri de Saint-Simon of France, and Robert Owen and Jeremy Bentham from

Founded by George Ripley with the assistance of a group of intellectual writers, Brook Farm was based on equality, freedom of the individual, and tolerance in relationships. These ideas were to be preserved through isolation “nearly two miles from any creature” (S. Ripley par. 1). Ripley expressed his goals for the society as such in a letter he wrote to the famous Transcendentalist author Ralph Waldo Emerson, who joined Brook Farm: "Our objects as you know, are to insure a more natural union between between intellectual and manual labor ... guarantee the highest mental freedom, by providing all with labor, adapted to their tastes and talents, and securing to them the fruits of their industry ... thus to prepare a society of liberal, intelligent, and cultivated persons, whose relations with each other would permit a more simple and wholesome life, than can be led amidst the pressures of our competitive institutions." (G. Ripley par. 1) A key philosophy was the openness to debate among all members, which later proved to be a detriment to progress. Equal labor became a controversial topic due to the presence of the physically weak, who could not do their share of the work. Financial problems arose due to a resulting lack of stable income, forcing Brook Farm into borrowing money and a cycle of debt. Since everyone had a different