Not yet Utopia

As a young girl, I grew up reading the works of some renowned philosophers like Sir Thomas More, who talked about an ideal society free of troubles - an Utopia, a name for an ideal community or society, according to More.

In one of his books written in 1516, More describes a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean, possessing a seemingly perfect socio-politico-legal system.
Utopia, a term that has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempted to create an ideal society and fictional societies portrayed in literature. Utopia is now sometimes used pejoratively, in reference to an unrealistic ideal that is impossible to achieve. Social planners, dreamers and religious leaders through the centuries have been haunted by memories of paradise lost and have tried to re-create these lands of earthly peace and contentment, at least on paper. The search for Utopia has created ongoing debates regarding the nature of humans and the best social milieu for a peaceful populace.

The journey to Utopia begins with Plato, a Greek philosopher and disciple of Socrates. When Plato wrote “The Republic” Athens was in decline. The philosopher complained that his fellow citizens had become too individualistic and suggested that they lacked discipline. To achieve a rational society, Plato believed that the common person needed benevolent direction from philosopher-rulers who could be depended on, to do what was best for the Republic.
Plato foreshadows George Orwell’s world of revisionist history and doubletalk when he admits that – in the name of Utopia -- “Our rulers will probably have to make considerable use of lies and deceit for the good of their subjects.”

Plato’s perfect society is composed of three classes of people: the wise, ruling philosophers; the courageous guardian soldiers and officials, and the obedient and temperate workers. The groups are united by their belief in justice and the good of the State. Private property is abolished, jobs are assigned and art is censored to ensure proper morals and attitudes.

The massive, all-seeing government was championed by Plato, who maintained that in a well-functioning society, the State must be supreme. To achieve uniformity, the nuclear family must be dissolved and replaced with communal living. In an early programme of eugenics, the State determines who may have children. Infants deemed healthy are raised in communal nurseries, while those considered defective are abandoned outside the city to die.

However, in the reality of the modern day society, Utopia is beyond our reach. I
believe that the concept of Utopian or an Utopian world does not exist in this
world.

This is because, if I look at the meaning of the word, it possesses something that is related to perfection. That means, if the world is being credited as Utopian, it must hold the hundred percent of peace, hundred percent of happiness, and hundred percent of everything. This would mean that the world is perfect.
Whoever is meant to live in that world will have the opportunity to grab a very perfect life. But that is not the case in our dear country where electricity power is unstable, the roads are in bad shape, there are still many people who cannot afford three square meals; you know, the list is endless.

Hence, I could not help but think the idea of Utopian in this world can only exist in fairy tales or in fictional world. This is because, in a fictional world, man has the right to create the perfection in the settings and characters of a certain fictional work. As a literature student, I have come across this concept in many literary works.

In which case, I came to believe the fictional world was the only place where the ideals of an Utopian can really happen. For example, in the fairy tales ‘Cinderella,’ the main character Cinderella is tailored to marry to her prince charming, and live happily ever after.

Nevertheless, some religious philosophers think an Utopia world only exist beyond here, a world being created by God. They believe the Utopian world only exists in the heavens, created by the Almighty as a reward for His obedience creatures. For them, it is only God who has the power to create the something perfect as the Omnipotent creator of the universe. Hence, the concept of Utopian is actually beyond the human thought.

While the Utopian philosophers disagree on the specifics of paradise, they do tend to hold a similar view of humanity. Generally, they believe that individuals are shaped by their environments and that crime and brutality can be eliminated through social engineering.

For the Utopians therefore, the goal of life is peace and contentment. To create a society without want or fear, these philosophers maintain, the happiness of the individual must be assured. In such an enlightened world, even the rulers would be content and would not be tempted to abuse power to their own gains.
The Utopians are above all optimists, believing that mankind is inching towards paradise. Nigeria as a nation may be far from becoming an Utopian state as we are not inching towards any paradise, the future may be dark as the present if we collectively fail to do anything!