A Utopian Society for One

Toward Human Health and Happiness: A Utopian Society for One

The ideal society is not like the ocean it consumes every drop of water, but there is no treasure, uniqueness or identity. However, Utopia is the imagined place or state of things where everything is perfect. It can be a personal, cultural and social idea that must rely on an individual’s unique priorities and principles. It does not require a consideration of what is good for most and it is not a one-size-fits all island of respite.

Man is genuinely happy when he can be himself without limits or excessive interference. It is not enough to simply say that men want to be free because society is more than the laws that govern us, and these are not the only hindrances of freedom, peace, prosperity and creative expression. A lack of exposure to the good life and the necessity for access to achieve opportunities are the most damning chains of a man. If man can determine his inadequacies; he has the power to pursue the life that pleases him, and in doing so he can create the world he desires. We were not born to be a nation or community-builders though we may have reasons to try. We were not born to build a better world, as this task belongs to the Creator. However, we can hope for peace, prosperity and happiness in a Utopian society, but we must first create these characteristics in ourselves. In this paper, I argue that Utopia is a society for one and I will introduce a set of ideals to establish why education could be the foundation of our pursuit for life, liberty and happiness.

Education is the Best Path to Utopia More than two decades ago, Kofi Annan, addressed global leaders at the World
Bank Conference where he gave a status report on the topic of Global Knowledge and the challenge of information availability and access (United Nations, 1997). Annan famously uttered these words during his memorable speech: Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family (UN, 1997). His words reverberated as people begin to contemplate the features of a Utopian society. If real power, liberation and progress can be attained in the light of an educated mind; what better goal can man pursue than to become educated? In principle, it is the right and responsibility of each of us to commit our resources to securing happiness, health and success.

In addition, it will provide an opportunity for us to help others as God meant for us to do. Goodall (2017) illustrates the point further when she asserts that a significant achievement gap is created by poverty. Those who are underachievers in education have a lack of parental involvement, which is a disturbing social justice issue that should not be ignored. Goodall also argues that social and economic inequalities increase gaps in educational achievement between children of the rich and poor. These differences create and sustain economic disadvantages, which is directly connected to the need for universal education at the primary level. Before we consider the overriding variables like poor personal relationships, inadequate parenting and/or social skills, drug addiction, abuse, mental illness and a generally low self-esteem; the disparity in education should be addressed. It is the best solution to a multitude of social ills (Goodall, 2017).
Consider the systemic and environmental impact of bias, abject poverty and discrimination on the family and development of individuals. A lack of education, if remedied, can improve a host of outcomes, including hunger, homelessness and safety among the poor and a significant bump in the standard of living of successive generations. This endeavor would be owed to the personal pursuit of education and ability (Goodall, 2017; Batchelor, 2013).

On Poverty, Deprivation and Community

In More’s Utopia, learning and wisdom are valued for practical purposes: to improve one’s family and community and to have the resources by which people might better understand how God wants us to live (More, 2009). In effect, prosperity would be a shared asset in the Utopian society and it is not the right of any individual to claim resources that are not equally accessible or distributed among all people (More, 2009, p. 54-56) Idealists are deeply concerned that private wealth and lack will produce poverty and injustice a notion that is consistent with the beliefs of many in modern society (Bernstein & Spielberg, 2015)
What are some common features among those who live in squalor? How can an open-minded person avoid succumbing to the condition which might condemn him to a life of limit? Kofi Annan appropriately suggested that the following realities cannot be disputed (UN, 1997). Poverty is due to gross disparities of income, excessive limitations to services and opportunity as showed by the fact that billions of people survive on less than a dollar a day and an immeasurable number of them are illiterate. Many others lack access to safe water and a vast number of them go hungry or face food insecurity on a daily basis (UN, 1997).
More’s Utopia resolves these disparities by eliminating personal ownership of wealth and property and completely eliminating money. Everyone in the society owns the houses and goods so every house has two doors, that were never locked nor bolted, and easy to be opened. In Utopia, there is no need to protect or restrict access to anything because there is nothing within the houses that is private or any man’s possession (More, 2009, p. 54). More’s notion of common properties and resources is taken from, Plato’s Republic, and this philosophy is evidence that some believe society’s most corrupting influence is wealth. If an ideal society is one which eliminates poverty, then the same society must automatically erode any necessity for criminal mischief as poverty and want of material resources is the root of crime (Donald, 2013).
Additionally, if society removes the need to compete with other because of lack, jealousy and other covetous behavior; then society has removed the need for theft, robbery, murder and a host of modern social ailments. Therefore, everyone in the society would benefit because there would be less fear and anxiety among the people. More states, that the rich are self-serving and they exploit the poor by paying them low wages, but convince them are trying to help them. Capitalism at its best. They are constantly trying to get more and more and keep as much as they can. These are the people who would object to having a communal society, because they are egotistic.

