How Did The Shakers Achieve A Utopian Society

A utopia is a place of ideal perfection. However, according to the Merriam-Webster, it is also an impractical scheme for social improvement. Though dating back to the earliest days of U.S. history, utopian communities became a part of American thought by the 1840s. Various groups that were struggling because of urbanization and industrialization, challenged the traditional norms of American society with a desire to create a world without capitalism, immigration, and the tension between communities. However, these attempts failed due to individualism, materialism, the lack of growth, and little balance.

A utopia sounds like a wonderful thing. The Oxford English Dictionary defines “utopia” as an “imagined or hypothetical place, system, or state of existence in which everything is perfect, esp. in respect of social structure, laws, and politics.” (OED, 2015, entry 2) But what happens when someone tries to bring this imagined land of perfection into reality? Both in fictional literature and in real life applications, utopian dreams destroy societies.

Utopia is said to be a place where a good society is created, where one can live a good life and where power is not abused. But throughout George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the reader learns that a utopian society is in fact impossible. The reader learns this when Old Major tells of a dream he has where everything is perfect and no humans are involved, however when the revolution occurs and the humans are chased off the farm, the pigs become in charge and start to manipulate their power and the other animals, proving that no matter how hard the animals try, they will never have the good life that they want. Furthermore, in Peter Weir’s the Truman Show, we see that your own utopia can not be shaped by another being, because although being in power, Christof makes everything as perfect as he can for Truman, Christof can never give Truman the good life he actually wants which then leaves Truman finding his life unsatisfactory. The good life is determined by freedom and to be able to go where you want and do what you want to do, thus proving that a utopian society can not actually be made because if everyone could do what they want, there’s no guarantee that people would do the right thing which is why we have people in power.

Lee knew that she would have to stand against others who had no faith in their reform plan. Many people said that “celibacy was seen as inherently contrary to nature, God, and the sanctity of marriage”. Also, traditional families felt threatened by the prominent role of women in the church. Since the Shakers’ first leader was a woman, this defied social norms by giving women equal authority as men. Even more radical was their belief that God was both male and female, and that Ann Lee had been the feminine incarnation of Jesus. Unlike the usual opinion at the time, the Shakers believed “as in the natural order of man, the desire of all nations, which is glory and perpetuity, is completed by the female.” They claimed that this also applies to “the spiritual order of Christ” since “the desire of all nations for glory and immortality can only be completed by the

At this point Shakerism as it is known today was born. The original Shakers who came to America believed that God had a dual-nature, which meant that he was both male and female to them, and that Christ would come again and be embodied in a female. Many of these early followers of the Shaker Way saw Ann Lee as being Christ embodied as a woman. Therefore the Shakers could not deny women equality with men. A woman founded Shakerism and women were able to maintain equal standing with men as religious leaders.3 The Shaker Way generally called for a fundamental transformation from its members, asking them to "turn from the narrowness of individual self to the Union of all of us together in the One Christ in whom there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female (Gal. 3:28)".4 Specifically, Shakers were supposed to grow by learning to recognize gifts and relating them to each other. They also needed to work together in an attempt to live their daily lives as simply as the early Shakers had through hard work.

Shakers were religious groups that formed to escape the corruption within society. The Shakers were the most successful of all of the religious communities. In the 1840’s Shaker communities stretched across the country with 5000 members. Shakers thought that men and women were equal and that God was both part male and female (Text 343). Within the Shaker religion, men and women lived in separate areas and ate i]n large dining halls. As the leader of the Shakers Ann Lee gave the Shakers a boost of members by adopting children, the

A utopia is what everyone is aiming for, but is that really what they are getting? With the hopes of a perfect society, we the people are rushing for a drastic change in the way things work without giving too much care in which direction things are changing, and that can and will cause definite issues. In the hopes to rush into a perfect world, too many people are treating government like a roulette wheel and hoping for the best, even though all odds are against them. In doing so, they are setting themselves up for a more controlled tomorrow.

     Between the 1820’s and 1860’s, Americans were trying new things and promoting different ideas and ways of thinking. Once such idea is that of a utopian society. A utopian

The Utopians live in a society that is free from the grips of money and hoarding, one that is as close to perfect as one can feasibly imagine. It is a world where people get along together in harmony, with “nothing private anywhere” (More 231). The only have gardening competitions, and even their gardens are not permanent, dying with each passing year. They “change houses by lot” every ten years to keep people from hoarding earthly goods, and by doing this create a society where not only does everyone contribute, and everyone also communicates and relates to those around them (More 231). This happens in large part, according to More, because of “communal living and their moneyless economy” (More 269). Through this revolutionary and ideal living, they create a place where there is no bribery because there is no money, with

‘One man’s utopia is another man’s dystopia.’ This is a famous quote we must often bear in mind when writing about such topics and it is often fairly accurate. A utopian society, in this essay, will be defined as a “non-existent society that is described in considerable detail…” (Fitting, 1993, 1) and an ideal and visionary society that enjoys perfection in various fields such as politics, law and more as seen in Thomas More’s famous novel, Utopia. A positive utopian society is often impossible due to a variety of reasons, primarily human nature and the inevitable inequality found in these idealized societies. A prime example of how a utopian society is often impossible can be found in Andrew Niccol’s film, Gattaca (1997). The film Gattaca explores a new version of an idealized society, a utopia that revolves heavily around genetic engineering. In Gattaca, an individual’s future is delineated by his or

Societies will not only always have over ambitious people, but also a need for law and order. A flawless society would require a leading figure or group in order for there to be order and rules, but then it would no longer be a utopia. If there was a leading body, that group or individual would have more power than the regular people, thus a misdistribution of power is seen. “The contradictions in the overall Marxist scheme were all too apparent. On a philosophical level, it displayed an inherent contradiction between its fundamentally materialist position and its underlying idealist strain, which

A utopian community would be a world without oppression, discrimination or social hierarchy—essentially, an ideal place to live. However, does a perfect society really exist? In Sir Thomas More’s Utopia, More flirts with the concept of a utopian community with regard to geography, city structure, labor, government and religion. Considering these aspects, the community depicted in Utopia is primarily a success, with limited failures.

It seems as though every time a society attempts to create a utopia, it has the opposite effect. 1984 is an example of an attempt at a utopian society that results in a place that is definitely not perfect. In most instances, a dystopia will be created when trying to make a utopia (Hough). There are multiple reasons as to why a utopia cannot work. Some of these reasons include resources and people in the society. George Orwell’s 1984, along with past governments, show that a utopia can never be truly created and that it will always turn into a dystopia.

The idea of a perfect society, or “utopia,” was first introduced in Sir Thomas More’s book Utopia, written in 1516. In the book, More described a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean through the character Raphael. On the island everything and everyone has a specific place and purpose. There is no private property, all of the houses on the island are the same; you can walk in the front door, through the house, and out the back door. All necessary items are stored in warehouses, where people only request what they need. The people on the island manufacture the items in the warehouse, everyone that can work does, which means little to no unemployment.

Throughout the ages, man has come to idealize a word that is most commonly related to ‘heavenly’ or ‘perfect’ without actually picking up the book and realizing for themselves that there is no such thing. A Utopian society could never exist because man is made to want, to desire success. Man is competitive by nature and would never be happy in a society where everyone is equal and there is no chance of advancement. Sir Thomas More dreamt of a land that was much like England but could never surpass time. He opened the eyes of a nation and made its people desire something new. Views were significantly changed and the world would never be the same. Sir Thomas More inspired dramatic changes in religion, community life and even paved