![]() ![]() The Society was established in 1988 by a group of British scholars, following an international conference on utopianism at New Lanark, which in the early nineteenth century was managed by the founder of British socialism, Robert Owen.It was re-launched, following the “Millennium of Utopias” conference at the University of East Anglia in June 1999.The invaluable Lorna Davidson and Jim Arnold of New Lanark Trust served for many years as Secretary and Treasurer of the Society. Academics working on utopias take up the challenge of gathering all the various manifestations of fantasized and actualized alternative communities across the ages, reflecting and systematizing the knowledge of this vast field of studies. The dystopian aspect of the tradition can offer valuable warnings and appellative impulses, opening our minds to the threats of the various abuses of power. Rooted in the capacity to dream, the quest for a utopia encourages one to re-invent reality and question the soundness and steadfastness of what surrounds us. However, as of 2020, five proclaimed communist countries continue to exist: North Korea, Vietnam, China, Cuba, and Laos.Utopian thinking is a necessary,often compulsive, human pursuit. Marx’s utopia was never achieved, as it required revolution on a global scale, which never came to pass. Western capitalist nations fought hard against communism, and eventually, most communist countries collapsed. The communist leaders set the wages, they set the prices, and they distributed the wealth. For a large part of the 20th century, about one-third of the world lived in communist countries-countries ruled by dictatorial leaders who controlled the lives of everyone else. Marx described this ideal in his Manifesto, but the practice of communism fell far short of the ideal. If the government controlled the economy and the people relinquished their property to the state, no single group of people could rise above another. His idea of utopia was a land where people labored as they were able, and everyone shared the wealth. So, Marx outlined his plan to liberate the proletariat, or to free them of the burden of labor. In this environment, the wealthy few exploited the laborers, who had to labor in order to live. This created the need for a large number of people to work for the factory owners. Simply put, in a capitalist system, the factories fueled the economy, and a wealthy few owned the factories. The rise of factories, the reliance on machines, and the capability of mass production created conditions that promoted oppression and encouraged the development of a proletariat, or a working class. The problems, he claimed, stemmed from the Industrial Revolution. Marx believed that private ownership of property promoted greed, and he blamed capitalism for society’s problems. Marx’s ideal society ensured economic equality and fairness. Plato and Aristotle discussed them in ancient times, but Marx developed them into a popular doctrine, which was later propelled into practice. The basic ideas of communism did not originate with Marx, however. Then, communism would close the gap between rich and poor, end the exploitation of workers, and free the poor from oppression. No one would strive to rise above others, and people would no longer be motivated by greed. ![]() Thus, his goal was to encourage a system that promoted a classless society in which everyone shared the benefits of labor and the state government controlled all property and wealth. Marx believed that capitalism, with its emphasis on profit and private ownership, led to inequality among citizens. Communism is a form of government most frequently associated with the ideas of Karl Marx, a German philosopher who outlined his ideas for a utopian society in The Communist Manifesto, written in 1848. ![]()
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