We start with a very basic argument: that extreme inequality is a barrier to Utopia and, further are indication of an unreasonable and ethically bankrupt society. There is a good case to be made that inequality is economically and politically beyond reasonable defenses, which is to say that inequality does not serve a purpose in any modern and progressive society. If good health and happiness are connected to a freedom from want and deprivation, then, what is the best way to attain happiness in a Utopian existence? As stated previously, the biggest barrier to access is a lack of knowledge, information and education. For this reason, it must guide us to pursue education assuming there are few barriers which offer opposition. An economy without money, property or personal resources cannot solve an obstacle to knowledge and information and thus cannot be acceptable or equal.

Whether you live in an industrialized country or in the most deprived country in the world, you have likely witnessed the products of deprivation and despair which are currently in abundant in every area in the world. Humanity has a profound explanation for its sincere concern regarding poverty. There are many reasons to be convinced that while poverty and deprivation is as ancient as the first society, yet little has been done to ratify it (United Nations, 1997).

It seems to make sense that we might attempt to understand the poverty problem by first addressing human action, free will, determination and the privatization of effort that, some argue is often missing element among the most appalling cases of those who lack. The tendency to dismiss the poor as just lazy is a fallacy, when we consider the 2017 United States Census Bureau’s poverty statistic. During this time more than 12% of the American population was at or below the official poverty level. In the same year, roughly 40 million Americans were actively living in poverty and these numbers do not include everyone (Semega, Fontenot & Kollar, 2018).

In fact, some whose abject circumstances have rendered them homeless, incarcerated or serving in the military are not included in this number. Innumerable others who self-report that they are living in the depths of poverty and have a household income less than fifty percent of the poverty threshold. Almost 6 percent of all Americans live in poverty, a number that accounts for about half of all Americans living in poverty (Semega, Fontenot & Kollar, 2018).
If and individuals had a proper education, they might face the ideal as one might face the sun. They are warmed when they rise toward advancement and this warmth is the most crucial brick in Utopia’s foundation. An enthusiastic approach to self-development in the manner of good health, education and the tireless pursuit of knowledge is the fruit of an organized and just society. In Rawls (1971), A Theory of Justice, the author argues that an organized society is one where the principles of justice are universally accepted by citizens and regulated by basic institutions.

While this is an attractive notion because it brings social harmony, unity and cooperation; societies must be subject to examination. Any society which promises common uniqueness and harmony is automatically one which will resort to disapproval of any groups that seek self-sufficiency, self-legislation and the right to question what most take for granted.

In an ocean filled with drops of water, one drop will join the others and sacrifice its own identity, uniqueness and pleasure for the opportunity to share the journey with another. However, shared company and the absence of lack should not be confused as happiness, prosperity or advancement. Substance does not merely end poverty, crime and its related issues, but education is the direction by which people can pursue individual advancement. The love of the theater and the arts creates boundless freedom and creativity. It provides an opportunity to become more informed and objective to secure one’s own right to life and liberty. When we have limited knowledge, some resources are concealed from us. In order to live the life that God has called us to live, we must possess every opportunity One we have developed ourselves, it is our responsibility to reach back and help others. This is how we can create hope for peace, prosperity and happiness in a Utopian society, because we have created the characteristics in ourselves.

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